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oldschoolto
Contributor
Put the tank in the bathtub and rub it down with 400 or 600 grit wet sandpaper.. just to break to gloss.. Spray it with a rattle can and it'll look fine..
Jim...
Jim...
I painted all my tanks purely to make it easier to locate them when I collect them from the dive shop.
The helpful man always tells me "they're round the back" with 300 identical twins. Happily my garish neon tanks are now easily located.
The helpful man always tells me "they're round the back" with 300 identical twins. Happily my garish neon tanks are now easily located.
Rred
Contributor
I've painted tanks. You may find some problem because back in the 80's some geniuses painted aluminum tanks and HEAT BAKED the paint to set it properly, just like automobile finishing. Which supposedly led to some dramatic tank failures because of the heat, so a lot of dive shops refused to touch "home painted" tanks. If someone you deal with is still remembering that...just drop your tank on their foot.(G)
You've got plenty of options. You will have to rough up the existing paint to get a good bond, and plain sandpaper can leave enough "sand" to make a poor bond unless you also solvent clean or wash it afterwards. Then you can apply the new paint. If you're good with a spray can of hard enamel, it will work but eventually crack. You really want a 2-part "marine" epoxy or urethane paint to get the same durability that the original finishes have. And that stuff is not as easy to work with. (It helps if you hang the tank by the valve, so you can work all the way around and under it.)
An industrial shop that does powder coating or 2-part "coatings" (they get insulted if you call it paint) may be the best way to get a real professional job out of it.
Or...You find some pink "Contac" brand adhesive vinyl, or find an automobile wrap shop and ask the about a pink "wrap" material, and just apply that over the tank. In four or five years, maybe redo it if you have to. Way cheaper and simpler, I'd think.
You've got plenty of options. You will have to rough up the existing paint to get a good bond, and plain sandpaper can leave enough "sand" to make a poor bond unless you also solvent clean or wash it afterwards. Then you can apply the new paint. If you're good with a spray can of hard enamel, it will work but eventually crack. You really want a 2-part "marine" epoxy or urethane paint to get the same durability that the original finishes have. And that stuff is not as easy to work with. (It helps if you hang the tank by the valve, so you can work all the way around and under it.)
An industrial shop that does powder coating or 2-part "coatings" (they get insulted if you call it paint) may be the best way to get a real professional job out of it.
Or...You find some pink "Contac" brand adhesive vinyl, or find an automobile wrap shop and ask the about a pink "wrap" material, and just apply that over the tank. In four or five years, maybe redo it if you have to. Way cheaper and simpler, I'd think.
oldschoolto
Contributor
You'll have more in the paint job from a shop shooting epoxy paint then you paid for the tank in the first place... Just water sand it in the tub... And get a spray can of pink paint... Total cost about $10 us dollars and about a hour and half in time... The tank will still have the strong factory paint and you'll have the top color pink... win-win... And tank monkeys wouldn't know a painted tank if they dropped it on their toe...
Jim...
Jim...
Clever! How exactly did you paint them, if it is not a secret?
Thank you all for your comments and ideas. My original idea was to stich up a cover from the thin material as swimsuits are made of. I think the material i so thin, that the tank would not slip when attached to the BCD. But I will have to try it first (because it would be the cheapest and the easiset solution, basically, with no direct damage to the tank.
I already contacted some shops who do the sanding and coating, and i am waiting for the prices.
And, if all else fails, I will just sand it in the bathtub and spray it pink. And see what happenes.
I already contacted some shops who do the sanding and coating, and i am waiting for the prices.
And, if all else fails, I will just sand it in the bathtub and spray it pink. And see what happenes.
And how does it cope with the pressure form the tank straps on the wing/jacket? How long does the color last? and did you sand it with a sand paper?
Thanks
2airishuman
Contributor
I have cylinders that I use only occasionally that I have painted this way. The durability is OK, not great. They all have chips in them after a couple of years.
In addition to hand sanding, there's a local sandblasting place that has blasted cylinders for me (I put in a junk valve before giving the cylinder to them), and the local hydro shop has blasted cylinders for me.
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