Repainting a 110 fuel tank.

ogb · Dec 8, 2017

Just dropped the tank from my 110 (1995) to fix a leak and decided to repaint it. Having jetwashed all the crud- and most of the black paint - from it, I find that having scraped the rest off that:
1. the original metal is still bright and
2. the metal was never primed but
2. there's no sign of rust at all.

I'd guess that the tank has been replaced during the PO's rebuild since the hoses and connections aren't, shall we say, adequate. That makes the tank about 8 years old. Obviously whatever was used to "colour" - I wouldn't say "paint" as it was just resting on the surface - has done a pretty good job. Anyone any idea what it was? Failing that, any recommendations for the repaint?

Gmacz · Dec 8, 2017

Red oxide and then black paint should keep the rust at bay.

ogb · Dec 8, 2017

Gmacz said:
Red oxide and then black paint should keep the rust at bay.

Thanks, but that'd be my normal approach. In this case there was no red oxide or anything else used and despite this the metal is "as new".
I want to find out, if I can, what was used on the tank to produce this miracle. Every other bit of steel I've painted using the Redox or galv primer/topcoat method has shown rust problems within a year or so irrespective of which primer or finish coat I've used, including Hammerite. Whatever coating was used on my tank is way better than that.

Al2O3 · Dec 8, 2017

I doubt the PO bought a new tank in shiny mild steel finish. They usually come with a basic, black, primer type finish. The PO might have just put a coating of Dinitrol or similar over that. A pressure washer could well take that initial primer coating, including whatever was sat on top of it, straight off.

Disco1BFG · Dec 8, 2017

There are single coat paints which can do as you have found - Besaval is one such automotive product - available from www.froggatts.co.uk

payydg · Dec 8, 2017

Red oxide doesn’t stop rust. If there’s any corrosion use a rust stabilising primer.

Gmacz · Dec 8, 2017

There was no rust. Non at all. Zero rust. That is why he is here, asking for the stuff on the tank that stopped it.

Oldseadog · Dec 9, 2017

What caused the leak, and was there any sign of tin worm around it?
I'd be inclined to clean it up as much as poossible and then cold galv it, using a couple of coats of Galvafroid or similar.

saxavordian · Dec 9, 2017

If the leak at the seam then you will have endless fun if a pin hole then easy repair job.

ogb · Dec 9, 2017

Thanks for the replies. Under pressure to get the job done now,so I'm just off into town to see what I can find that'll match some of the suggestions. I like the idea, offered on another forum, of some kind of colour tell-tale to show any damage - red oxide under a topcoat of black, for instance.

As Gmacz repeated, the fact that the original finish has prevented any rust - not a speck - I really want to replicate it. Having cleaned the old paint off the tank is so bright you'd think it was polished ally. The leak was from the pipe union on top of the tank to the fuel return line. The PO had bodged this with a bit of what looks like Camping Gaz hose. It pulled straight off, and only had one Jubilee anyway. One of the screws that hold the pipe plate on was stripped too, so the seal wasn't correctly seated on one side. I guess in a normal fuel setup this wouldn't matter too much, but I have an extra long range tank which sits quite a bit above the standard tank so pressurizes it, forcing fuel out of anywhere that's a bit loose.

aaronmorris · Dec 9, 2017

I tend to use Corroless S as a primer on my stuff and have had good results, for a top coat the choice is yours, but I have used Rustoleum combi-colour a lot on my projects, again with good results and at a reasonable cost.

ogb · Dec 9, 2017

Just back from the stores - had to rush as they all close at 12. Anyway, got cold galvanising spray as a primer and Tetraseal as a final coat. That's the best I could find other than Hammerite or the equivalent. Thinking about what to put in between.

Oldseadog · Dec 9, 2017

You can seal the leak by forming PetroPatch around it, as long as here is no leverage against the pipe.

ogb · Dec 9, 2017

Oldseadog said:
You can seal the leak by forming PetroPatch around it, as long as here is no leverage against the pipe.

Since the leak was impossible to reach with the tank in place, it all had to come out before I could sort it. Having done that, there wasn't any point patching it. I'd bought a replacement pipe and seal just in case so might as well use it, and replaced the stripped screw.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that needed sorting out:

The hose was 6mm, the fitting barb is 8mm. Something had to give. Must've been more of a faff to bodge it like this than get a bit of proper diameter hose.

and this broke as the pipe was removed..

The black bit is what remains of the formed end of the fuel feed line. Very brittle, that pipe, and I guess this was inevitable.

so had to use a bit of ingenuity to get around it..

...the mount has been drilled out so the pickup pipe can pass through it, and I'll have to join the pipes with rubber hose. Not ideal, I know, but is there a better way other than replacing the whole fuel line?

Repainting a 110 fuel tank.

ogb

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Gmacz

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ogb

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Al2O3

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Disco1BFG

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payydg

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Gmacz

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Oldseadog

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saxavordian

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ogb

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ogb

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