How to - clean a fuel tank. (Warning, long post)

[Tom Bredehoft]

[ChampTrucking]

I had one all varnished up from sitting a whole year without gas in it.First thing I did was dump a whole gallon of Lacquer thinner in it,slosh it around,and let it sit and soak in for 24 hours outside in the back of the lot with NO source of ignition around it and the gas cap on filler tube and the cork float removed from the float arm .Day 2- slosh numerous times during the day.Let it soak another 24 hours,then drained the tank.Next I poured in a healthy dose of Dawn Dish Soap.I have also used Purple Power cleaner,but I like Dawn better. Added some water and slosh,drain and repeat again.Then I removed the gas gauge and gas cap,stuck the water hose in it and let it flush out about 30 minutes.Let it sit in the sun till it was dry and installed.Nice and clean!

[Kenmike2]

DEEPNHOCK is correct. Send it out to a pro and get it done correctly. In addition to my Stude shop I'm also an agent for Gas Tank RENU-USA. The slosh and seal cold process has been known to break down and cause more problems than it cured. Gas Tank RENU grit blasts the tank inside and out, coats it inside and out with a PVC coating then bakes it in an oven to cure the coatings. They give a lifetime warranty testifying to the success of this process.
Regards
Ken Michae Studebakers Only (and Gas Tanks RENU USA - AZ) Payson, AZ

[Tom Bredehoft]

Wish they had an agency in my town, I'd have been on them like the proverbial duck on a june bug. Mine cost $75 for the tank, about 4 hrs of MY labor. And there's nothing foreign in the tank to dissolve or break loose. CASO repair strikes again.

Google tells me there are three shops in Ohio, the nearest 2 1/2 hrs away. I guess if I weren't in a hurry......

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Avatar1.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe (since 1959)
'55 President (6H Y6) State Sedan
(Under Construction 506 hrs.)
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[bradnree]

search "Draino" on this site.

BRAD

[Transtar60]

GASTankRenu is'nt your only option.
Like Deepnhock suggests, many radiator shops clean and service
gas tanks.
Got to be a radiator shop closer than 2 1/2 hrs.

Never had a problem with the stuff coming loose either.

Course if you enjoy cleaning the gas tank, more power to ya!




3E38
4E2
4E28
5E13
7E7
8E7
8E12
8E28

59 Lark
etc

[warrlaw1]

I vote for the Renu method. Took my tank from the 55 K to The Gas Tank Doctor, and he looked at it and said it was too big a job for him and sent it out for the Renu process. Less than $200 and it's pretty. Grey on the outside, baked white surface on the inside. The car had been hit, run dry of oil, frozen and sat for years. Only way i could get it serviceable.

[Kenmike2]

Tank Cleaning

Do you go to the doctor to get your teeth repaired? Do you hunt deer at the duck pond? Radiator shops repair radiators and Gas Tank RENU agents repair gas tanks. Period. Go to the pro to get your work done.

There is no comparison to the processes used nor the finished product. Radiator shops attempt to clean the tank and IF they succeed they have simply provided a lot of good clean metal surfaces that will immediately begin to rust! So what did you gain? Gas Tank RENU gives you a PVC SEALED SURFACE ALL OVER BOTH THE INSIDE AND THE OUTSIDE OF THE TANK. And that's guaranteed for life to never leak nor rust.

I too use radiator shops too repair my radiators. They do an excellent job. But they won't touch my gas tank.

I've seen too many radiator shop repairs come into my shop to be redone. Their materials, practices, welding, and patches work fine on radiators, but fail on gas tanks.

Regards

Ken Michael
Owner, Studebakers Only and Gas Tank RENU USA, Arizona.

[Retired]

Take it to Tank re-new

[Warren Webb]

Working in body shops for over 45 years now (yeesh, I'm gettin old) makes me agree with Ken Michael 100%. I have sent tanks for customers cars to radiator shops because thats all the insurance companies would pay for, their stand being its "commercially acceptable". Getting them back & even before they could be installed noticing the rust forming already, not only on the inside, but on the outside too, due to the caustic chemicals they use. REnu may be pricey but lifetime guarantee means another item you dont have to worry about.

[arkusvt]

today i called the nearest gas tank RENU to me, which is actually in new york state and was quoted "somewhere between $350.00 and $480.00" to repair my avanti tank. !!!!! thought that was plenty and sent for a complete kit from bill hirsch company in new jersey. $46.00 plus shipping. hirsch has been in business for decades, claims to have sold millions of cans of sealer and states that his sealer is aircraft approved. for 3 to 4 hundred dollars i'll do my own labor.