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Installed a NOS gas tank sending unit in my '47 Super Clipper in 1987 after dipping the cork in clear Varathane. Worked fine going on 36 years but now "gas logged."
I don't need to hear about Varathane not being the best. That was then.

What's wanted now is what would be the best substance to redip the float after baking it in the hot sun for an afternoon?

That, and does anyone know an exact replacement float that will give the same reading at the gauge? Please, no "mights," guesses, only what you've successfully used, where you got it. Again, the unit and dash gauge are a-ok.

This is a cork float issue.

Every time someone poses the simplest question, instead of hearing only from those who know, we wind up with a dozen reinventing the wheel surmises.

Am posting this on the General forum because these cars are pre- and postwar.

I don't know how this well this would work but a quick google search brought AutoRestorer Question/Answer from 2009. The guy was asking about the same thing you are asking about for his 1937 Packard cork float. The recommended coating was POR-15 fuel tank sealer.

autorestorer.com/articles/protecting_your_cork_float-1690

The old float may be loaded all the way through with old gum and rust. Drying it out and re-sealing may or may not give good results, since it may be heavier than it was when new.

That said, I don't think the gas gauge float is as critical as the carb float.

It merely has to float atop the gasoline in the tank, and the gauge is not a precision device and the specific gravity of pump gasoline is not rigidly fixed.

If the repaired float's volume and weight are anywhere near what they originally were, it ought to work OK.

I doubt that typical hollow brass carburetor floats have a perfectly stable displacement volume. I'd think one would expand and contract somewhat due to widely varying operating temperatures and varying internal pressure.

I replaced mine with a neoprene float of same size and diameter. Details on my project blog. They are compatible with today's fuels.

As we used to tell people with the Army RM285 Mack trucks. "The fuel gauge does not have to be accurate when it is full...it is more important to know how it reads when it is EMPTY". My 38 Richards Six reads about one-eighth full when it is empty. it has done so since 1973.

Thank you, gents. Of course gas gauges aren't precision instruments. Still nice to have them work the best they ever did leaving Detroit. Soaking the cork in lacquer thinner softens, helps remove the Varathane.

The co-owner of a Packard-only shop said they used to bake the original corks in the sun or use a hairdryer until thoroughly dry, then redip in shellac.

But today, is Por-15 good on cork as the 2009 item in Auto Restorer Drs. Grosz shared suggests? If so, that's the ticket.

Though the unit itself good, as long as it's off the car, would spraying some electrical or tuner cleaner in the pictured orifice/weep hole be a good idea, in case there's any oxidation? But nothing else, right, no Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant or WD-40? Dr. Hanson (HH56) wondered about the fiber the resistance element wire wrapped in swelling. (The unit's cleaner than the picture suggests. I wasn't finished cleaning off the old gasket, etc.)

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I don't think contact cleaner would do the rheostat unit any harm. It might flush out old gum or rust accumulation.

In the interest of reliability, it would be best to have the unit rebuilt by someone equipped to do it right. The tank unit element is subject to mechanical wear from gasoline sloshing and car motion, and old ones are usually more or less crudded-up. It may work well for years, or it may not last a day on the road.

You might contact Kevin:

mykmlifestyle.com/

They built an entire new sending unit for my '37. They might have some suggestions.

I'd do what BigKev says because it makes sense.