Could you fit inline filters, just a thought.

Mark P.

I painted the inside of a small five inch saddle tank, the tank was an ally casting and I used Precision Paints etch primer and their gloss cream paint, looked lovely but once water was in it was a different matter, the paint started coming away. The tank was removed and the paint stripped off the inside back to bare metal and coated with West Systems epoxy, I drain the tank after use and after a couple of years use it seems fine.

You could fit a filter in the line, or better for appearance, make it to screw into the tank bush so the gauze is inside the tank. The latter having the advantages of being hidden and taking no space around the loco, while still reasonably accessible for cleaning.

If the tank is of brass, the usual for smaller scale locomotives, it does not need internal paint; and as Baz found with his, it can create more trouble than it solves.