Seeing as my paint job is temporary and the tank will one day be sandblasted before real restoration begins I didn't bother priming. My advice would be to use the same BEHR house paint, I used 2 gallons, and to pressure wash and clean the tank as best you can, scrape off any flaking paint and paint right over the existing paint, that paint will be a fine base for the paint, though it wouldn't hurt to test a not too obvious spot first to ensure the paint color is what you are after as well as to see if there is any reaction to the paint. I just used a cheapo Wagner electric sprayer. If it ever becomes spring here, and I have my doubts, I will let you know how the paint is holding up and if it is holding its color. The whole paint job took about two hours by myself. Nice thing was I gave the lady at home depot a sample of a part which had a nice OD finish on it and she matched it up in no time. BEHR is designed for outside so it has a great UV protection rating, unlike the real Milspec paint which goes chalky so very fast. Once the tank is sandblasted and restored, it will get a coat of Dupont Imron, much more expensive, harder and more dangerous to work with but tough as nails and should last forever. So hard costs were $200 and change for paint, $100 for the electric sprayer, and my time...which is priceless!
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