Vic;
I went through what I had in my archive, and the consensus appears to be
in favor of a product like Gas Tank Renu professionally applied. (See
posts below by Jan and Bob Douglas). While POR 15 and others also have
products, this is the only process I have heard of where it is triple
baked. The process appears to be franchised in several areas of the US
(and may be available "down under" as well). Go to
http://www.gas-tank.com
to read about it. Jan also recommends "a red product approved by BMW"
that sounds like Renu.
Ron Tebo
hughes wrote:
>
> I know this subject has come up before, but I haven't kept the posts. A
> couple of guys (in the US) on the Hillman list are looking for advice on
> what to use to clean out fuel tanks. Can someone refresh my memory on
> what works please, so I can pass it on
>
> Thanks
>
> Vic
Subject: Re: Series II Gas Tank Crud (paint?)
Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1999 06:38:30 PDT
From: "Bob Douglas" <b_s_d@hotmail.com>
To: alpines@autox.team.net
>From: "jumpin'jan" <servaij@cris.com>
>... The only way to restore the tank is to take it to a metal
>cleaning shop where they can clean rusted metal. It will also remove
>all paint and crud at the bottom. The cost is about $50-$75 for a gas
>tank. The next step is to a radiator/gas tank repair shop ...
>they solder metal patches over the pinholes (mine had quite a few)
>and seal the tank with a tank sealer mixture (cost me about $150).
Many US radiator/tank shops will both clean and repair. I had my S.II
tank done around 18 months ago for about $100 which included boiling,
patching, sealing, and paint(exterior only this time). Once cleaned, I
was surprised at the large number of pin holes they found. I think the
shop was too, and probably would have priced it $20 to $40 higher if
they had realized how bad it was. I expect the going rate to still be
in the $120 to $160 range in the SW US. Material cost to etch, seal,
and paint the tank myself would have been about $50; likely more because
I probably would have still had to have the "crud" boiled out at the
shop. You can buy the DIY kits from Eastwood, J.C. Whitney, or half a
dozen other sources.
One recommendation on the sealer is to ask for the alcohol resistant
version. It is white rather than the yellow that's more commonly used.
It's slightly more expensive, but could save you some trouble from
alcohol fuel mixes or additives down the road. A bit paranoid maybe,
but figure it's a tough call on what will be available at the pump 10+
years down the road in different parts of the country.
I had the yellow stuff put in mine because that's all the shops in my
area were offering at the time. Today I'd probably opt to have the
shop boil and patch the tank then install the white sealer myself if all
they offered was the yellow variety.
Regards, Bob Douglas
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