Repainting old OMC steel gas tank-new question

[lakelover]

I want to repaint my old OMC steel 6 gallon tank and am looking for recommendations. I did a search of this forum and looked through 40+ pages of results and found one reference to this.

Red Rustoleum seems a good way to go. Any thoughts on surface prep and applying the paint? I'm thinking of sanding lightly to remove any loose flecks and rubbing down with a solvent, then priming with a rusty metal spray primer.

I need to do this (and everything) on the real cheap...have three in college at the moment!

Thanks.

 

[JB]

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank

Sounds to me like you have a good plan, lakelover.

 

[lakelover]

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank-new question

I started sanding the tank but before I did, I straightened one of the metal gidgies used to wrap the hose around (there is one on each end) which was bent. Apparently, the tank was dropped one time and landed on it. Anyway, it looks as though one of the spot welds cracked and when I tipped the tank upside down to clean the bottom, a little old oil & gas started dripping out. Not gushing but just dripping.

So now I'm wondering whether to bother proceeding. Will the fact that the tank won't be air tight at the weld cause a problem with engine performance? I don't know if the tanks are sealed so well that they are air tight anyway?

I have another tank I can use if this is a problem, but this is the newer one.

 

[JB]

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank-new question

I think I would discard that tank, lakelover.

I prefer modern plastic tanks to the old steel ones, anyway.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank-new question

I'm with Ancient Mariner. Chuck it!
Everytime the gas sloshes, a little is going to weep out the crack. Not a good situation.
Plastic is lighter and makes less noise--does not damage the floor. If money is that tight, Wally World sells Attwood tanks for 13 bucks. Not much more than you will pay for Rustoleum, and less work.

 

[lakelover]

Re: Repainting old OMC steel gas tank-new question

I guess you're right. I'll move on to the other tank I have. All my materials are what I already have on the shelf, can't get much cheaper than that. Thanks for your suggestions.