refinishing tanks

[friscuba]

Uh, I´d skip the Rhino Liner stuff. As a certified tank inspector, I´d hate to have to have your coating stripped off to look at the underlying metal as a routine part of the visual cylinder inspection. Absolutely no chance I´d approve a cylinder without seeing that metal surface.

I was going to mention the same thing. Rhino lining and any type of plasticy coating looks cool, but you can't tell what's going on underneath. Most trained inspectors will avoid approving those tanks.

 

[douglasville diver]

Thanks Whitelightnin,good Point ! This Discussion Got Me Lit-up Last Night Just Thinking About The Possiablities. Did Run It Past My Lds Today Your Right No Heat So Powder Coat Is Not An Option Also Rihno Liner Is Not An Option .
But I Can Paint Or Polish And I Can Etch .he Is Going To Let Me Have A Couple Of No Fill Tanks To Experiement On And I Already Have Some Good Ideas.
But For The Most Part If All You Want Is Some Fresh Paint Well It's Paint Stripper, Spray Bomb And Buy An Extra Can For Touch-up

 

[PhotoTJ]

Oh Theres Also Powder Coating Many Colors , You Know What, I Specialize In Re-finishing Steel And Aul . Anybody Wanting A Custom Finish On A Cylinder Contact Me . I've Done Many Many Street Rods , Some Surf Boards & Skate Boards And Even A Few Gutiars
Skys The Limit

I AM NOT AN EXPERT!

Now that we've established that, if I remember correctly, powder coatings are baked on. Which alters the molecular structure of the tank. The PSI guys say not to fill a tank that has been powdered coated. Do what you want, it’s your tank, but some dive shops may refuse to fill it.

 

[DiverDuane]

Does anyone have an opinion on painting tanks black? I would think they'd run a higher risk of bursting a disk if sitting in the sun.

Just a thought.

DiverDuane

 

[spectrum]

Refinishing is futile
Shot blast and be done with it or go galvanized steel.

Pete

 

[Deep Lake]

I just got done taking the tank inspections course. If a tank has a baked on finish that was done by the factory to a new tank then the baking was factored into the final tempering of the metal.

If you do a baked on finish after the tank left the factory you have just created a bomb. We saw photos of tanks which had this done to them (and then blew up) and when the metal was tested it had lost about half of its strength as I recall.

The tank inspection course is a great class and I would highly recommend it.

 

[fire_diver]

Uh, I´d skip the Rhino Liner stuff. As a certified tank inspector, I´d hate to have to have your coating stripped off to look at the underlying metal as a routine part of the visual cylinder inspection. Absolutely no chance I´d approve a cylinder without seeing that metal surface.

Good point. Hadnt thought about the inspection later down the road. Shot-blasting probably is the best option to make an older AL tank look nice again.

 

[tlawler]

My Al pony tank was looking a little rough, so I just took a wire wheel and gave it a bright brushed aluminum appearence. Looks great and no worries about any coating covering defects.

 

[divinginn]

they make those tank wraps that come off saw some that looked like a roll of life savers.they had others too

 

[divinginn]

good idea but probably should put some tape over your numbers