Practically Classics Forum

Hi,
I am just about to fit a new fuel tank under my mgb but wanted to protect it against rust before I do, any recommendations ? I thought I would Hammerite the outside, but what about inside the tank ?

Thanks !
Andrew

I saw a similar product to this on mythbusters it was tested to destruction and even blast proofed a wall.!

Anyway it could be just the stuff for an exposed fuel tank.

http://www.protectakote.co.uk/kits.htm? ... tAodPFCu6Q

If its a galvanised tank then do nothing. If its not then paint ir with black wax oil underseal. Dries to a nice satin finish but does take a while to dry and is messy to handle. Best to paint the top, fit the tank then paint the rest.

Frost do a tank reconditioning kit that includes a tin of gloop that you pour into the empty tank to give it a protective internal skin.

They may sell this component seperately.

I would never use Hammerite where there is a chance of it getting chipped; I tried it on new metal, old metal, primed and not primed and it has always chipped and hidden signs of rust forming! The only thing it seemed to work well on was the stick I used to stir it with!

If it's just mild steel, rub it down, spray with etch primer and ordinary gloss and, when in place, plenty of wax-based protection stuff - try Bilt Hamber for both primer and wax stuff.

As Grumpy2 says, black Waxoyl gives a nice sheen and takes a while to dry; however, it does need "topping up" quite often - I used to do our Maxis and Metro (etc) every year and had few problems. The big advantage of Waxoyl is that just about everyone sells it; how it compares to other makes is debatable!!

I'm not a big fan of Hammerite either, I always seem to get rust "bleeding" through the pinholes. If you must use paint, then Smoothrite is better, although I'd also vote for Waxoyl where it's exposed to the elements.

For the inside: Agree with the suggestion of the Frost product, although if it's not rusty inside already I've leave it as it is.

For the outside: Agree with tractorman's comments about Hammerite, I've said so several times on here, it doesn't last! It does go very brittle in a few years and WILL chip off.

Sorry, but I don't agree with using the gloopy underseal type black Waxoyle stuff anywhere on cars either - it's messy, a sod to remove if/when you need to, looks rough and doesn't actually do a brilliant job. I'd recommend doing the best possible job on stripping the old paint/rust off, chemically treating if need be (although you're wise to remove as much of the chemicals as possible after they've done their work) then coating it with etch primer. You could then paint it with a decent chassis paint (Frost sell some good stuff) or black POR15 and then either leave it like that or if you want more chip-protection use proper anti-stone chip paint - readily available, I've found the very best stuff is 3M but they're all OK. This is much more like a proper factory finish, very smart and not messy, won't dissolve if fuel gets on it and is long lasting.

Actually the above paragraph goes for treating anywhere under the car IMHO, not just the tank.

Just my thoughts - hope this helps.

Cheers

I have to agree with the last three posts. Hammerite and underseal appear to be the preferred choice of people selling rusty vehicles i.e the chief attribute of the stuff for them is its ability to hide rust. Unfortunately, the same crowd use a respray to hide all sorts of nasty stuff. I , like the previous posters, prefer to convert the rust and use good quality primers and paint. For external items which cannot be easily inspected e.g. tops of tanks the inside of box members and double skinned panels, a wax based product is the best bet (the thinner, free flowing types are more effective than the heavy underseal types). I have had excellent long term results with Dinitrol and I am about to try some BH products.

Raymk wrote:I have had excellent long term results with Dinitrol and I am about to try some BH products.

I've tried both, and I agree, for me Dinitrol is unbeatable for cavities, but I'm not so impressed with the BH stuff - disappointed TBH, and it's expensive.

Cheers!

Go to B&Q or wickes, get a tin of metal primer and external household paint, it's suitably flexible and just as good as anything you'll get in a POR tin only a lot cheaper....and then zap it with a pressure washer every couple of months.