Ok to media blast aluminum tanks?

[JDMerk]

I have a couple AL80s and i'm toying with the idea of doubling them up. They are both luxfer and about 5 years old. The only issue is right now they would make an ass ugly set of doubles, one is yellow and the other is flourescent green, both are painted not anodized.
I have access to a media blaster and I was thinking about blasting them with some sort of plastic/glass beads or maybe even crushed pecan shells...point being not to eat into the metal too much. But i'm not so sure this is a wise idea given the special pressures a scuba tank must endure. Will the blaster create too much heat and screw up the tempering? do you think it might eat away at the base metal too much? has anyone ever tried this before? should I take a wire brush and power drill to them instead?

 

[Jimmer]

I've glass bead blasted 3 aluminum tanks now, all passed hydro and viz right after. There was no sign of any digging into the metal at all, and the stampings ont the shoulder were as clear and prominent as ever. No regrets here.

 

[SparticleBrane]

What did the cylinders look like afterwards?

 

[JDMerk]

what type of media did you use?

 

[Jimmer]

There is a before and after. I'm not sure about the exact specs of the blast media, I can find that out at work. It's a spec we use at work for blasting Stainless Steel pressure vessels. It's one step more coarse than the media we use before we send a vessel out for electropolishing. It gives a very fine finish.

 

[Gen San Chris]

I just use a normal orbital electric sander to clean up tanks with ugly paint jobs! they look nice and shiny until the first dive then the sea water dulls them down!

 

[halocline]

I used paint stripper and some sandpaper to clean up the scratches left by the putty knife. Mine looks okay, not as good as Jim's. Next time I'd do the media blasting.

 

[darook]

Are you kidding? You have green and gold tanks. Put a Packer "G" sticker on the sides of those bad boys and you have a righteous pair of NFC North dominating tanks!

Go Pack go!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I just use a normal orbital electric sander to clean up tanks with ugly paint jobs! they look nice and shiny until the first dive then the sea water dulls them down!

Using power sanders, etc too strip paint is not recommended for AL tanks. The alloy used is heat teated and can begin to lose its strenght at temperatures as low as 325 degrees. In extreme cases the friction caused by sander, etc could cause the metal to heat in some areas and create an unsafe condition.

If you use that method, be sure to get them hydro tested before filling them.

 

[halocline]

Are you kidding? You have green and gold tanks. Put a Packer "G" sticker on the sides of those bad boys and you have a righteous pair of NFC North dominating tanks!

Go Pack go!

This is funny. I had an orange and a blue LP72 for doubles, which would have been very popular in cave country, but completely unacceptable to me as a FSU grad.