[Harvey]

I am trying to clean up my vacuum tank so that it can be repainted. How do I get the old cosmoline off?

 

[doctordesoto]

first choise woud be a radiator hot tank---then solvent , wire wheel,media blast , soda blast sand paper , ect

 

[Harvey]

Ok thanks, I don't have a hot tank so I recon I start with solvent? Do I need to worry to much about getting any liquid into the valve?

 

[1969XR7Vert]

I glass beaded (two) tanks with good results. The second was after I discovered 70 tanks are different than 69 tanks!

 

[1969XR7Vert]

P.S. I don't know about cosmoline, what I saw on mine was undercoating but maybe there was a less substantial coating of something else besides that. What is your intel telling you it's cosmoline?

 

[Harvey]

? not really sure. The car itself was not undercoated. This stuff I would have called undercoating cept It was what ever the factory sprayed under the wheel wells and I thought that was cosmoline. It was real thick too? I don't know what the difference is between undercoating and cosmoline. I may have screwed up the little vacuum tank for the heater that was under the right fender. Was working hard to get it cleaned up till I found out I was removing a rubber coating. Is there anything I can recoat it with or should I get a new one?

 

[Bad69cat]

Cosmoline is that thick nasty grease-like [email protected] used by the military (primarily) to preserve arms/parts/pieces from salt/heat/humidity/ma nature. I'm not sure what "safe" solvents take it off? The stuff we used to use (after chiseling most of it off) is not allowed anymore I think (1-1-1 Trichloriflorothane sp?) Very nasty stuff - it will displace oxygen if you breath it you can drown quite quickly!! I'm not sure how manufactures dealt with it - but it gets more stubborn as it ages. So now media blasting may be a good idea?


The treatment for Trichlor BTW is to hang upside down for awhile!.... LOL It was actually a requirement for people who used it regulalry!

 

[Smith Brother]

I agree with Bad69cat. I always thought cosmoline was that THICK, SEMI CLEAR, SOFT COATING that for years came on army surplus stuff? True cosmoine I have always found just PEELS off. Just like you would an orange.

Dale in Indy

"A will is a dead giveaway"

 

[1969XR7Vert]

Harv,

Spray the vacuum tank with a good, thick coat of undercoating and it should be fine.

 

[Harvey]

Thanks ..

 

[1969XR7Vert]

To be clear I was talking about the soup can you were worrying you messed up. On the headlight tank, I glass beaded mine and painted it, but undercoating it after that would be the most correct IMO.

 

[Harvey]

Yup it was the soup can that I took the rubber off of. The large tank for the headlights I got pretty much cleaned up. A few more trips with some sand paper and it will be ready for paint. Is there a good way to test either of those tanks before installation? The valves or anything? I know before car was taken down heater controls worked. Headlights not so good but there was a large vacuum leak on the engine I found later.

 

[clanceman427]

i'm thinking maybe you could pull a vacuum on the tank via a rubber hose and one of those brake bleeder tools, and see if the vacuum holds. I wouldn't pressurize it and do the bubble test under water, as these are by no means meant to hold pressure.

Kevin

 

[1969XR7Vert]

A hand vacuum pump with gauge (like Harbor Freight sells) should work for both, on the soup can you would block off the second port and pump down the first, I don't think there is a check valve in the can (although the fitting does kind of look like one).

 

[mmmeat]

Cosmoline is amazing..when it is not exposed to air, it stays liquid/gooey. My Son's '94 Ranger still has soft stuff inside the door when you take out a speaker or door panel.

But after a year or so and stays out/exposed, it becomes about impossible to remove. Brake kleen or Gasoline will take it off though. It's not cosmoline if it doesn't come off with gas or solvent..probably undercoating of some sort!

 

[Harvey]

I ended up using paint stripper, a chisel to scrape with and then sand paper to finish up the job before paint.