MK3 resto, before & after.

[VooDooGasMan]

zxy, you were able to fit the s in there, is that a newer rubber purge, I neeed one for mine, guess I will check lds.

Nice work hope it breathes as well.



Happy Diving

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Beautiful job!

Just a question: could you use a clear coat over the regs just so that it wouldn't oxidize as quickly? It might not be so durable over time, but its an idea I've been toying with ever since I refinished my steel tanks.

I've tried clearing metals before and over time it seems nothing really works long term.
Clears have a hard time sticking to brass and other non ferrous metals.
They make a lacquer spray called XIM 900 clear and it's used for ornamental indoor brass items like lamps and candle holders, but it seems like the metal always yellows underneath and the clear then has to stripped off and redone. I can't imagine exposing the lacquer clear to sun and salt and getting a little nick in the clear. The corrosion would start and get underneath and really look like hell. Then the parts would have to be soaked in stripper to remove all the old clear.

I think polished brass is better left open so it can breath. It would only take a few minutes with a little brasso to bring it right back up to full shine. You'd be amazed how long a brilliant polish lasts even when used in salt water. Clorinated pools on the other hand are horrible on metals.

I polished up an aluminum tank once and I was amazed at how long the shine lasted after using it in the ocean. All I had to do about every 5th time I used it was take a little mag wheel aluminum polish by hand and in minutes it was right back to a brilliant shine. I took it in a pool once and it hazed out with white dots all over it. I had to start over and re-polish it with a wheel and compound.


As you can see I'm a polishing freak. Mmmm shiny things

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

zxy, you were able to fit the s in there, is that a newer rubber purge, I neeed one for mine, guess I will check lds.

Nice work hope it breathes as well.



Happy Diving

Yes, it is a newer style and I got it from my LDS. I was shocked they had one in stock and on top of that were willing to sell it to me!
Apparently they are still available and not hard to get.
The Metal "S" fit in no problem but they are not as clean as the originals. You might need to clean it up with an exacto.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Nice job, man. When you gonna start on that Conshelf?

As soon as I get parts in for it. I'm ordering them beginning of the week.

All these old regs I'm getting all have weird or interesting histories.

The conshelf was used to help land the biggest jade boulder in history (over 9000 pounds) out of jade cove on the Big Sur coast back in 1974.
The MK3 was taken down to 200 feet to shoot a grouper in Florida and the guy got bent. That was the last time it was used.
The MK 5's I just got, one of them was being used by a guy who got bitten in half by a shark, also in Florida and that was the last time it was used.

I'm thinking maybe I should soak them in holy water along with a little white vinegar to de-karma-ize them. The conshelf has the least amount of weirdness out of any of them.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Alright ZKY is that polished aluminum tank, if so wow, I blew it up and it is like chrome.





Happy Diving

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Yes sir, that is indeed polished aluminum.
I took an old used AL80 that I got cheap. It was painted and had corroded spots all over it under the paint. Big blisters with nasty white rust powder underneath when I popped them.
I sanded off all the paint first with 80 grit on an air orbital sander (the type used in a body shop commonly called a "DA" for "dual action" sander).
Next I took 240 grit and sanded out the 80 scratches. Then took 400 grit and sanded out the 240 scratches.
I use a polishing system by Zephyr complete with all the different polishing wheels and rouges. This line is the front runner for aluminum wheel polishing in the trucking industry.
It makes quick work out of any aluminum polishing project.
Start to finish I was in it no more than 3 hours, which is quick considering how bad the surface was and how much sanding I had to do.

**Note:
No Al 80's were hurt during this process. Hardly any material was removed and they passed hydro no problem.

If you really want to see some anal polishing freak stuff you should see the whole airstream trailer I did for a guy. That thing came out like a mirror!

Here is the link to Zephyr:
https://www.zephyrpro40.com/s2/Scripts/default.asp


Happy polishing...

 

[DaleC]

ZKY, I am seriously impressed with that tank. That is amazing.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Couv]

zxy, you were able to fit the s in there, is that a newer rubber purge, I neeed one for mine, guess I will check lds. Nice work hope it breathes as well. Happy Diving

Hey VooDoo,

Some of the Usual Suspects are trying to get aftermarket covers made. I suspect the bigger order we get, the more likely it will be that this happens. So, bring your a$$ over to this thread and help us help you.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do...-buy-109-ba-diaphragm-covers-exhaust-tee.html

Thanks,

Couv