Hi
I got a new fuel tank and it has sticky brown residue on the outside and fuel neck. The inside appears to have a brown oil - may be the same thing. I called technical support who first stated that there should be nothing on the inside and I could clean it out with soap and water (doubtful based on the stickiness of the outside goo). They then later said I could use paint thinner. I reached out to the seller to see about a replacement and they stated it was a rust inhibitor, and that they called technical support who told them it could be cleaned out with paint thinner (same tech support rep).

Has anyone else bought a new tank with this brown goo on the inside? Is it ok?

Not sure why I'm being told i could clean it out if it's a rust inhibitor...

Thanks

I have purchased many new tanks and none of them had any kind of coating on them.

Thanks
Can you recommend a brand/model? I’m not sure if I should push for an exchange and risk getting the same issue or just get a different one.

I believe I bought most of them from AMES. Would have been 8-10 years ago though.

I like Spectra Premium Fuel Tanks. I think they are made in Canada. think I got mine off of ebay.

Hmm. Mine is a Spectra Premium. Maybe I got a bad one.

It's called "cosmoline" and it is a rust inhibitor. Most manufacturers spray untreated metal with it to prevent corrosion. I bought a spectra and it had cosmoline on it. I chose to leave the tank the OEM color which was a metal finish, cleaned off the cosmoline and sprayed with a Eastwood cosmoline type to prevent corrosion. If it has this stuff on the inside, I'm sure it'll be just minimal and your first fill up will flush it out. The 2 filters (tank and carb) will catch anything you don't want in the carb.

Ok so I called tech support and got a different person. He says it’s an oil used in the manufacturing process. Says it’s fine to leave and will dissolve with gasoline. Or if I wanted I could use paint thinner and then some soapy water to wash it out but not necessary.