Sandblasting gas tank

Hi,

I know that even an empty gas tank have residual fuel on the metal (and i cannot fill it with water my boss would kill me if water is inside the sandblasting cabinet).

Is it dangerous? Sandblasting create a lot of sparks i don't want to blow the whole cabinet!

Have you done it before ?

regards,
laurent

would also be interested in this as i have a tank that needs blasting.
have had a tank done before and he just left the fuel cap on .

Sand distorts sheetmetal. That's why auto restorers use walnut shells or something along those lines.

Personally, I would chemically strip the tank, then I don't have to worry about debris inside of it.

If you're worried about sparks just wash the tank out real good with degreaser, soap and water, dry, tape up the openings and blast.

Sand blasting sheet metal that you want to still be straight is NOT a great idea.
BUT,,,,,,,,
If you must,,,,,,
Plug the petcock hole, put in a little water (maybe 1/4 cup) Throw in a hand full of DRY ice,USE a glove ,when it starts to smoke out of the cap, tape that off too.
Then blast away.

No O2 , No big bang.

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I'm with Kidkawie. You are already going to have plenty of sheetmetal issues to work out without adding some by sandblasting. Aircraft stripper knocks out old paint faster than you could blast it off. A one quart can of stripper will be plenty for a tank.

I've been asking around the sandblasting companies and they all say to use ground walnut shells. Sand is too abrasive (may even wear through the seems) and soda is crazy slow. I've also read that soda can leave behind deposits that make it difficult for the primer to adhere ... but not sure how true that is. Also heard that walnuts leave behind oils that have the same effect ... so who knows!

I've had good success with paint stripper and a wire brush attachment for my drill (the brush eats plastic, so don't try it on the fairing, but does very little to the metal of the tank ... actually gives it a nice finish).

-Arc

I just used paint stripper from WalMart and then a Harbor Freight palm sander to make fast work of getting down to bare metal on the tank.

I considered using the bead blaster at work too; but I used acetone to clean the inside of the tank and it took all gas fumes left too.

Archiddeon wrote: I've been asking around the sandblasting companies and they all say to use ground walnut shells. Sand is too abrasive (may even wear through the seems) and soda is crazy slow. I've also read that soda can leave behind deposits that make it difficult for the primer to adhere ... but not sure how true that is. Also heard that walnuts leave behind oils that have the same effect ... so who knows!

Those problems are from not prepping properly before finishing.