58 • GARAGE BUILD • ISSUE 419
8
Once the cleaning and etching processes are
complete and before pouring in the sealant, the
instructions in my kit specify that the tank’s
internals be absolutely dry. Blowing in warm air
helps this process.7
Following the sealant kit’s instructions regarding
cleaning the inside of the gas tank, I used a mop
bucket to hold the tank as required.9
- After coating the inside of the tank with sealant, I
again stored the tank in the mop bucket as required.
Note how messy the sealant can be when pouring it
out of the filler neck. GB
coat the inside with sealer. Though a
leak test will not hurt a paint job, the
chemicals you’ll be using to clean and
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paint they get onto. If your tank has a
paint job you want to keep, completely
cover the entire tank with several lay-
ers of tape to protect the paint from
the cleaner, etcher, and sealant. Use
blue painting tape instead of duct tape
on the actual paint because blue tape
has weak glue, so it’s easy to remove
afterwards. However, since duct tape
will do a better job of protecting the
paint, I put blue tape on the paint
job and then cover the blue tape with
duct tape. That said, even with the
tank covered in tape avoid letting any
chemicals get onto the tape. If any-
thing does get onto the tape, immedi-
ately clean it off.
Put extra layers of tape around
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areas. These spots are where you’ll be
adding and draining the chemicals.
Since you can’t have layers of tape on
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cap on, put one or two layers of duct
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from getting under the edge of the
outer layers of tape. If your tank has
a vent or crossover pipe, using one of
these tubes is the safest way to drain
all the chemicals from the tank. The
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hard to get all the chemical treatment
out. The petcock bung has a smaller
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it takes a while to get the chemical
over it and out. However, the vent or
crossover tube usually has the smaller
inner ridge.
With the tank’s openings plugged
and following the sealant kit’s instruc-
tions regarding cleaning inside the
tank, I use a mop bucket to hold the
tank as required so the cleaner can
do its job. I also use a mop bucket
after coating the inside of the tank
to position the tank as per the kit’s
instructions. Once the cleaning and
etching processes are complete, and
before pouring in the sealant, some kits
require that the inside of the tank be
absolutely dry. Blowing warm air into
the tank with a hair dryer helps speed
this process.