Remove ext. coating

[FredT]

COVCI, I tried scraping some of it off and not only was it very difficult but it did not come cleanly off of the tank. Did you have a special technique or tool when you did it?

The UDS vinyl coatings can be removed with a sharp very large knife (Machete) used in a drawknife fashion. Take your time and try to remove only about a 1/8" wide strip at a time.
If after the first few passes the tank is NOT galvanized under the coating quit then and cut your losses. It's not worth the rework as a "get it wet" bottle. Other conditions allowing, it probably can be slavaged as a pneumatic tool power source or emergency oxygen bottle.

The harder thick baked on (powder coated) finishes require a chipping technique and take longer to remove. With sharp tools and a good arm it takes about 3 hours to peel one of them. The current DOT regs in the US require removal of soft coatings before the visual mandated before Hydro testing.

Painted coatings can be removed with any non-acid paint remover, with aircraft stripper being the preferred general chemistry. To test a stripper put a little on a
galvanized pipe fitting. If it attacks the galvanizing DO NOT USE IT ON ANY TANK!

If you sand blast a steel tank you'll remove the galvanizing under the coating, thus killing the tank for salt water work.

FT