So I thought I would try boiling as a paint removal method, it worked really well especially using a car body plastic scraper that stood up to the heat. I think this is a 1950 to 1954 tilley x246 font with the inside flange so worth saving. Then as I had the tools and materials I thought I would try using lead to fill the many dings and dents. The file (old car body file) proved to be very useful at removing the bulk of the lead and the rubber pads took the shape of the contour when sanding. Next painting....
Nice work. I will suggest spraying the fount with a can of body filler (putty) , it is thicker than paint and when sanded makes the edges of the repairs blend in.
@ROBBO55 Thanks for that, my plan was to clean tank in citric acid, spray some etch primer then smooth back and assess the finish, I have some cold anode primer Rust-Anode.co.uk I could use as a filler with a brush if there are spots that need filled. But it may need high build filler, but there is no rush to this.
