Got a good deal, and tried my hand at stripping...

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Kaneda13

Contributor
Messages
118
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Location
Indianapolis
# of dives
100 - 199
I ran across 4 tanks on facebook market a couple of months ago, and the price was right enough that I bought all 4 of them (4 tanks for $125). 2 are Catalina, 2 are Luxfer, all 4 are AL80s. They have been sitting in my garage for a couple of months, just waiting for me to actually start going through them. When I bought them, they all had some pressure in them, and the guy said they hadn't used them in about 4 years. All are dated from the mid 90's, and none have ever been Hydro'ed (or at least not stamped). They weren't in terrible shape, but I thought I would give a try at stripping the paint, just to see how they look before I take them in to get hydro'ed. I just wiped them down with some windex, put a thick coat of Citristrip on them, and let them sit for an hour. I used a plastic paint scrapper to get almost all the paint off, and them put on another, thinner coat for about 30 minutes. I scrapped/wiped off everything I could, and took it to the sink and scrubbed it down with some green scotch bright. I have to say, I'm REALLY happy with how they turned out. Out of the sink I wiped it down with windex again, and this is how the first one came out. I'll order some new boots, and take them to the shop to get hydro'ed once they are all done. Any recommendations for a wipe-on coat of anything, or should I just leave them bare metal?


The is the second of the 2 Catalina's, I didn't photo the first one before I started.
IMG_1294.jpeg


This is after after scraping it off after an hour of Citristrip:
IMG_1296.jpeg


Photos of the first one finished, and the second one as I bought it:
IMG_1297.jpeg


Never been re-stamped:
IMG_1298.jpeg
 
You could clear coat it,
Or I would try POR 15 metal prep which is Phosphoric Acid and maybe then clear coat it,
I have never done it yet on tanks,
But next time I do an aluminum tank I plan to use it
 
I just leave mine bare. That looks great.
I get my painted AL80s blasted bare when they go to hydro. I prefer it to painted tanks.
 
Leave them bare
 
Very nice job. You now have a brushed finished which is the preferred finish for tanks which are heavily used in salt water. Do not clear coat them. I stripped 2 Catalina 80's which had been factory clear coated. The clear coat had cracked from use allowing salt to intrude under the clear coat.
 
So, Luxfer uses an epoxy based paint, and the Citristrip won't do anything to it. After an hour and a half, not a single bubble on the paint. So I just washed them up, and here we go. I can't ID the valves on the Catalina tanks, and I'm not a fan of them, so I may swap out the valves. The black tanks aren't in great shape paint wise, but they are both date 09/97, and also have never been re-Hydro'ed.

IMG_1300.jpeg

IMG_1301.jpeg

IMG_1302.jpeg
 
If they need hydro, find a tester that does industrial bottles and have them sandblast them while they test. That is what I do with my painted cylinders.
 
I came in to watch and stuff some dollar bills in your tank bands :wink:

Thank goodness I'm not the only one. My first thought was maybe stripping to get $ for scuba.. I mean, times are tough, gotta do what you gotta do:)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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