Surface rust

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krispykritter

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Messages
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Location
santan valley AZ
# of dives
200 - 499
I just bought 2 steel 72 tanks. One is galvanized and the other is painted. The painted one has surface rust in the boot area. How should I remove it and protect the surface after? Could I use a rust remover then sand the rest of the tank and paint it? Should I strip the whole tank with a chemical stripper? What products should I use? (product that I can find at the hardware store)? Is it ok to paint the galvanized tank too (so they match)?
 
Surface rust (outside) is no big deal to clean up. Light sanding or scrubbing should do the trick. I'd avoid any rust removers. I would not paint the galvanized tank, is does not need it and paint has a hard time sticking to it. Besides, tanks do not have to match :wink:
 
I'm with Teamcasa, scrub off the rust and buy a boot that drains and it will be just fine.



Bob
---------------------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.
 
Once the rust is scrubed off how should I cover the area to prevent future rust?
This applies to the painted tank only: Once you have cleaned to rust off and sanded it smooth, you can paint it with a quality spray paint.
 
Grit blasting will really clean rust from the pores. Start with a cold galvanizing finish. Rustoleum has a few, one matte and one with a little sheen. These are zinc rich coatings. There are other brands out there.

You can use this same finish to touch up any blems on the galvanized tank like a hydro stamp or big gashes that have not healed. Other wise leave the hod dipped galvanized au naturale.

Pete
 
I would strip off the paint, clean off the rust and give the tank three or four coats of a good cold galvanizing compound. It's better than paint.
 
Just make sure you do a very good job at refinishing it, otherwise you might get questioned about it.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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