I'm with you. Leave the stickers off, fill, analyze, and label with tape. If in any doubt, re-analyze before breathing.
I have some unused nitrox bands stickers and haven't used them because I have not had a good reason to do so. I keep them because the LDS closest to me told me they would not fill my tanks with nitrox if they do not have a nitrox band. I haven't gone back to that shop for a gas fill ever since, but you never know and maybe one day I may have to go back in a crunch. If such occasion ever rose, I would probably just temporarily affix the band with masking tape or something
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Kaerius, everything you do or don't do should have a reason behind it. Just because PADI says so is not a very good reason. Think about the reason for having Nitrox bands. The commonly accepted reason is so that nobody else grabs your tank and dives it thinking he's using 21%. If that is the case, wouldn't another sticker saying, "This is not your tank! Don't you dare touch my gear!", also accomplish the same purpose. Granted, it would be more verbose, but you get my idea.
In my particular case, it would be very hard to get my tanks confused with anybody else's. They are doubles. One is green, another one is sand blasted. My wing is bright red. I have an 11lbs V-weight and a 6 lbs. P-weight attached to the backplate. The green tank has a big sticker with a "G" (my first name initial). The sandblasted one has a big yellow (yes, shark-flasher yellow) retroreflective sticker were I usually write the MOD with a thick "permanent" marker. I wipe out the marker with isopropanol whenever I need to write in a new MOD.
And if anybody sees an Al80 rigged as a stage bottle it stands to reason that it is not supposed to go in a poodle jacket. You would need tools to take out the stage rigging and make it useful for a poodle jacket. So in short, no, I do not need to label my tanks with a nitrox band sticker.
What is the reason for recleaning a nitrox tank after filling it with air? The commonly accepted reason is that it is assumed that the air station is not oxygen clean. During the filling lubricant or hydrocarbons that are not compatible with oxygen could contaminate your nitrox tank. If you go back to do a partial pressure nitrox fill on a contaminated tank, you could microflash some of those hydrocarbons and produce carbon monoxide which is not good for you. However, if you fill your air at the same station that also does nitrox fills, it is more than likely that ALL their equipment will be oxygen compatible, including equipment used to fill air. Therefore there is no need to go back to cleaning it again. If in doubt just ask the provider and request the paper work.
