dagodiver
Registered
Bare alum. looks and last longer than paint any day.
Dago
Dago
Painting an Auminum tank
- Thread starter ScottyK
- Start date
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cdiver2
Contributor
dagodiver:
Surely thats a matter of opinion?.
My tanks and Buddy's/wife are painted white and day glow orange on the shoulder, white so we can easily identify/see each other underwater, DG orange to make it easier for rescuers to spot us on the surface and it works.
On one dive my wife and I were the first down the anchor line onto a ledge the second pair surfaced as they found the anchor had broken free and was being dragging across the bottom. When we returned to were the anchor should be it was not there so ascend three min safety and on hitting the surface the boat was about 500 yards away, we were spotted right away and was told the orange really sticks out.
Besides that when the crew of a dive boat puts everyones tank on the dock and there all Alum while every one is trying to find there tanks I'm walking back to my car with mine
dagodiver
Registered
Excellent point.! mine are easy to spot because they are doubles....the only thing i use a single alum. 80 for is a deco bottle...!!! 
Dago.
Dago.
cdiver2
Contributor
FrankT:
Like he his saying no one else can do this right but me.....give me your money.
Look at the places that do the Fancy paint jobs on cars, bikes and boats...they know how to blast what they don't know how to do is hydro a tank....so they don't offer that service.
OP
ScottyK
Contributor
cdiver2:Besides that when the crew of a dive boat puts everyones tank on the dock and there all Alum while every one is trying to find there tanks I'm walking back to my car with mine
LOL- I wish I had that problem. Up here you need to lug all your own gear on and off the boat by yourself...
Glad it turned out OK though. Must not be a good feeling, getting back to your entry point and finding the anchor line completely gone. Do you carry surface markers and signal devices?
I called my LDS, and they didn't have an opinion one way or the other on blasting. They also recommended stripper and a Scotchbrite pad. Leaving it with a bare finish also works for me. Less work and I get rid of the pink.
Follow up question. Can I find aircraft stripper at Home Depot, or do I need to go to a specialty store to find it?
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Just pour a can of brake fluid on it . . .
cyklon_300
Contributor
I found it at an auto parts place...comes in aerosol spray cans and 1-gal can.
I did two Al80s with one can of the aerosol. Let it sit on the surface for a while then scrape or powerwash the residue off. Finish with Scotchbrite pads.
I did two Al80s with one can of the aerosol. Let it sit on the surface for a while then scrape or powerwash the residue off. Finish with Scotchbrite pads.
cdiver2
Contributor
ScottyK:
First thought when getting back to where the anchor should be, How could I have screwed up so bad.
Yes we have a sausage but in this instance I could just make out someone (turned out to be the DM) on top of the fly bridge roof waving to us.
Not all boats get your gear off for you just some, don't want customers falling when going from the boat to the dock and the suing them
The best stuff I ever used to remove paint from aluminum tanks is 3M Safest Stripper. You just coat it on nice and thick and scrape it off 24 hours later. Unlike most other strippers, you don't need gloves. It's messy, but you can get every bit of paint off eventually without any caustic chemicals dissolving your skin or messing with the tank itself.
A good tank inspector should be looking at tell-tale signs of re-painting, and should not pass a re-painted tank unless he knows how and why it was re-painted. Many times Auto shops etc will bake the paint on, and thats a big no-no for aluminum tanks.
IMO unless you want to put up with good, nosy inspectors every year than don't re-paint your tanks.
If you must re-paint than use aircraft stripper and than aircraft paint. They are specially designed for aluminum in rough weather. And the aircraft paint is not baked on, also will last longer than auto paint. But do keep a record of when, how, and with what the tank was re-painted to make the yearly inspections less painfull.
BTW after re-painting, the tank should be again cleaned for nitrox
IMO unless you want to put up with good, nosy inspectors every year than don't re-paint your tanks.
If you must re-paint than use aircraft stripper and than aircraft paint. They are specially designed for aluminum in rough weather. And the aircraft paint is not baked on, also will last longer than auto paint. But do keep a record of when, how, and with what the tank was re-painted to make the yearly inspections less painfull.
BTW after re-painting, the tank should be again cleaned for nitrox
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