Paint for Fabers

[boarderX47]

I have the spot of the top of mine where they had to break the coating for the hydro date. I was thinking about putting some clear resin over it to protect that area. I wonder if that would cause a problem for filling.

Sent from my Galaxy S III

 

[Pin83]

My shop sprays routinely silver paint over the test stamp after hydro. A few dives after it's first hydro, it started to show tiny amounts of rust in the stamping, so I cleaned it up a little, masked around it, and sprayed a couple of coats of cold gal, followed by a couple of bright silvagal topcoat. I now do this after every hydro. I also spray white over the old one. Looks nice, no rust, and makes it easy to find the current test stamp... I have plenty of scuff marks on the cylinders, but none than run rusty.

 

[JamesK]

If you think those tanks look nasty, you would be horrified at some of my friends tanks!!! Lol.

 

[Jared0425]

Since my doubles will most likely never see salt water, I guess I will leave them alone. Here in great lakes, they don't rust, but they are exposed to a good amount of temperature variances and going from freezing to 90 degrees is not that unusual. That's why I worry about the paint. Faber does not sell a paint for them.

 

[chrpai]

Bump

My first LP95 is cold galvanized without paint. My second ( got it last night ) is painted white. It has a lot of places that need to be cleaned up and touched up.

Would it make sense at all to just strip the whole thing, brush / sand and hit it with a full coat of ZRC cold galvanizing? Or would it be better to just spot treat?

 

[TomZ]

Bump

My first LP95 is cold galvanized without paint. My second ( got it last night ) is painted white. It has a lot of places that need to be cleaned up and touched up.

Would it make sense at all to just strip the whole thing, brush / sand and hit it with a full coat of ZRC cold galvanizing? Or would it be better to just spot treat?

The paint Faber uses is tough! I stripped my LP95 and hit it with several coats of ZRC. Stripping it was a pain in the behind. Several cans of aircraft stripper, steel wool, gloves, sweat, and cursing was required. IF I were to do it again, I'd be money, time and aggravation ahead by sending the tank out to be media blasted. The factory galvanized coating is thin, it's easy to sand through. The finish in the factory stampings on the neck is very difficult to get out, making them hard to read after re-coating with the galvanized stuff. Media blasting would have been better for that also. Did I mention media blasting is a good idea?

 

[FM1520]

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As I said they are not looking pretty. I rather have them look like that 5 years after I repaint them, but not to continue to have them get worse and worse.

I have two LP 95s and they look about like that or worse, I would never consider stripping or painting - I can't imagine it being worth the time and effort. Additionally, in the long run you may do more harm than good by stripping the factory paint.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I'd suggest stripping them down and leaving them in their natural straight. It's better from a corrosion perspective.

Where do you come up with these ideas? Have you ever done this yourself? Ever seen what happens when they are stripped?

 

[chrpai]

Where do you come up with these ideas? Have you ever done this yourself? Ever seen what happens when they are stripped?

Didn't read the whole thread, did you?

 

[Tom Winters]

Don't strip the white paint off a Faber. It's not worth the hassle. Accept the aging of your tanks - most of you posting are not going to run out at the first sign of a wrinkle and get your face Mickey Rourked now, are you?
When you get a new hydro stamp, just spray a little white Rustoleum on the bare steel. If you want to make it more legible, go over it with a black grease pencil and then clean up the area so just the grooves have black gunk in them.
If you waited too long and have a little rust on the outside, just wire brush it a little, clean it up, and zap it with the Rustoleum.
The ZRC is an estimable product, but unless you are the epitome of Total Anal Diver (pronounced tard) and require spotless dive gear, you do not want to mess with this. The stripping, the surface prep, applications, and the subsequent air cure with drive you up the wall. Sell your painted steels - you'll get a good price for them and pop for galvanized.
There is a lot to be said for galvanized steel tanks. I got my painted Fabers pretty cheaply, I had a small wire brush, and a can of white spray paint was pretty reasonable.
For the guy in central Florida, there is a guy who is genuinely going to hydro fire-blackened scuba tanks??????????????? Well, it is pronounced Flor-i-duh.
Good luck with all that.