Soldering/silver solder a fuel tank

I've have Oliver OC4 diesel fuel tank that has many pin holes. A friend has tried to braze it and as he brazes one hole another one appears. Someone said we should be using silver solder. Does anyone have experience with this? I could use advice on what type(?)of silver solder to use.
 
I usually am not one to answer questions that were not asked but have been there done that with iffy fuel tanks and can guess where you are at. Unless you clean that tank out thoroughly inside and out to open up all those "almost a holes" you can plan to be chasing your tail for some time and even when you think it is fixed it will soon be leaking once more, sorry but that is how it works out. As much as it hurts to watch it seemingly destroy what your trying to fix you need to sandblast or grind and wire wheel the the outside until it is clean and then clean the rust from the inside. Best way I have to do that is to place a couple coffee cans full of small nuts washers and bolts or even roofing nails and then tumble it. I tie them to my cement mixer. You then need to put some muratic acid in the tank and swish it around and rinse thoroughly. Ya, it will look like swiss cheese at this point but you will then see why it needs to be done this way. all those holes were soon to be leaking. I use regular 50-50 or 60-40 soft solder, bar solder works best and you need a good flux such as Ruby fluid.Also a copper iron works much better than trying to use a torch. Once tinned the correct technique, heat and solder will fill the holes. When it will hold water dry it and coat the inside with whatever tank coating you like, I use redcoat.
 

What Butch said X2. And when you go to solder the holes, try swabbing the solder with de-oiled steel wool if you're having problems getting it to tin right. It seems to break the surface tension and let the solder adhere.

If it's real bad, get a different tank. You can't save a really bad one no matter what you do.
 

What Butch said X2. And when you go to solder the holes, try swabbing the solder with de-oiled steel wool if you're having problems getting it to tin right. It seems to break the surface tension and let the solder adhere.

If it's real bad, get a different tank. You can't save a really bad one no matter what you do.
 
It's been 12 years since I had a fuel tank leaking and found, when cleaning it up, lots of little holes. I sand blasted it to bare metal, then coated it with fiberglass resin. So far it's held perfectly.
 
I had such a tank on a 64 Corvair and just cleaned the outside and covered most of the bottom with body putty, Ni seepage for several years.
 
This stuff is bullet proof and works great at a very reasonable cost. Single component, no mixing, no need for a pristine and clean gas tank. It's been on the market for decades and countless antique auto guys swear by it. With his product being available (and probably others like it), I've often wondered why people go through the headaches of soldering and welding, etc. And what is not used (still in the can or drained from the tank repair) can be stored and kept for another job later.
Bill Hirsch Tank Sealer
 
Just cut the bottom off and be done with it. Once bottom is off you can clean inside however you want. When I had my fab shop I would have 15 guys per year come with tanks with pin holes. Asked if I could fix the 2 pinholes they have found? I said no. Because if I fix those 2 you will be back next month with 2 more and you will not be in as good a mood as you are today. Only way I will do it is cut bottom off and replace. And if you can get a new one that will be cheaper then I will charge.
 

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