Faber outside rust

[vixtor]

Hello,

I have a Faber steel tank which was painted with some kind of thick, rubber-like paint by the final vendor (Mares). A small part of it (like 5x5mm), on the lateral side was scratched to the bare metal, and it already started to rust after one dive.

Can you advice me what shall I do about this? Is it something to ignore, or does it require immediate action to stop the rust? Until now I have seen rental tanks with lots of rust on the outside and it seemed that nobody cared, but this case is different, as it is my tank

 

[halocline]

I"d be interested in this too, as I have a faber with a very small (1mm circle) bare spot that's getting rusty. I imagine a good approach would be to remove the rust, maybe with naval jelly, masking the area around it, then hitting it with a spot of ZRC cold galvanizing. Probably any zinc-rich primer would work, then you could top coat it.

 

[Scared Silly]

Clean the rust then apply Appliance White Epoxy Paint.

 

[spectrum]

Yea, just clean it up and apply a touch up finish. You can expect the same issue when future hydro stamp impressions are made.

Pete

 

[vixtor]

Btw, I have just checked the Mares website, and the description of the external coating is:

"external coating: soft touch polyurethane coating"

will the epoxy paint adhere to this coating, so water will not go under?

I was thinking about doing the following (if epoxy and polyurethane may go together):
- sanding and using some anti-rust substance on the bare metal area
- sanding a small area (with very fine sand paper) of this coating around the spot - but not the whole thickness of the coating, only the surface, so the epoxy paint will adhere better
- wash (or air blow) the surface, to eliminate all remaining dust
- paint the patch with this paint.

What do you think?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I think Mares has re-invented the wheel with this one. Coated tanks were all the rage in the 70's and it worked well as long as the coating was not loose. If it is loose it will allow water underneath and then hold it there promoting rust - especially on an ungalvanized tank.

You will need to remove any loose coating. Anyone doing a proper VIP will do the same as any loose coating, stickers or paint must be removed to allow proper inspection of the metal underneath.

Faber tanks come with very durable paint - apparently a lot better than the soft touch coating used by mares, so this appears to be a move in the wrong direction.

 

[vixtor]

It seems that this coating adhered very strongly to the metal (which doesn't have a smooth finish, but rather a coarse one. I am only worried about painting the spot - how well will the two kinds of paints (the original one and the epoxy one advised here) adhere to each other and stopping the water from going under (because after I paint it, it would be hard to know what happens beneath.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If the coating is still attached around the edges water will not get under it. If it is loose, it will and you will be able to see if it is loose even after you paint the rust spot. The idea is to paint the metal not fill in the entire depression where the coating is missing.

 

[DennisW]

I have an old St 72 that has the plastic coating. Where it has come loose, I take as much off as I can, clean off the rust and paint with cold galvanize. I do this every year when I inspect the tank. So, far, so good. I forget when I need to get it hydro'd next, I think in a year or two, but it is a great tank.

 

[Zak OHara]

Hi all,
You present a good question. First let me state I do not know the answer for sure. We do not offer the tanks in N. America, so I'm not familiar with the coating. This may be a question for Faber or the Faber distributor depending where you are located. My guess is Faber does the coating on the tanks. Last time I was in Italy, I did not see a paint shop or dipping station at the office for tanks. Not to say we don't do the coating, it would just surprise me.

If someone contacts Faber I'm sure they can offer some guidance.