Have my 67 gas tank out for cleaning/painting. It appears the original color was black but all the repo's are silver. I painted my Elky gas tank cast aluminum and it looked really good but the car was silver and it didn't stand out that much.

What color did you guys go with?

tank tone. from eastwoods !

None.. no paint.. leave it bare with some light oil on it unless you are not doing correct like resto.

None.. no paint.. leave it bare with some light oil on it unless you are not doing correct like resto.

How 'bout some type of clear to make the natural look last Mike. This isn't my post, but I wonder if judges would even notice or take off points for this.

How 'bout some type of clear to make the natural look last Mike. This isn't my post, but I wonder if judges would even notice or take off points for this.

Boeshield will help keep the rust off. You could put a light coat of train oil on it but then you know what will happen as soon as you go to drive it somewhere. This is only useful on trailered show cars.

The Tank Tone paint from Eastwood does look and hold up fairly well...but it scratches VERY EASILY. This can be a problem with you go to reinstall it. I've been down that road before.

I painted the top of mine with gray POR 15 and the bottom with satin clear. Came out fine. May not be "correct", but it works for me. :)

I painted the top of mine with gray POR 15 and the bottom with satin clear. Came out fine. May not be "correct", but it works for me. :)


What type, brand, etc. of satin clear paint, Dave?

The tank is 42 years old and even cleaned up it wouldn't look good just clear coated. I'm not concerned with correctness or judges, was just wondering what most people like. Does anyone know if they came from the factory black? The bottom sure looks like it was originally black.

I painted mine first with Rustoleum latex Aluminum Primer which had to be rolled on, and then with Rustoleum black spray paint. Its been over a year and its held up perfectly.

What type, brand, etc. of satin clear paint, Dave?


Hey, John :D - I can't remember - I may still have the can out in the shed. I'll take a look.

*EDIT* - Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear #1313 Clear Satin Finish. Seems to be holding up ok. Haven't looked at it real close in a while. :thumbsup:

I painted my new one gloss black. I would have left it but I had a sump put in and looked better painted.

For anyone who might care, this is what I decided to do. The silver that most closely matched the color of a new unpainted tank, IMO drew to much attention to the underside that wasn't worthy of that much attention. The gloss black looked really cool but on an original tank that had a few small dings and scraps, it showed every imperfection. Would look good on a new tank.
So I went with a paint that has served me well which is Dupli-Color Semi-Gloss black Acyrlic Enamel. It goes on smooth, it holds up well, and it matches well the factory underhood black. It came out really good and it kind of makes it disappear which keeps your attention to the car itself.

Thanks for your input guys!