Gas Fumes Paint Stripper

[Tommy Mealer]

Hey guys, don't know if anyone's seen this or not, but I can't find anyone who has. This truck has been painted close to seven years with PPG base/clear, over primer with a coat of sealer before basecoat was applied. In seven years, I've very seldom ever spilled gas, and when I have, I've cleaned it off immediately. With no signs of any failed paint, a couple months ago I put 20 gal in, drove around some, and parked it back in the garage. My wife came home from work the next day and asked what happened to my truck. I went out and found this, in the photo. No one can tell me why the best PPG clearcoat and basecoat bubbled up and came loose from the sealer. No fuel leaks, but was wondering if anyone has had problems with the gas cap venting, enough to cause a problem.

 

[Lakeroadster]

Ugh... that sucks.

Fuel expansion is typically the issue. The gas is cool when it is pumped out of the ground, once in the tank it warms up and then overflows via the vent on the cap. You can add an overflow tube to the filler neck and install a non vented cap to correct this. More on that here:https://talk.classicparts.com/threads/what-happened-to-my-paint.21755/page-2#post-105333

 

[vwnate1]

GAHH ! .

I hate alcohol in fuels......

 

[Tommy Mealer]

Lakeroadster, thanks for your response, and the link. I didn't find that. I was stumped on my problem, as I very seldom fill the tank. The day this happened, I only put in a half tank, so fuel expansion wasn't a factor. To further that theory, there were no fumes in my garage. Whatever happened, I decided on some engineering. The photos show a design I did. I'm sure it could've been better with more than I have available at this time, though. The bolt is a brass commode hold down bolt, which I curved the head to fit the filler neck hose. I cut it to length, drilled to 3/32", and soldered in a 3/16" brass tube. I punched a 1/4" hole in the filler hose, and mounted this with some leftover aircraft fuel tank sealer I had. I then mounted all this with a hose run thru the floor of the cab to the outside. I will keep a lookout for something better. I think the fumes leaked out my locking gas cap. I replaced it with a new vented non locking cap. I will be replacing the cap with a non vented cap. This should keep the fumes away from the paint. I'll also start using non ethanol gas when possible. By the way, the paint was PPG base/2021 clear. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. The piece of hose was just to demonstrate mounting. I will also fix the end where critters can't get in.