Re: rusty fuel tank...What to do?

[Glenn Merrell <gmerrel@domain.elided>]

Hello Steven,
    Your question prompted me to pull out my tank, drain out the 8
gallons that was in it, and perform an internal inspection.
fortunately, my tank is shiney silver colored inside, with some small
rust patches.  I'll strip off the external paint, put in some rust
remover to remove the small rst patches, then consider some of these
products after I get mor information as to their chemical resistance to
fuel additives.  Then I searched the web  Hemmings Motor News, and the
Thomas Register for some restoration & coatings experts.  I found one
product  made by Kanter Auto Products, 76 Monroe St, Boonton NJ 07005
USA 973-334-9575 or 800-526-1096, FAX 973-334-5423
http://www.kanter.com/fueltank.html  Where upon I called them to get the
scoop.  Kanter supplies all sorts of stuff for Automotive restoration,
and they carry two types of tank sealers.  It appears that it is very
important the tank has only surface rust in the tank, no rust through
spots for the first type, and he second type claims to seal "pinholes".
Their first step removes the surface rust down to the metal, then it is
sealed, followed by the coating.  The coating is some sort of
chemical/gasoline resistant polymer.  Kanter offers a Limited Lifetime
Warranty on their products

    I see a couple of problems getting a good application with the
layout of the Stag fuel tank.  One is that the tank would need several
gallons of this stuff to guarantee a complete coating, but Kanter tells
me that if you follow the simple instructions, you will get an even
coating that works very well.  Kanter is sending me the specification
information and MSDS on the fuel tank products, and written responses to
my questions.

I will keep up the search on coatings and keep you posted.

Regards,
Glenn Merrell