Question DIY Paint Scuba Cylinders?

[SlugLife]

Those are dry media in a booth that recycles the media at the base of the box.

Last time I sand-blasted, I modified plastic storage-tote to collect the media. Although for a scuba-cylinder, I'm going to need a bigger one.

how do you apply the cerakote?

It's probably best to follow instructions from the manufacturer, and not my instructions.

That said, the simple form is you first sand-blast the surface, mix the paint that comes in two parts, filter it, apply with an air-brush or paint-fun, and normally you bake the item as well.

There's also air-cure Cerakote. When you search their products, select "air" under "cure."

CERAKOTE® Air Cured Coatings & Cerakote Swatch Samples

See our complete collection of Air Cured Cerakote products. Shop by product series, unique coating attributes or application types.

www.cerakote.com

I've also use KG GunKote, which has the advantage of being a little less expensive. However, they have fewer colors, and it looks like they may have stopped producing their air-cure lineup.

edit: To be clear, you don't want to bake your scuba-tank, so get the Air-cure version if you do go the cerakote route.

 

[Boarderguy]

$70 per pint and I would think more coats is better for this type of thing. Could be mildly costly per tank if their surface is still good. Would be nice to color code or coordinate my tanks. Make the wife's whatever color she wants. Mine could be red. My spares white. My ancient aluminum 80s could go green for when I make them dedicated high% O2 bottles. Oh the possibilities...

 

[tridacna]

$70 per pint and I would think more coats is better for this type of thing. Could be mildly costly per tank if their surface is still good. Would be nice to color code or coordinate my tanks. Make the wife's whatever color she wants. Mine could be red. My spares white. My ancient aluminum 80s could go green for when I make them dedicated high% O2 bottles. Oh the possibilities...

Cheaper to buy new tanks!

 

[Boarderguy]

Cheaper to buy new tanks!

1 pint should cover 2 tanks if I did the math correct. New tanks may be only a bit more expensive but def not as fun.

 

[SlugLife]

1 pint should cover 2 tanks if I did the math correct. New tanks may be only a bit more expensive but def not as fun.

I'm not actually recommending anyone else use Cerakote to paint scuba-tanks. I'm simply talking about doing it myself, especially since I have some Cerakote sitting around. There are probably much less expensive and more practical paints to use, even ones that can stand up to some abuse.

That said, Cerakote is applied in extremely thin coats. A pint goes a VERY, VERY long ways, especially on a smooth and "flat" surface like a scuba-tank. I hate to estimate how many tanks a pint would cover, but I could easily cover many, many more than 2 tanks with a pint.

On something like a gun, you have to hit it from a bunch of different angles, there are little parts, etc. So you end up "wasting" a good amount of whatever you spray. Especially if you're doing multiple-colors, using stencils, etc, you might end up with your stencil blocking 70% of the paint, and 60% of what gets through might end up in the air or on the floor. With a scuba-tank, and a single color, you could get a good majority on the tank in an even coat with relative ease (compared to a gun)

 

[ScubaBunga]

I'm not actually recommending anyone else use Cerakote to paint scuba-tanks. I'm simply talking about doing it myself, especially since I have some Cerakote sitting around. There are probably much less expensive and more practical paints to use, even ones that can stand up to some abuse.

That said, Cerakote is applied in extremely thin coats. A pint goes a VERY, VERY long ways, especially on a smooth and "flat" surface like a scuba-tank. I hate to estimate how many tanks a pint would cover, but I could easily cover many, many more than 2 tanks with a pint.

On something like a gun, you have to hit it from a bunch of different angles, there are little parts, etc. So you end up "wasting" a good amount of whatever you spray. Especially if you're doing multiple-colors, using stencils, etc, you might end up with your stencil blocking 70% of the paint, and 60% of what gets through might end up in the air or on the floor. With a scuba-tank, and a single color, you could get a good majority on the tank in an even coat with relative ease (compared to a gun)

I've used a sand blaster - glass beads on many of my older tanks - primarily at the top to actually clear out/draw out the numbering. It's helped make the numbers easier to read - then put a light primer around the crown to again make the numbers easier to read.
Are you painting any galvanized tanks - I'd be interested in how that goes. I have several painted tanks - yes they scratch and peel but I still like the ease of identifying - I had even made a couple minion tanks. Although after 5 years these have been cleaned and turned into plain nitrox tanks.

I've tried a few times to upload the pics of the minion (linked one at least) tanks and it's just not working - probably my connection - I'll try again later if I remember.

 

[SlugLife]

I've used a sand blaster - glass beads on many of my older tanks - primarily at the top to actually clear out/draw out the numbering. It's helped make the numbers easier to read - then put a light primer around the crown to again make the numbers easier to read.
Are you painting any galvanized tanks - I'd be interested in how that goes. I have several painted tanks - yes they scratch and peel but I still like the ease of identifying - I had even made a couple minion tanks. Although after 5 years these have been cleaned and turned into plain nitrox tanks.

I've tried a few times to upload the pics of the minion (linked one at least) tanks and it's just not working - probably my connection - I'll try again later if I remember.

My initial plan would be to start with my cheapest/crappiest tanks and then move up to the nicer ones. I do have 2x unpainted galvanized steel tanks, that I'm likely to save for last, or after I'm happy with the results on my other tanks. I'll definitely post updates if/when I actually paint any tanks.

That minion tank is neat.

I tend to number my tanks using a cheap paint-marker, that way if I have any special instructions for a dive-shop or another diver, it helps the other diver keep track. "You can borrow tank #3." or "Can you install this din-valve on tanks #2?" The paint-markers aren't too permanent, they'll rub off with a little bit of work or chemicals.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Sand off old paint on aluminum tanks starting with 80-120 grit lightly to grab and blow off the bulk of the paint then follow up with 180. Don’t oversand, you want to see milling lines still in the surface meaning you haven’t sanded down past the lowest point.
Use a DA sander.
For steel I sand blast using 30-60 mesh. Don’t over blast.
I pick out the paint stuck in the stampings by hand with a metal pick. Then follow up with a light sand blast for steel and leave it with aluminum.
Any tank that has been sanded or sand blasted or otherwise manipulated will need to be hydro’d AFTER all the stripping and painting is complete.

Primers and topcoats are a complete different subject worthy of a new thread.
I’ve painted many tanks with complete professional results, probably because I’m a professional painter.

 

[stretchthepenn]

What I'm talking about is dry sand-blasting, using pressurized air and some dry-media like aluminum oxide. Alternatively, sand-paper can do the job too.

I do like my silver and bare-metal tanks. The orange one as well. That said, this blue one has some nasty paint-peeling, and my relatively new pony-bottle has paint-chipping on the base. If I didn't already have the supplies, and enjoy the process, I certainly wouldn't bother painting the tanks. But the fact that it's practice for another project and a hands-on distraction kinda makes it worth it.

View attachment 753381

If you're hell-bent on blasting the tanks, that sounds good, but I've stripped some AL80 tanks (that looked much like your blue tank) using Citristrip, which was recommended by other SB posters. Set everything atop a large garbage bag, slop on the stripper, let it sit a few hours, and then use a plastic putty knife to scrape off the goo. Clean up with paper towels and water. Easy-peasy.

 

[SlugLife]

The purpose of sand-blasting, is because Cerakote and similar paints require sand-blasting to create a surface that the paint will adhere to.

I might possibly strip the tanks first, just so I don't dirty-up the sand-blasting medium and to cut sand-blasting time.