Fuel tank sealer- anyone tried it?

[Uncle Jimmy]

One of the jobs required on my new Saab 96 project is to reconnect the fuel tank, whilst it looks OK, I'm sure it was removed for good reason.

So I'll do a halfway decent job of repainting it and seal the inside. Anyone tried any of the tank sealant products? A mate of mine used some on his Velocette bike tank and was not impressed...

[Tamworthbay]

I used a two part epoxy one from Frost and it worked but did take about a week to go off fully not the day they claimed. It wasn't an issue for me but worth mentioning. I did a motorbike tank but only had just enough, not sure how big the car ones are.

[steveo3002]

seen plenty of threads where its peeled off and caused way more issues 

 

think id rather not use it

[Rocket88]

Paint the outside with a stiff mixture of fibreglass resin....................other bodges are available...................

[Tickman]

I used it on the Toledo as there was a 'weep' from a couple of places.

It has done exactly what was asked of it.

I do have to say that it is very odd stuff, I poured a tiny amount on an old plastic plate and after a couple of days it had a skin but was still flexible. I tried ripping it and there was no chance, this was after taking it off the plate.

[Tamworthbay]

seen plenty of threads where its peeled off and caused way more issues 

 

think id rather not use it

Preparation is the key, I wonder how many people read the instructions properly.

[steveo3002]

yeah dunno do you....i can imagine its a shit storm IF it all goes wrong how the hell do you shift it 

[Tamworthbay]

Match?

[sierraman]

If the tanks out, get it as dry as possible and glass fibre it. Paint won't hold shit. Wire brush it back, then build up the layers of GRP. Don't set about it with anything that creates sparks, you wouldn't believe the lengths tank reconditioners go to to eradicate to possibility of fuel fumes.

[cros]

Have used por15 with success. Cleaning the inside of any tank is the worst bit, manually shaking it about with gravel inside is useless. My method is to tip a load of old nuts and bolts inside (easier to retrieve than gravel) and strap the tank to the front of the drum of a belle type cement mixer with a couple of small ratchet straps. A dishwasher tablet and a small amount of water also go inside, and it needs to be rotating for several hours so it's preferable not to carry out the operation in the front room, especially if someone wants to watch EastEnders. Mind you, watching the tank revolve has greater entertainment value.

A strange thing about tank leaks is that diesel seems better at escaping than petrol. When I dieselified my Loadstar last year the petrol tank was drained and refilled with the oily stuff which immediately found a pinhole under the metal strap and escaped.

The tank is otherwise in good nick inside and out so I removed it and cleaned around the hole and then glass fibred it as described by Mr Colc.

Lastly, many years ago I used a product called petro- patch. I was in a car park in Corby one Saturday afternoon and on returning to my very rough Taunus 17m estate (it was a very long time ago) noticed petrol dropping onto the ground. The nearby car parts shop yielded a petro- patch kit and I applied the liquid to the hole then put the piece of fabric included in the kit over the petrolly mess. Some kind of chemical miracle then took place and the leak was gone. It sounds so implausible that I'm wondering if I just drempt it, but I think it really happened.