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Gas tank liner

S

Super-H-Mike

Member
Ok, So I am in the middle of doing the gas tank liner on the Ollie 66 I posted about previously. I am using the Nothern/Redkote kit from Napa, was about $70.00. Three can system. First is cleaner/degreaser, and Ive done that. Question is : It says to flush thoroughly after using degreaser, but it doesn t say with WHAT ! ARGH!! Can t imagine they want water in there. It does say to make sure it s dry between steps! I am thinking of using brake cleaner. I don t want to screw this up for the guy. So far have have shook tank with chain in and used degreaser can...what have you guys done next in the process? Thanks~ Mike
 
If you just used any type of acid, yes flush with water and lots of it. I used a shop vac set on blow to dry mine out, then let it set over night. Just a warning for any newbies, never use a vacuum cleaner on any fuel tank unless your life insurance is paid up and your ex-wife is no longer on as beneficiary. Blow only.
 
Not sure its an acid. Ingredients in degreaser are :
1) water
2)sodium tripolyphosphate
3)potassium phosphate
4)1-butoxy-2-propanol
5) potassium hydroxide
lol, any chemists out there ????
 
I just finished using one of those kits on my farmall B.

After the degreaser, and any rust removal process you plan to use, flush really well with water, then use acetone or MEK to help dry the tank.

Make sure its 100% dry before using the liner material, if there's any water trapped behind it, it wont stick to the tank. Let it dry completely, even if it takes a couple days.

Then pour in the liner, tape up the openings, and tilt the tank in all directions for a few minutes until you've covered all internal surfaces, then pour out the excess and let it cure for a few days (I let mine cure for a week just to be sure)

If your oliver tank has baffles in it, make sure you thin the liner material or it wont flow past the baffles. 20% MEK mixed into the blue stuff will make it thin enough to flow. If you do that, you'll need to do 2 coats, letting it cure between coats, to get the same thickness.
 
I just went through my tank after it sat for 15 years. When I first looked in it I was sure I would have to line it. It looked to me to be very rusty. But I tried lining an old Suzuki tank with disastrous results. Besides, there is a baffle in your tank that I think would not allow you to get a good "flow" of the lining goo. But that's already been addressed. What I did was to soak the tank with a gallon of lacquer thinner. (Don't forget to plug the hole in the bottom first)I swished it around every so often for 3 days. When I dumped it out I couldn't believe the crud that came out. It turns out that my "rust" (it really looked just like rust) was shellac from 50 years of gas evaporating. Then I used a commercial steam cleaner (not just a pressure washer, you need the heat) set at 300 degrees and sprayed the s**t out of it through both holes. When I look inside it now, it looks like it's brand new. It got good and hot which evaporated most if not all the water inside the tank.
Hope this helps
Dave
 
Best way to dry a tank with minimal effort is to place upside down in the afternoon sun on a hot day. in the cooler seasons, I have used a heat gun on the outside of the tank after flushing with water.

Most of the chems in your list are either a base or a heavy surfactant. They are all water solubable and will require a good water rinse of your tank. Acetone is the absolute best "last rinse" solvent around. It will remove small amounts of water left in the tank and will disolve any varnish left behind.
 
Thanks guys ! This old Oliver tank has no baffles at all, and is rusted inside , not just varnished. He already had a shop "steam clean" it last summer, and I think the water got trapped amidst the rust because it is much worse now than last summer !! I will do the water flush and then Acetone, followed by a lot of drying in the sun. I sure hate incomplete instructions on stuff...How are you supposed to know these things ? Guess? lol Thanks again.
 
yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
 
(quoted from post at 06:57:03 08/25/11) yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
Click to expand...

I used muriatic acid to clean the crud out of the tank on my 1940 M. Rinsed it, set in the sun to dry, and when it WAS dry, I applied the liner stuff. I was still having issues with crud in the tank, so I removed the tank again and cleaned it with the acid, which also removed that liner I had poured in. Let it get good and dry once again, but this time I DID NOT apply any liner.

Guess what? I then had NO issues with crud in the tank, except for a few tiny specks of rust which were caught in the sediment bowl, and I have had NO problems with rust in the tank since then, and that was 11 to 12 years ago.
 
(quoted from post at 08:00:48 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 06:57:03 08/25/11) yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
Click to expand...

I used muriatic acid to clean the crud out of the tank on my 1940 M. Rinsed it, set in the sun to dry, and when it WAS dry, I applied the liner stuff. I was still having issues with crud in the tank, so I removed the tank again and cleaned it with the acid, which also removed that liner I had poured in. Let it get good and dry once again, but this time I DID NOT apply any liner.

Guess what? I then had NO issues with crud in the tank, except for a few tiny specks of rust which were caught in the sediment bowl, and I have had NO problems with rust in the tank since then, and that was 11 to 12 years ago.
Click to expand...

I think you are supposed to put MEK or acetone in there after you dry it out to clean and super dry it out. I had problems with my Red Kote liner. I'm pretty sure it dissolved after I put gas in. I let it dry for a few days and I still had problems!
 
(quoted from post at 08:45:07 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 08:00:48 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 06:57:03 08/25/11) yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
Click to expand...

I used muriatic acid to clean the crud out of the tank on my 1940 M. Rinsed it, set in the sun to dry, and when it WAS dry, I applied the liner stuff. I was still having issues with crud in the tank, so I removed the tank again and cleaned it with the acid, which also removed that liner I had poured in. Let it get good and dry once again, but this time I DID NOT apply any liner.

Guess what? I then had NO issues with crud in the tank, except for a few tiny specks of rust which were caught in the sediment bowl, and I have had NO problems with rust in the tank since then, and that was 11 to 12 years ago.
Click to expand...

I think you are supposed to put MEK or acetone in there after you dry it out to clean and super dry it out. I had problems with my Red Kote liner. I'm pretty sure it dissolved after I put gas in. I let it dry for a few days and I still had problems!
Click to expand...

My problem was with the rust and crud hiding on the backside of the baffle. The muriatic acid did not get all of it, probably because I may have not let the tank set long enough with the acid in it, but that is irrelevant anyhow because there is no way you will ever get that liner stuff onto the backside of that baffle unless you completely fill the tank with the liner and then pour out the excess. I think buying 18 gallons of that liner just to throw most of it away might be a wee bit cost prohibitive.
 
(quoted from post at 11:25:38 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 08:45:07 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 08:00:48 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 06:57:03 08/25/11) yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
Click to expand...

I used muriatic acid to clean the crud out of the tank on my 1940 M. Rinsed it, set in the sun to dry, and when it WAS dry, I applied the liner stuff. I was still having issues with crud in the tank, so I removed the tank again and cleaned it with the acid, which also removed that liner I had poured in. Let it get good and dry once again, but this time I DID NOT apply any liner.

Guess what? I then had NO issues with crud in the tank, except for a few tiny specks of rust which were caught in the sediment bowl, and I have had NO problems with rust in the tank since then, and that was 11 to 12 years ago.
Click to expand...

I think you are supposed to put MEK or acetone in there after you dry it out to clean and super dry it out. I had problems with my Red Kote liner. I'm pretty sure it dissolved after I put gas in. I let it dry for a few days and I still had problems!
Click to expand...

My problem was with the rust and crud hiding on the backside of the baffle. The muriatic acid did not get all of it, probably because I may have not let the tank set long enough with the acid in it, b[b:25810bf2ef]ut that is irrelevant anyhow because there is no way you will ever get that liner stuff onto the backside of that baffle unless you completely fill the tank with the liner and then pour out the excess. I think buying 18 gallons of that liner just to throw most of it away might be a wee bit cost prohibitive.[/b:25810bf2ef]
Click to expand...

No, thats just not true, I used less than 2 quarts each to do two coats in each of my baffled tanks. Thin it 5 to 1 with MEK and it'll flow past the baffle just fine. I've got enough leftover that I could probably do another smaller tank. 18 gallons would be enough to coat a water tower.

4 quarts of liner, a quart of MEK for thinning and a gallon of acetone for cleaning/drying beforehand wasn't exactly cheap, but IMO its cheap insurance to prevent rusting in the future.
 
(quoted from post at 14:50:55 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 11:25:38 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 08:45:07 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 08:00:48 08/25/11)
(quoted from post at 06:57:03 08/25/11) yeah thats the problem with just cleaning rust out of a tank and not sealing it afterwards, they'll rust again even worse in no time.

Its like sandblasting a rusty tractor and then not painting it afterwards.


I found slightly better instructions for the fuel tank liner kit online, thats where I got the info about thinning it with MEK for baffled tanks.

http://www.racewayparts.com/tech/RW0125TankLinerBulletin.pdf
Click to expand...

I used muriatic acid to clean the crud out of the tank on my 1940 M. Rinsed it, set in the sun to dry, and when it WAS dry, I applied the liner stuff. I was still having issues with crud in the tank, so I removed the tank again and cleaned it with the acid, which also removed that liner I had poured in. Let it get good and dry once again, but this time I DID NOT apply any liner.

Guess what? I then had NO issues with crud in the tank, except for a few tiny specks of rust which were caught in the sediment bowl, and I have had NO problems with rust in the tank since then, and that was 11 to 12 years ago.
Click to expand...

I think you are supposed to put MEK or acetone in there after you dry it out to clean and super dry it out. I had problems with my Red Kote liner. I'm pretty sure it dissolved after I put gas in. I let it dry for a few days and I still had problems!
Click to expand...

My problem was with the rust and crud hiding on the backside of the baffle. The muriatic acid did not get all of it, probably because I may have not let the tank set long enough with the acid in it, b[b:bf4615412c]ut that is irrelevant anyhow because there is no way you will ever get that liner stuff onto the backside of that baffle unless you completely fill the tank with the liner and then pour out the excess. I think buying 18 gallons of that liner just to throw most of it away might be a wee bit cost prohibitive.[/b:bf4615412c]
Click to expand...

No, thats just not true, I used less than 2 quarts each to do two coats in each of my baffled tanks. Thin it 5 to 1 with MEK and it'll flow past the baffle just fine. I've got enough leftover that I could probably do another smaller tank. 18 gallons would be enough to coat a water tower.

4 quarts of liner, a quart of MEK for thinning and a gallon of acetone for cleaning/drying beforehand wasn't exactly cheap, but IMO its cheap insurance to prevent rusting in the future.
Click to expand...

But how do you know the BACKSIDE of that baffle is completely coated? I'm not talking about behind the baffle, I'm talking about the backside, where you can't see.
 
Well I can't be absolutely certain that the back of the baffle is sealed... but I can look through the filler neck and see that the front of the baffle is completely covered, so why wouldn't the same method coat the back side?

If you pay attention while you're tilting the tank around you can feel the liner flowing around the tank. Im confident the entire tank is sealed.
 
Ok I have completed the liner and it looks good ! I am gonna let it dry the weekend before putting any gas in. I used acetone to dry tank after water flush and degreaser/cleaner, which worked very well. Then the MEK, more drying, and then liner. A lot of the liner flowed back out the sediment bowl hole after coating the complete tank. I let it run into a metal pan, and where it was "thick" in the pan, it is still no where near dry, where it is thin, its completely dry. Maybe this is the cause of some of the troubles you other guys had with these kits? Liner was too thick and didn t dry?
 
yeah I noticed the same thing with the excess I poured into a old tub. I think most of the problems are just people rushing the process instead of following the directions.

You'll know its done curing when the odor of the liner is almost completely gone. For the first day or 2 it'll smell so strong ya wont be able to stick your nose in the tank, but eventually it barely has any smell at all... then its ready for gas.
 
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