Has Anyone Stripped and Repainted Steel Tanks?

[laughintom]

Hey I found some surface rust under my tank boot and decided to fix it. I used a steel brush on a drill to clean the paint and rust off the bottom of the tank. Is there an easier way to do this? Anything I should be watching out for? I am going to hit the tanks with a rust inhibitor once they are completely stripped and then repaint them. Any suggestions on best inhibitor or paint for this application?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[mike_s]

I used a steel brush on a drill to clean the paint and rust off the bottom of the tank. Is there an easier way to do this?

I've used some stuff calles "Aircraft Stripper" that you can buy at auto parts stores or at WalMart in the automotive section. It's in a blue spray paint type can.

I've never used it on tanks, but but have on other stuff. Boy it will stripp off the paint. Spray it on and it will cause the pain to bubble up. But it's also very corrosive, so wash the surface very good with soapy water after using. Also
wear rubber gloves and goggles and mask. Getting it on your hands will irritate the skin. Getting it in your eyes or inhaling it really isn't fun.

Read the instructions carefully on what type of metal that you can use it on.

I know it works great for Aluminum, but I've never used it for steel.

 

[CWMurf]

I could be mistaken but I think I remember being told by my shop tech that aftermarket paint is not allowed on a tank because it inhibits the inspection process. Somebody please let me know if I am wrong about this.

Murph

 

[mike_s]

I could be mistaken but I think I remember being told by my shop tech that aftermarket paint is not allowed on a tank because it inhibits the inspection process. Somebody please let me know if I am wrong about this.

Murph

What you say makes sense to me.... but....

The shops sure do sell a lot of tanks that are already painted.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm not aware of any reg regarding repainting tanks other than you can't use a standard powder coating because the paint cures at 350 -400 degrees. there are uv low temp curing paints but they are expensive and not generally for the consumer to use. I'm a powder coater in a steel fab shop and we also do wet spray. I have thought about getting my old steel 72's recoated just too lazy to do it though. maybe a winter project. As far as stripping the paint it depends on what they are coated with now. there are several ways to do this. the easiest for the average consumer would be to use the wire wheel and get the big stuff off and then wet sand it like you would a car. this is probably the safest and most eco friendly as it does not involve chemicals. MEK will soften up most paints and take it right off but this is nasty stuff and can really mess you up if not used properly with adequate ventilation and protective gear. as far as obscuring the tank markings you can always mask this area off unless you are really anal about details and don't want a different color spot on the tank that might offend the artistic sensibilities of your local fish population. Again you don't need to put 10 or 12 mils of paint on. if you knock off the large stuff and blend in the various ares with some 120 grit followed by 200 and if you are really picky follow up with 800. the main goal is to create a profile for the paint to adhere to. now what paint. an enamel will give you good scratch resistance as well as some flexibility to account for expansion and contraction due to temp changes. it will also give good resistance to salt spray if adequately cured. some say 24 hrs but if it was me I would not fill or subject it to temp extremes for 72hrs. application- how detailed due you want to get or how involved? krylon or rust-oleum(the good stuff not the newer cheap crap) will work well for most people. have a friend who shoots cars,have him paint it with an automotive enamel. me ? when I do mine I'm going to use a product called Z.R.C. cold galvanizing compound. we get this at work and use it to touch up galvanized items that are required to stand up to 1000hours of salt spray. I think this will do the trick. You won't find this at walmart though. you'll need to go to a commercial paint supply store or maybe NAPA MIGHT have it. So can you repaint the tank? yes. can you get around obscuring the markings? yes either by masking the area or watching how much paint you put on. i'll go the maskin route on the two steel 72's I have the markings were not deep in the first place (one from 1960 and the other from 63) they pass hydro every time in fact just last month. they look like they've been repainted 2 or 3 times (not by me).

 

[mike_s]

One of the local dive shops near me has a guy they take tanks to for painting. He'll paint any design you want on them.... (airbrush).

If you want their contact info, PM me and I'll send it to you.

 

[laughintom]

Thanks everyone! I just ordered the ZRC from Mass. and picked up the aircraft stripper yesterday. These tanks are OMS and the boots have a reputation for holding water. Any reason not to just drill a few holes in the boot to help with drainage? I will let everyone know how the tanks turn out.
Tommy

 

[Tamas]

I am in the process of getting my tanks re-done as well. They are also the OMS98's and I heard that certain years rust more then others due to a water soluble primer they used on it.

I am having my soda blasted (similar idea as sand blasting but will not heat up or remove any of the tank material, just the paint and the surface rust) and then painted using an "Emron" automotive primer/paint to coat it.

If you get in touch with dbg40 from the board, he has done a few already with no ill effects.

 

[cnctina]

I sand blasted my old tanks and painted them with Awlgrip.

 

[MilitantMedic]

I'm in the same boat, I'm about to strip/blast my OMS 98's...hmmm I wonder why it's always the 98's. After some research here's my plan:

1) Using a softer media like walnut shells to blast the paint off. My understanding is that you can use sand, but you have to be quick and careful.
2) Through scrubbing, rinse and dry (no heat)
3) Base coat with ZRC cold galvanizing compound in aerosol form (found it locally @ Gaspro)
4) Spray a clear coat of urethane paint.
5) Air cure for 48+ hours.

You could use coloured paint, but I dig the grey and I want to see any damage/corrosion.

Hey Tamas the Emron is the crap OMS put on there in the first place, you really going to put it back? Primers aside.

NOTE: Napa does not carry ZRC only a low grade Zinc compound.