Fuel System: Rust in gas tank

[Dougie]

On my 62 Lark project, the car came with a "new" gas tank. I've had the car 3 years, and most of the time there has been some gas in the tank. Looking in thru the hole for the sender I can see some rust in the lowest parts of the little valleys of the bottom of the tank. The exterior of the tank looks new, and the inside does too except for the rust.

I want to remove the rust and I was thinking of removing the tank and using a product called Evaporust. I've used this on parts and it works great. My questions is what to do after I remove the rust? I've read both good and bad reviews of Eastwood''s tank sealer kit, with some claiming the sealer peels off in sheets and plugs everything up. If I just clean it and refill it, is there something I can add to the gas to prevent rust from forming again?

Any thoughts on the best way to correct this? As I said, the rust is very minor. I just want it out of there and I don't want it to return. Thanks

[Doug Bowen]

I had a guy (radiator shop) coat my tank a few years ago that ended up plugging up the tank outlet tube with a "delaminated" sheet of glop. Turns out that I brought the tank home and immediately put the tank in the car, filled it up with gas and hit the road.

He neglected to tell me when I picked up the tank that I needed to let the critter CURE for a couple days to correctly HARDEN the coating. OOOOPS!

He redid it for me (I split the cost with him) and, after the proper curing time it worked perfectly.

...just my experience...

D

[RDWEAVER]

If the tank is new, be careful what you put in it. New tanks are coated with some sort of galvanizing on the inside
and some chemicals will remove this. My fuel tank was so bad I had to take it to a radiator shop
and they cleaned it somewhat.... of course it started leaking and they tried to fix it but finally gave up
on it. Long story short I tumbled the tank for a couple of hrs with an aggregate inside then cleaned again flushed several times
then used a product from O Riley's called RED COTE. That was two years ago. I had several leaks in the top of the tank before using the product.
After following the instructions exactly there are no leaks and I watch my fuel filter closely.... no red stuff there.
But your tank if it is new will (should) only need removal, cleaned and inspected if it is not red-brown and scaley on the inside it should be ok to reinstall and use it.
The chemical radiator shops use to clean radiators will remove the coating the factory puts on the inside of the tank so only do this if you have to.

[warrlaw1]

Google "Gas Tank Renu" and see if there's a franchise near you. Worked well on my last three cars.

[rockne10]

Many do-it-yourself kits and products work well if instructions are followed. Blowing air IN TO the pickup tube as the solution cures is pretty critical in all the systems.