GT Fuel System (Part 2 - New Fuel Tank)

A new fuel tank was obtained from the local Advance Auto Parts just up the road. The tank is manufactured in Canada, is not baffled and does not have an integral fuel pick up line. No worries - a pick up line will be installed with the fuel gauge. The first step was to strip off the oily coating on the exterior then sand lightly to ensure a good starting surface.This next step is not really necessary, but I felt that a good coat of etch primer would give an excellent base for the next layers. Ah! There's nothing like a freshly primed surface!
Truck bed liner was applied using a brush. A roller would give a smoother surface but the tank is barely visible so appearance is not a concern. Bed liner will help prevent chipping and is a very robust coating. Duplicolor from the local Advance Auto Parts was used. Any cheap brush-on liner would do nicely and you could brush this on directly to properly prepared metal.
With the bed liner flowing it was a good time to do my LE's tank as well. This tank was painted with POR-15 rust paint and required a good scuffing with sand paper followed by a cleaning with mineral spirits before applying the bed liner.Why put bed liner on the top of the tank?? I will be pulling the tank when welding, and much of my work will be accomplished as a rolling restoration - not a full stripping of the car all at once. This approach will require the tanks to come off several times. Coating the top of the tank will prevent any scratching during installation, removal, and storage. Any little scratch is a prime entry point for the tin worm.
Here are both tanks complete after two coats of bed liner. I'm very happy with the result. If I were to do this in a more visible area (like wheel wells) I would try the roller method to get a smoother surface. The key to brush application is to lay it on in a single smooth motion, not back-and-forth brushing like you would with paint.
Next up: Rebuilding the carburetor...or removing the front wing. Whatever weather and time allows!