Has Anyone Stripped and Repainted Steel Tanks?

[MilitantMedic]

AL80's

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I've seen 3 tanks blow their discs while being left in the sun. Still trying to figure out how they would pop off.

Burst dics can be had in different ratings. The lower the rating and the higher the fill increases the chance of it going in hot weather. Also if the tank is used alot the discs can weaken over time. This is usually not a problem for the average diver but if you've got rental tanks that see alot of use and have a disc that's a little older it can happen. It's been suggested to me to replace the disc perhaps every 2 or 3 yrs based on me getting 100-125 dives per year plus all of the pool work I do. It may be overkill but it's better to be safe and not have to be in a situation where I come up from a dive and find that one of my tanks has popped it's disc. Especially if it's Nitrox. Right now my lp steel 72's have 4000 lb discs in them and my hp steel 80's have 5000.

 

[MilitantMedic]

Nah, 100% O2 is safe under pressure, you'd be just fine Jim.

 

[gasdvr]

Hey I found some surface rust under my tank boot and decided to fix it. I used a steel brush on a drill to clean the paint and rust off the bottom of the tank. Is there an easier way to do this? Anything I should be watching out for? I am going to hit the tanks with a rust inhibitor once they are completely stripped and then repaint them. Any suggestions on best inhibitor or paint for this application?

Thanks,
Tom

I have and still do refinish tanks, both alluminum and steel. I mostly walnutshell blast and powdercoat. I have also had good success with removing the paint with a wire brush, priming and epoxy spray paint. I would not recommend stripping with any chemical or "baking' paint on at high temp. Both could disturb the metallurgical properties of the the tank and fail inspections.

 

[DTB1981]

I just got done redoing an alum 80. I used the gel zip strip to remove the old paint and a green scrub pad to remove any corrosion then used gray primer and wet sanded tell it was smooth. I then used white primer and painted it yellow. What do you think?

 

[SteFord]

I just got done redoing an alum 80. I used the gel zip strip to remove the old paint and a green scrub pad to remove any corrosion then used gray primer and wet sanded tell it was smooth. I then used white primer and painted it yellow. What do you think?

Nice job! How quick can you turn them around? What's your address?

 

[DTB1981]

Nice job! How quick can you turn them around? What's your address?

It took me about 4 hours to do the tank. An hour to strip it and 3 to paint, with dry time. It was my second one. The first one took two weeks I keep using it and having to start over.

Sorry I live in Okinawa

 

[roakey]

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=7445

*huge* thread on everything you'd like to know about stripping and painting steel cylinders. With a good title too so a search would have turned it up in a second.

Roak

 

[FredT]

I've seen 3 tanks blow their discs while being left in the sun. Still trying to figure out how they would pop off.

Corrosion on an old disk +overpressure. Mostly corrosion from poorly maintained valves is the culprit.
It's not unusual for an inattentive tank monkey to overpressure a steel 72 with an old daic and have the vent let go. It teaches them to actually read tanks really fast, once they dry off.

FT

 

[Tegg]

I had a professional bead blast my fabers to the bare metal.

I then cleaned them really well with mineral spirits (used rubber stoppers to plug the tanks).

I then coated them with ZRC. 2 coats.

I then applied one coat of ZRC's topcoat.

I have over 200 dives on them and the galv is still in great shape.

YMMV.