Kaneda13
Contributor
I ran across 4 tanks on facebook market a couple of months ago, and the price was right enough that I bought all 4 of them (4 tanks for $125). 2 are Catalina, 2 are Luxfer, all 4 are AL80s. They have been sitting in my garage for a couple of months, just waiting for me to actually start going through them. When I bought them, they all had some pressure in them, and the guy said they hadn't used them in about 4 years. All are dated from the mid 90's, and none have ever been Hydro'ed (or at least not stamped). They weren't in terrible shape, but I thought I would give a try at stripping the paint, just to see how they look before I take them in to get hydro'ed. I just wiped them down with some windex, put a thick coat of Citristrip on them, and let them sit for an hour. I used a plastic paint scrapper to get almost all the paint off, and them put on another, thinner coat for about 30 minutes. I scrapped/wiped off everything I could, and took it to the sink and scrubbed it down with some green scotch bright. I have to say, I'm REALLY happy with how they turned out. Out of the sink I wiped it down with windex again, and this is how the first one came out. I'll order some new boots, and take them to the shop to get hydro'ed once they are all done. Any recommendations for a wipe-on coat of anything, or should I just leave them bare metal?
The is the second of the 2 Catalina's, I didn't photo the first one before I started.
This is after after scraping it off after an hour of Citristrip:
Photos of the first one finished, and the second one as I bought it:
Never been re-stamped:
The is the second of the 2 Catalina's, I didn't photo the first one before I started.
This is after after scraping it off after an hour of Citristrip:
Photos of the first one finished, and the second one as I bought it:
Never been re-stamped: