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  1. #1
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Polishing a stainless gas tank

    I decided to start doing a little work on my chassis construction and thought I should finish up my gas tank and get it mounted onto the frame and get it plumbed in.

    I have gone over the tank with fine scotchbrite pads on my die grinder to remove the mill finish and the scratches from sanding the welds, etc. I still have to pressure-test the tank before polishing in case I have to weld some more.

    Can anyone offer any advice or methods for polishing a stainless tank? I have a buffer on a stand but I don't think it will work as the tank is too cumbersome and heavy to polish that way, and the shaft isn't even long enough. What are the alternatives? I have the stainless buffing compound. Do I need to sand the tank with fine paper first? It's pretty smooth with the scotchbrite treatment. Would a 7" angle grinder with a buffing pad work or is that too slow? I hate to think I have to use the die grinder.

    I plan to add a drain bung and a vent bung, both stainless steel. I didn't think I wanted a tank drain but have decided it's a good idea, even if just to get any water or bad gas out of the tank. I decided a vent would be a good idea too after reading about all the problems filling these cars up with gas and noting the 57 tanks have a vent for a good reason . I plan to weld in a 1/4" NPT bung for the drain, and a 3/8" NPT bung for the vent. I think those should be large enough. I will weld another 3/8" bung into the filler neck somewhere neat the top.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


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    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
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    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  2. #2
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    This may be one of those things that you may want to farm out. It will be a lot of work. For alternatives to the stationary buffer, look at the velocity on the outside diameter of the stationary buffing wheel vs. the velocity on the pad you'd use on the grinder. Also you'd probably do well to buy or figure out how to mount buffing wheels of the style you'd use on the stationary buffer to use on the grinder. I think you will need to start off with something "rougher" than a wool pad, and then progress to that. Places that sell buffing supplies may have something that fits this description.

    All that said, the best way to do it would be to have a buffer like the plating shop uses on bumpers. I'd also guess that two people working the tank against a big stationary buffer is much more efficient than a portable grinder with a buffing wheel.

    Never done this, just speculating from what I know about other buffing stuff. Please post what you do, as I have the same dilemma (perhaps including leaving mine as is).

    As for the vent, they all need a vent. The 55-56 vent in the cap neck should be adequate for the electric pump. The 57 bypass tube/"vent" is for filling the tank.

  3. #3
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick_L View Post
    As for the vent, they all need a vent. The 55-56 vent in the cap neck should be adequate for the electric pump. The 57 bypass tube/"vent" is for filling the tank.
    Yes Rick I know they need a vent and was going to use a vented cap, but I was trying to address the filling issue. I've read about lots of guys spilling gas all over their 55s and 56s when filling them up. Do you think the 3/8" NPT is big enough, or should I go to 1/2"? I think I have both size SS bungs. I'll probably just use some rubber fuel hose.

    There's a local guy who does stainless polishing and I may ask him what he'd charge to polish the tank or get some advice from him on how to do it. I may go ahead and try the 90 degree grinder I have and see what it does. The bigger problem is the weight and bulkiness of the tank...it's a lot for one person to handle. Maybe I can help him do it.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

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    Registered Member rustay56's Avatar
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    Lazlo, I'm with Rick on this one, farm that job out. Polishing is just like painting (but less forgiving).Sand,sand then sand some more.start polishing only to find a scratch wash everything down and start sanding again,and at the end of the day your covered in black residue and you can look forward to doing it all again tomorrow.let the professionals do it,and keep going on your other projects. Also the cost of buying all the products (and time,cause you could be doing a paid job ie chassis work) for you to do the job should be deducted from the professional guy's price and that's to true cost,then it doesn't seem so expensive.And remember ,it only hurts if you pay cash,if you use credit card it doesn't hurt at all

    Regards Andrew.

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    Rustay56 makes a good point. For you to do it successfully and somewhat efficiently you'll have to spend a bunch on materials, and you'll still have to work your ass off.

    If you insist on doing it yourself, do it just like a paint job - use sandpaper in fine then finer grits, use every step in the grit sizes available - and use sandpaper as long as possible up to 3000 and higher grit. Think about what it takes to do stainless trim, most of that stuff that's in good shape still requires a lot of work and those pieces are tiny compared to your tank. The big difference between paint and polishing metal is that the metal can stand far more wheel speed but needs that to make progress at all.

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    polishinng fuel tank

    Hi Would you be interested in selling that tank and making a new one out ot mirror finish stainless.Iwould be interested in purchasing the tank
    Mick

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    Senior Member bobbybelair's Avatar
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    It's not the venting that causes the splashback. The angle of the filler neck is shallow so if you get to the automatic shutoff when filling, it's gonna splash. You have to slow down and try to figure out where you are when filling. I bundle up a wad of the paper most gas stations have and stuff it under the filler neck so it absorbs any of it, but I've gotten pretty good at figuring out the fill.

  8. #8
    Registered Member MP&C's Avatar
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    Instead of trying to manhandle the tank onto a pedestal buffer, get a wool pad for your hand held paint buffer and go to town.... with the tank sitting on a table.
    Robert



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  9. #9
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Here's what the tank looks like after the scotchbrite treatment. It works really well for removing scratches, but leaves a lot of swirls. I'm going to hit it with some 1200 grit paper I have and see what happens.

    Bobby, it was my understanding that the problem with the 55-56 fillers is that as gas goes into the tank, the air it displaces has to come out and it comes up the filler neck to the atmosphere. As it comes up it pushes gas up with it.

    Robert, hope you're right about the grinder. My grinder is a higher speed one than a paint buffer...it's a Makita 7" angle grinder. I think I have a buffing pad for it. I'll give it a try and see if it works.

    Attached Images Attached Images
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  10. #10
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Weird...thread stats say 1 view and 5 replies. Where does this stuff come from anyhow?
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

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