resin seal tank

[alan]

i wondered what people think about the sytems to clean the Inside of the petrol tank then seal with resin.
Has someone here done that and what do they think, pleased, good result , not happy

[69S4]

People do it all the time with old motorcycle tanks with varying degrees of success. The Elan tank is a lot bigger but in principle it shouldn't be a problem. It's all down to the prep though (like in many things). I did one (a bike tank) about 18 months ago that was solid rust inside after being left standing for 25yrs and its worked well (so far).

Prep consisted of a 48hrs full of a strong caustic soda solution (forget the actual concentration) to remove fuel deposits (a lot came out) followed by about a litre of similar strength hydrochloric acid which was swilled round for about 10 mins and then replaced - three times. By then the tank was back to clean metal. Copious water washes followed by a sodium bicarbonate solution to neutralise any remaining acid and the tank looked brand new. I bought a sealing kit (again forget the name) but the tank didn't leak so it didn't get used. The soda and the acid cost about ?2 each from the local household goods shop where they're sold for cleaning drains.

My old Elan tank leaked through many pinholes at the bottom and eventually I found someone who cut the rusty section out and welded a new sheet of steel in place. Not something I would have done myself but he still had his eyebrows afterwards so he must have known what he was doing. The repair was still ok about five years later when I replaced the tank with a new one

[Lyn7]

Hi Guys, I used something I believe was called a "slosh tank sealant" a long time ago with good results.
I think it was sold by a company called "The Complete Automobilist" I did not take great care with preparation apart from tapping out the rust and taping over the larger holes!! I made sure it was totally dry and went for it. It was a little thick so would not cover the entire area of the tank but as the holes were at the bottom it did not matter in practice . This worked well for a number of years and was eventually replaced by a stainless tank.
I think there is more choice of products now than then.
Good luck Lyn...

[alan]

many thanks, i will give it a try

[nebogipfel]

Apparently there are mixed results with modern petrol containing ethanol. Some sealers are failing and gumming fuel systems.

I advise check for this possibility before buying the product.

[holywood3645]

Upon the advice of a hi $$$ car restoration expert. I had mine done professionally here in US. I was going to buy a new tank, and happy i listened to his advice, It turned out perfect,
They are in South Los Angles area in California. I can dig out details, if anyone is interested

James

[gjz30075]

I used this about 17 years ago
http://www.eastwood.com/por-15-fuel-tan ... r-kit.html

It didn't include the prep stuff at the time and the tank still looks good on the inside. Sorry not an answer concerning resin.

[robertverhey]

I went with this system, the large motorcycle kit (up to 45 litre tank) was plenty

Seems to have worked well

http://www.kbs-coatings.com.au/gold-sta ... tructions/

[alan]

i have just used a system by "RESTOM" in France. In the kit there are 3 different products and they say it's o.k. with Ethanol. I followed the full procedure and it took all day. 1 degreaser. 2 rust treatment. 3 resin sealer.
I need to leave it for 1 week before i put petrol in the tank. I will use 98 lead free with NO "E". Plus a cleanable filter in the line just in case of dirt somewhere