fuel tank prep

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I am sure you are talking about the outside.

Anyhow, my son bought a tank from the junk yard and it was pretty bad on the inside with varnish and surface rust.

I drained it and let it dry out. Threw a chain inside and bounced it around on my trampoline get knock off the big stuff. A little hydrochloric acid took care of the rust. Next came acetone, which cleaned up the varnish nicely. Several rinses with water and let dry out completely and it looked awesome on the inside.

I know that most will say, just buy a new tank. Well he saved almost 100 bucks doing it this way, which is a lot of money for a college student.

Rod
 
Yes i am referring to the outside. The inside of it was squeaky clean when i pulled it but the outside is covered in all kinds of nasty and a little bit of surface rust. I would just blast out and paint but i don't have access to a blast cabinet
 
I got one from a yard that was mostly dirty with a few rust spots. I used coarse steel wool to clean it and then hit the rust spots with a wire brush. I sprayed it with Rustoleum cold galv. I didn't like the appearance, so sprayed over that with Krylon stainless steel and then topped with clear semigloss engine enamel. Pic in my build near end of first page.

edit...forgot to mention I wiped it down with laquer thinner before painting.
 
I use a hand held wire brush and then parts cleaner afterwards to clean off any grease and dirt that may cause a fish eye etc....


After it's been removed, drained, and rinsed with water.
 
Steel wool to clean the tank and RPM to preserve the unpainted finish.(if the tank looks good enough to not need paint)
 
Wire wheel and an angle grinder. Go to town, wipe down and paint before it rusts again.
 
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