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Gas tank restoration? Paint, "renu" or leave alone?


Guest Teamsterdug

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Guest Teamsterdug

Can anyone tell me the best way to deal with a 64 year old gas tank that has surface rust but is sound. I remember a few years ago watching a guy throw an absolute fit because his car was docked points at a BCA judged meet for having a black painted gas tank. Obviously my tank started out galvanized. Is there a process to restore a tank to its original appearance? Should I just clean it up somehow the best I can and leave it? The last car I had (53 Buick) I had the tank "renu'd" which is a costly process and even then they coat it black! How can you do something without losing points? Thanks.

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I'm no expert on concourse quality tank restoration. Let me tell you about my experience and an idea.<P>I just restored a 64 Malibu tank using Eastwood products. I had the tank stripped by Redi Strip (chemical/electical process). This created a problem for me. All of the solder was removed so I had to take the tank to a radiator shop to have some seams re-soldered. They also 'boiled out' the inside of the tank since the Redi Strip process is not too good for closed areas. I used Eastwood's product to coat the inside of the tank and their paint to coat the outside. The tank looked like it was painted, not plated. However, that was ok for a driver (the car did make it to the cover of Chevy Times in Dec 01).<P>What would I do differently? First, repop tanks were available for that car. I would buy one if available. If not, I would talk to some of your local metal platers (like chrome shops) to see what they suggest. They may be able to re-galvonize the tank. The pits may be an issue but they may have an idea there too.<P>Good luck. Let us know what you do and how it turned out.

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