Back on it again after a few months off…
The fuel tank was removed a couple of weeks ago when there was a nice spell in the weather and I hadn’t fallen asleep by the Sunday afternoon! It didn’t take long and thankfully there wasn’t much fuel in the tank, about a litre of a translucent brown fluid. Straight after Christmas I bought a fuel tank repair kit, POR-15 on Amazon for about £45, in readiness and to help spur me on.
Reading about the procedure, it was evident that up to 3+ hours was needed for the process of which I used two hours on a nice Thursday afternoon on the 2 March to clean the tank. First it was the ‘Marine Clean’ (1:1 mix with very warm water), however my bubble wrap cover over the fuel sender unit hole was not very good and leaked a fair bit when I was sloshing the fluid mix about. The bubble wrap in the filler neck was fine and when I came to do the ‘Metal Ready’ part I just used duct tape over the sender aperture which was fine and hardly leaked.
The Metal Ready was in the tank for about 45 minutes, soaking periodically on each inner surface to remove the rust deposits in side. Rinsing out with water wasn’t as easy as suggested as the tank had to be twisted about to get the trapped water out from awkward spots. After about two hours my time was up and the tank was stored in the conservatory to help dry it out some more.
I resumed on the fuel tank by the Sunday, which was very changeable weather wise but still warm in the conservatory. With thanks to the wife, I used her hair dryer to eradicate any possible moisture still in the tank, as the instructions emphasised that there must be no water present for the sealing process. Down in the garage, after more duct tape was applied to the sender unit hole and the bubble wrap bung in the filler neck, preparations were made to add the sealant. Upon mixing and then pouring in the sealant it appeared to me that there wasn’t enough sealant to properly coat the inside of the tank. I eventually found out the sealant I bought some 15+ years ago and apart from the label being old, it did read POR-15! and enough for a large fuel tank. Only problem was opening the can and I ended up having to put a hole in it so I could pour out the contents (in batches) in to the small tin and mix. So, plenty of sealant and about 45 minutes of moving the solution about in the tank it was time to drain the tank and leave it to dry/cure for several days.
Luckily I didn’t make much of a mess, most of that was on the work bench with the old original tin of POR-15 and not down my clothing. I wore gloves to keep my hands clean and safety spectacles for all the procedures just to play safe.