bluesdrivemonster: Gas Tank Restoration

This is what I saw when I went to investigate my gas tank after finding some fine rust in my fuel filter and my car having issues running. Fuck. I could have probably found a new used tank but there's no guarantees that the next one wouldn't look the same as this.

From another angle. While it sucks that the tank is rusty because it's made out of metal, on the plus side there is a drain in the bottom which is going to make what comes next slightly easier.

This was my weapon of choice, POR15. I've had success with this product before and the cost of the kit (~$85) was less than half the cost of a new tank. The whole coating process from start to finish took me three days but it could easily be completed in a weekend with different time management. The paint requires four days to dry before it can be exposed to fuel.

Now, I understand there are some naysayers about this product, and I realize this is a non-reversible process but, this sentence is being written 8 year in the future after this process was done and the finish is just a solid as the day it was applied. In my experience, POR15 works best when you follow the steps to a tee.

The following images are the inside of the tank after the first rinse with the cleaning solution.

Gotta check every surface, even the top of the tank.

Detritus that collected at the bottom after rinsing with water. After several more rinses actual progress was now visible.

Big improvement

The kit came with a second bottle of cleaning solution so I let it sit overnight in the tank.

After cleaning the tank is etched with phosphoric acid to stop the rust and promote the adhesion of the epoxy paint.

Greatly improved

Finished tank after the epoxy paint has dried

Overall I have no regrets. This process was time consuming and quite laborious but if you trust the process you can have stellar results.