View inside Fuel tank, previous coating?

[charliekwin]

4 hours ago, Patcon said:

Hang it with some chains or a some rope or put it in a swing so it is easier to slosh back and forth.

Gah!  And where were you with this advice a year ago!?!

That's genius.

[Mark Maras]

 I have an idea Red Green would have jacked up the rear of his pickup and duck taped the gas tank with rock and acid to a rear tire. Fire up the engine, put it in gear, and have it finished in no time at all. Probably could substitute all those rusty bolts nuts and washers laying around waiting to be cleaned for the rock and clean them at the same time too.

[Patcon]

1 hour ago, charliekwin said:

Gah!  And where were you with this advice a year ago!?!

Sorry Charlie...I either didn't see then or I just had an epiphany....

[siteunseen]

7 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

 I have an idea Red Green would have jacked up the rear of his pickup and duck taped the gas tank with rock and acid to a rear tire. Fire up the engine, put it in gear, and have it finished in no time at all. Probably could substitute all those rusty bolts nuts and washers laying around waiting to be cleaned for the rock and clean them at the same time too.

Like this guy did with a three wheeler.  "it's red-neck as fuuk but it works", classic line!

 

[siteunseen]

11 hours ago, DaveR said:

Oh right, I've had it apart for so long I forgot that the sender ring closed it up, perfect.

Thanks for all the advice, i'm really trying not to over complicate it, but I have a tendency to take things overboard. 

 

You can get a new sender and o-ring from Nissan for about $50 then lay it beside the old one and get the arm bent the same.  Then cut all that crap off the old one and use it to seal the hole.  Sender part #25060-E4100, $42.  O-ring #17342-18000, $1.50

My old one.  See the crud line?

The new one,

[Zed Head]

Removing old tank lining might be where dry ice comes in handy.  Make it brittle then throw the nuts and bolts in and break it up.

[siteunseen]

I peeled a piece of red-kote out of the first can I bought for my 280, about 4 years ago.  It stays pliable and I dropped it into a jar of gas for a week or so, no change no pink gas either.  I think the trick is to let it cure for a couple of weeks.  People get in a hurry and put fuel in the tank too soon.

 

[Mark Maras]

 

1 hour ago, siteunseen said:

Like this guy did with a three wheeler.  "it's red-neck as fuuk but it works", classic line!

 

 Funny as @#$%. And yet, having two tanks to clean, this has really got me thinking. Greased up revolving engine stand, or a couple of pillow block bearings and a shaft on a frame, large hamster wheel for the dogs to power it, one fishing pole and hotdog the only thing left to find is a Harold as a critic.

[siteunseen]

I'm pretty sure @Blue found that video a few years ago. I sure do miss the stuff he put up for us to see, always a good sense of humor.

[Namerow]

Didn't someone else (not Red Green) use a rented portable cement mixer as a tank tumbler?

[DaveR]

Well, fast forward a month.

Cleaned out the tank today with muriatic acid and some chain. Worked very well, and the bottom of the tank was perfectly clean metal.  The side walls and roof were free of any rust, but had a bit of discoloring still on them. I think if the acid would have been able to sit on those surfaces it might have been able to clean it off.  I don't think it will be an issue.  I had degreased it prior to the acid sloshing. I degreased it after, 2 times in fact. Once with very hot water.  Then did my acetone rinses, and proceeded to the coating stage.

Things were going great... until they weren't.  Of course I went to pour in the red kote, and my initial dump missed the mark and got on the side of the tank. I corrected the pour and got it all in there. Before I flipped the tank over, I tried to wipe down the fuel sender port opening that I spilled on.  Of course a small chunk (maybe 1" square) of paper towel flaked off, and managed to fall into the tank.  

So now i'm trying to quickly fish this thing out, but I have nothing to reach it and grab it. I try a few things, but ultimately give up and leave it.  Then i have to quickly seal up the port and start to roll this stuff around.

I get a good coating all over the tank, but its definitely a good bit thicker where it sat for those few minutes. It was on the sidewall of the tank so there are definitely not puddles trapped below the liquid, but its a thick coat and thickish runs.  Much thicker than everywhere else around it.

I drained the tank very well and I am confident there aren't puddles lying in there. I also looked around to see where the paper towel ended up, but no luck.

So the question is, if I let this thing dry for an extended period of time (probably ~1 month) do you think the heavy coating and runs on the one side will be a problem?  I might be able to do another thin coat with what is left, and could certainly cover that area with a thin top coat if need be.

 

 

 

The rest of it looks great.

Edited May 28, 2016 by DaveR

[Patcon]

I would think if you let it cure for a while it will be fine. I would like to know the paper towel bit was encapsulated...