I bought a nice clean used gas tank for my 84 trans am and was wondering if theres anything you can coat the inside with to help prevent rust. I know you just keep gas in it etc. etc. but any preventive maintenance I can do while its off I want to do. I already am prepping it for undercoating on the outside, just curious as to what people may have used on the inside.

 

I have never heard of something to coat the inside of the gas tank. Even if there was such a product, how would it be applied?? I believe most of the tank rust issues start on the outside of the tank. Keep it full of gas if you are concerned about rusting from the inside.

 

x2. I work for a company that designs & manufactures coatings for the auto industry. Steel tanks from the factory do have a coating on the inside, but it's applied to bare coils of steel which are then oven cured, blanked and formed into the gas tanks. To my knowledge, there is no post paint for the inside of tanks...and I'd be very careful trying anything, we've had some competitors provide non-fuel resistant coating which then gummed up/flaked off and plugged fuel filters and injectors.

 

There are all sorts of companies that supply that sort of thing.

Check marine distributors.

 

http://search.eastwood.com/search?as...&p=Q&ts=custom

 

It seems to me that if there are problems with a leaking gas tank, the best solution would be to replace it. If there are rust leaks, the integrity of of the tank is probably bad. Maybe these products are fine, but I have never had use for them, and I am skeptical of them.

 

Exactly... they can't really "repair" a Swiss-cheesed rust bomb.

Water inevitably gets into gas; settles to the bottom; and does what it does to iron. Pointless to use coating on something that's already destroyed. To protect something new to whatever extent, maybe; not to try to fix leaks.

 

Check with your local radiator shop. A lot of them will rpr gas tanks. They offered a polypropelene (sp?) coating for $250 that is supposed to outlast the car.They also mentioned Tractor Supply sells something similiar. Mine didn't need it, so I didn't check it out personally.

 

Well my rusted gas tank is going in place for a nice cleaned up rust free one. I just wanted to make sure it STAYS rust free even if i have gas in it. Maybe I'm just over thinking it since I've run into this problem but just want to do any preventative maintenance I can.

 

I wouldn't worry about water at the bottom of the tank. In order for rust to develop water needs oxygen.