This was my recipe for applying the coal tar epoxy.
Ingredients: 1 qt distilled vinegar, 3 qt water, thick wooden paint stirrer (for 5 gallon paint bucket) so it won't break, 15" length of wire coat hanger, cordless drill, standard paint roller pan, 4 plastic shopping bags, 2 2" throw away paint brushes, 7" paint roller, 2 7" roller covers, two old beach buckets stolen from the kids.
Note: A gallon of CTE will easily coat two 85 gallon tanks. I should have posted to the site to see if anyone else in the area is doing the same thing at the same time and we could have split the cost!
Been on vacation for a week so I couldn't post to Carvguy. I got my CTE in the mail cost 74.50 delivered. Mix vinegar and water and wash tank well. Towel dry well and set it up on sawhorses. My tank has four 3" x 6" "feet" welded to each corner of the bottom of the tank that serve as standoffs.
The coal tar was very thick with a thin coat of liquid on top. Using a thick wooden paint stirrer, mix coal tar pulling the substance off the bottom of the can especially getting into the corners. Shape coat hanger into a z shape and chuck tight into drill. Using the drill, mix the hell out of the coal tar till it looks like smooth chocolate icing and thinned out considerably.
Put the paint roller pan into a plastic bag and tie off. When you pour the CTE into the paint pan, the plastic bag protects the pan from getting CTE all over it.
Glop out a quart of the coal tar into the beach bucket. While mixing at slow speed with the drill, slowly pour 1/4 of the activator into the coal tar. Continue mixing for a few more minutes.
Coat the bottom of the tank first (not the standoffs) using roller. Lay it on like thick paint so it has a significant orange peel look. Instructions say that final coat should result in 2 -4 mil thickness. Flip tank and coat sides and ends. Using brush, finish the vent tube, fuel inlet and outlet fixtures (did not coat where in and out lines fit on fixtures) and all in between where the roller won't fit. Be careful not to get the CTE on any threaded parts. Roll out the remainder of the top of the tank. Let dry 6 hours, maybe more in humid weather.
Repeat above to apply second coat. Let dry 24 hours or more.
Special Notes: to clean up roller pan, let CTE harden some then simply pull pan out of the bag, turn bag inside out, no mess. To remove roller cover from roller, place roller into plastic bag, grasp bag around roller cover and slide cover off roller, no mess. Toss brushes into the same bag. To clean beach buckets... don't, take the kids to the dollar store and treat them to some new ones. Buy a bag of water ballons while you're there and have some fun with the kids while the CTE dries.
Disclaimer: I hold no special skills or knowledge of this process. This is my first experience with applying CTE. This post is for informative purposes only. If anyone's process differs, please add on for the benefit of all members. If I have proceeded down a wrong path during any stage of this process, rip into it to make corrections. I won't be offended and we all learn! Pro's would probably do it differently. This is the shade tree mechanic way of doing it while the ribs are cookin on the grill!
