Faber LP85 Rust

[halocline]

Actually, the ZRC galvilite cold galvanizing is excellent, I've used it on tanks and it works great. I don't know about rustoleum or anything like that.

I have found the faber finish to be pretty tough, but I've seen a few tanks where salt water basically sat in the boots for a long time and did some damage.

 

[Chugwhump]

We down here (the clowns I dive with at least) in D-I-W-ville, routinely do cold galvanized touch ups to both galvanized tanks as well as "Faber Blancos".
There is a guy in town that will strip and repaint your tank with marine epoxy for about $85 to $125 depending on size due to material cost.
There are a bunch of older, sometimes previously abused tanks running around town that I have seen, that have been brought back into safe service.
Sometimes a tumble, filing of the neck, and a little TLC once in a while restores a tank to use.
There are many options to getting a tank into useable shape.
Some require more attention to the details than others.

Chug
Nowhere dead yet from flying steel.
Bring the heat.......
it's only 98 in the shade where I am currently standing.

 

[scubafanatic]

Actually, the ZRC galvilite cold galvanizing is excellent, I've used it on tanks and it works great. I don't know about rustoleum or anything like that.

I have found the faber finish to be pretty tough, but I've seen a few tanks where salt water basically sat in the boots for a long time and did some damage.

I've used the ZRC 'spray can' to touch up my HP PST's after getting hydro stamped, and it's worked out just fine, no issues. The PSTs are not painted like Fabers, so I don't know of any other product that would even work for that application.

 

[Slamfire]

I use boots on my faber/oms doubles and routinely take them out to inspect the boot covered area. No probs so far. I'll occasionally touch them up with a matching paint.

My Worthington LP77 doubles are too short for an 11lb v-weight to coexist with boots. These are factory galvanized--not painted. When I initially bought them used, I coated them in entirety with cold galvanizing and then did the same again after hydro. They are in excellent condition. I keep a can of cold galvanizing to touch up whenever a tiny smudge of red rust starts to appear anywhere -- about a couple of spray squirts every 3 or 4 months. I usually scrape out the tiny smudges with my car keys.

I also put strips of sacrificial duct tape in the bootless bottoms in a cross pattern. When touch up time comes up, I rip out whatever remains of the tape and squirt cold galvanizing if it needs it. I let it cure for a couple of days and then apply a new layer of sacrificial duct tape. This keeps them rust free and in excellent condition regardless of being bootless.

 

[OkByMe]

I use an automobile 2 part epoxy finish that is made for flexible parts. I have completely refurbished painted tanks by stripping/priming/painting and the result is just as hard and durable as the Faber finish. You can't use that on hot galvanized metal because the process leeches oils and will cause the primer coat to fail. I never heard of anyone trying it over the the cold galvanized goop. So if you have galvanized tanks, you're stuck.

 

[halocline]

I use an automobile 2 part epoxy finish that is made for flexible parts. I have completely refurbished painted tanks by stripping/priming/painting and the result is just as hard and durable as the Faber finish.

I'd like to see some photos if you have any.

I think the faber tanks have a zinc primer underneath the finish paint. That's pretty to the ZRC stuff, I imagine, it's basically paint with a very high zinc content.