Sticker removal from Tanks

[Dive-aholic]

Razor blade to peel the stickers off. A bunch of dives to wash the glue away. That's the best way to do it. BTW, it may take several dozen dives to get all the glue off...

FWIW, proper VIP procedures require stickers and labels to be removed from the tanks. Make sure the shop you take your tanks to next year know this.

 

[spectrum]

I had good luck with a blow dryer to soften the adhesive then a plastic scraper to lift the stickers, safe for me and the cylinder finish. I then had to use solvents like acetone and mineral spirits to get the tenacious glue off. Finally go diving a lot because if you have been using the cylinders much as all it will be a while before the finish weathers in.

Pete

 

[anotherscubavideo]

Those stickers shouldnt be there anyways, when shops do visuals (espeically on their own tanks) they should be removing the stickers.

 

[letterboy]

Nope no way to remove the stickers. . . Send the tanks to me for disposal. . .

 

[sarita75]

Oh, so I have begun the process. Just over 1.5 hours to get 4 old VI stickers and the remenants of a DS bumper sticker off. I am pretty amazed that these tanks were just VI'd and hydro'd and noone seemed to mind the prevelance of the stickers. 3 more tanks to go, but here is the first set of photos (before and after, but only for 1 tank).

It's alot of work and I am seriously questioning whether they just need to be stripped (since the paint is really peeling) but I have a feeling that they might need to be re-VI'd?

 

[DepthCharge]

take your hairdryer adn heat each sticker for about 10-30 seconds, then start to slowely peel while keeping the dryer on it. and no, it wont alter the metal and cause you to blow up.

By far the easiest and best method

 

[captndale]

A wood chisel works better than a razor blade. This I learned from a kid who worked for me when I owned a dive shop.

 

[GottaDive]

I've heard mayonaise works to remove bumper stickers. :

Don't put mayonaise on your tanks... You might get attacked by a tuna fish!!
Might as well use tartar sauce!

 

[oxyhacker]

Luxfer recommends the Mosbacher Super Scraper, a hard plastic scraper. However it is almost impossible to find since the company's main product is chemical tape removers, and the scrapers are usually packaged with the other products. Also they get dull pretty quickly so one will not last very long.

So I usually try the heat and peel method and if that doesn't work, a razor scraper.

Using heat and a scraper on painted tanks can be a trade-off since it often softens the paint making it easier to damage even as it makes the sticker easier to remove.

Problem with letting a diveshop do it is you can't expect them to devote much time to it and so if you are buggy about keeping your tank finish perfect you better do it yourself.

Chemical sticker and adhesive removers can also damage painted finishes which is why some of the tank manufacturers discourage their use. Things like mayonnaise and WD40 are usually pretty harmless, but acetone and other stong solvents can take the finish right off. Good idea if you are not sure to try a bit on the bottom of the tank first where it won't show if you muck up the finish.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Wow, those are some seriously well-loved tanks.

Don't put mayonaise on your tanks... You might get attacked by a tuna fish!!
Might as well use tartar sauce!

Mmmmmm, tartar sauce!

Ber :lilbunny: