Jerry can project

[Deuce007]

The other day I went to a garage sale and came across a great buy on an old USMC jerry can. It was only a buck so I thought that even if it leaked it would only be out a dollar so, I bought and tested it and sure enough it didn't leak. So here are pictures of me painting it from start to finish.

 

[wreckerman893]

Way to .............well worth the price of admission.

 

[caliber1]

Nice find. What does the inside look like? Bought two off line and they are both in need of serious attention on the inside.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Since you got such a good deal on the can, it would be worth it to get some muriatic acid, etch the inside and kill any rust, then neutralize the acid effect with a rinse of white vinegar, then coat the inside with some POR 15 tank coat. It'll last forever!

 

[Deuce007]

The inside is in great shape probably because there was still a little fuel in it so rust didn't effect it. If I ever came across any POR 15 I would like to coat the inside just to be sure that it never will rust though.

 

[DeucesWild11]

I got a brand new red one that I got at the Sussex show, I plan on painting mine soon too. Thanks for the post you gave me a good nudge to..

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

That's great that there's no rust in it. You can't hardly find em anymore with no rust at all! POR 15 has a website you can order from, but I'd definately acid etch the inside to give it some "tooth" for the coating to stick without peeling later.

 

[3dAngus]

Looks better than new. What did you clean off the spout with. Looks good.

And how do you acid etch the inside with muriatic acid? Is this something where you just pour it in and shake it around?

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Looks better than new. What did you clean off the spout with. Looks good.

And how do you acid etch the inside with muriatic acid? Is this something where you just pour it in and shake it around?

That's all ya gotta do. You can find muriatic acid any place that has pool supplies.
Pour in a quart or so, MAKE SURE THE RUBBER SEAL ON THE CAP IS IN GOOD CONDITION AND SEALS THE VENT HOLE! If there's no seal, bad things can happen.
(sorry about the caps, but I can't stress this one enough) And don't forget the eye protection!
Shake it up and let it sit upright for a minute or two, then lay it on one side for a minute, and then the other side for a minute, then the front, the back, and the top. After you empty out the acid, pour in a quart or so of white vinnegar and shake well. This will neutralize the acid and stop it from eating all the way through the can. after the vinnegar rinse, let it sit in the sun with the cap off to dry it out and apply your inside coating.
If you follow the instructions on the coating product, you'll have a storage container that'll last a good long time, but you still can't sell it in California, several other states or the city of Dallas.

 

[CycleJay]

Speaking of Jerry cans,

Anyone know where I might find a cap seal and spout for my USMC Jerry can?

Hopefully in the Atlanta, Ga area.

 

[hndrsonj]

Speaking of Jerry cans,

Anyone know where I might find a cap seal and spout for my USMC Jerry can?

Hopefully in the Atlanta, Ga area.

Any Surplus Store should have them.

 

[CycleJay]

Any Surplus Store should have them.

Thank you, I have tried that to get a can I can afford. No luck.

But I will call them to see if they have the seal and spout by itself.

Thank you for the tip.

 

[Wildchild467]

i found a real real nice jerry can spout at a car show swap meet a couple years ago. it was made by TRW and was made out of cast alm. with a flexible metal hose with a threadded cap on the end. it also had a smaller gasket so that it let the can vent when pouring. it was also possible to thread the spout into the can and put another cap on the other end to store the spout in the can. i never do, but still... nice quality spout.

 

[chevyCUCV]

Nice, i just picked up 2 from a estate sale over the weekend. One has liquid in it, and the other has so solid( rust) moving around inside it.

 

[gringeltaube]

................. After you empty out the acid, pour in a quart or so of white vinnegar and shake well. This will neutralize the acid ....................

Interesting... and you really believe that you could neutralize hydrochloric acid with acetic acid?
Or did you mean to say sodium bicarbonate, soda ash, baking soda, lime, ammonia solution, etc. ....?

G.

 

[maddawg308]

Very good save. They may be harder to use than the newer plastic jerry cans, but nothing beats the look of steel on a restored truck.

 

[appalacious]

Interesting... and you really believe that you could neutralize hydrochloric acid with acetic acid?
Or did you mean to say sodium bicarbonate, soda ash, baking soda, lime, ammonia solution, etc. ....?

G.

I 2nd this motion.

 

[waayfast]

A while back there was a thread (post?) on here about a member that discovered that the o-ring on a Ford Focus oil filter works for a gasket on a Jerry can.
The GF drives a Focus so I will now go broke changing the oil and filter on her car once a week so I can get enough gaskets for all my Jerry cans. (Yes -- it does fit!)

Jim

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Interesting... and you really believe that you could neutralize hydrochloric acid with acetic acid?
Or did you mean to say sodium bicarbonate, soda ash, baking soda, lime, ammonia solution, etc. ....?

G.

I didn't say hydrochloric, I said muriatic acid. An old neighbor of mine used to do auto paintwork and whenever he took a car down to bare steel to repaint, he'd spray each panel down with muriatic acid to etch the steel, kill any potential rust and then neutralize the acid with white vinegar. I'm no chemist, but that's what he taught me.

 

[appalacious]

Muratic = Hydrochloric