Pressed Steel Status?

[Hoosier]

The short answer is that using Aircraft Remover didn't affect the color: same dull, lead-grey after stripping.

It also doesn't seem to reduce corrosion resistance, which is probably more important.

Just for background, I've bought over 20 of these hp steel PST's in the past 13 years, all from vintages of the early to mid-1990's.

If I remember correctly, I've stripped about 7 or 8, including 5 of the 6 PST hp hot-dipped galvanized steels I currently own (4-120's, 2-100's). Only one of my current "fleet" was a non-painted version originally.

My observations may pertain only to these older PST hot-dipped galvanized tanks, but I found that stripping would yield the same color galvanized finish as was on the non-painted tanks: the dull, medium lead-grey finish that many of the Pressed Steels had back then.

One must note that, even within the same year of production, there were some tanks with shinier or brighter coatings. One of my four tanks from the year 1992 is noticeably shinier and brighter than the others, even though it was a painted tank like two of the others.

As far as the effect of Aircraft Remover on the zinc coating, the resistance to corrosion appears to be very good, just like the non-painted galvies, at least for the 7 to 10-year period I've used them. That time period probably represents dozens to over a hundred exposures to saltwater, depending on the tank. Always rinsed, though.

Also, my stripped tanks appear to have resisted corrosion as well as several buddies' non-painted PST galvies.

As a result, I'm completely comfortable using Aircraft Remover for this application.

Dave C

Thanks for sharing your info..


I have only stripped AL tanks and very old steel tanks (black painted). I am always wondering how HDG looks like after being stripped.

Again, good info.. Thanks.

 

[CompuDude]

Apparently, no one told the PST that regular paint doesn't adhere to DGP coatings very well.

The PST we all once knew and loved is dead. Long live Worthington!

 

[SparticleBrane]

Sad to think they would PAINT the cylinders to make them look nicer in the shops. I'd rather just have the tough HDG finish.

 

[wmspdi]

I had 3/4 of a can of aircraft paint stripper sitting on the shelf so I removed the paint and afterward scrubbed it with Simple Green. The paint is gone, the boot is on, and it sports a new Viz sticker compliments of my LDS. It now looks as it should.

I am still done with PST as far as future tanks purchases are concerned. As with too many "improvements" in the scuba industry this was undoubtedly driving by the marketing department and not by engineering.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I was in a dive shop in Pensacola the other day and saw a PST E7-80 (3442psi) with original hydro in September of 2007. It had a shiny finish but wasn't quite the same as the older PSTs -- looked more like paint than HDG.

I noticed, after looking at it, that the crown part of the top isn't 100% straight. It's actually slightly lopsided. This is a shot from my cell phone, but you can see what I'm talking about. I moved the tank around a few times, but it's consistent. The tank is flat on the floor but the crown around the top isn't level.

 

[oxyhacker]

Looks pretty damn good to me, if you consider that it was done by hand.

I noticed, after looking at it, that the crown part of the top isn't 100% straight. It's actually slightly lopsided. This is a shot from my cell phone, but you can see what I'm talking about. I moved the tank around a few times, but it's consistent. The tank is flat on the floor but the crown around the top isn't level.

 

[pescador775]

About the paint thing. Sherwood Genesis specified in the purchase order that HP tanks be painted. PST was not thrilled about it but complied.