tank getting scratched up

[H2o Man]

hi guys

I have a halcyon #45pioneer bp/wing setup i recently bought two

brand spanking new 121s i slid the camstraps over the tank and

ended up scratching my new tank with the two screws that hold

the bladder to the bp.

I just wanted to know what did you halcyon owners do to

prevent this from happening?

Is there anything i can get to cover the heads of the two screws

so i dont further damage my tanks?

I'm sooo pissed off.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Bob3]

Besides Duct Tape (use only BLACK Duct Tape if you want to remain DIR) you can get some vinyl tool handle dip & paint it on the heads.
"Dip It" is one brand name, it's readily available at most hardware stores, Wal Mart & K-Mart.

 

[GearHead]

I feel your pain, brother. I ended up doing the same thing, but there is hope. I resorted to coating the two screws with "Plasti-Dip" (aka "Tool Dip" for coating the handles of tools) to provide a protective barrier. It took a few applications, but now the screws are coated with enough stuff that they don't scratch my tanks anymore. Also, I was able to use some metallic gray nail polish to repair the scratches.

Good Luck with yours,

Rick

 

[Goeduck]

I don't have that set-up yet, but I have read other people who have had some-what the same problem and this is what was pur-posed to them.

Remove the bolts, thread the nuts on them and then cut them off with a hacksaw. Make sure that you know how much to cut off, so that you don't cut them off too short. After they have been cut off, then unthread the nuts, which will straighten out the threads on the bolt.

If you don't want to try that, then try going to a hardware store and find shorter bolts, in SS.

If I am wrong in my advice, I hope that someone will correct me.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Goeduck once bubbled...
If I am wrong in my advice, I hope that someone will correct me.

The length of the bolt isn't a problem (in fact the top bolt that goes through webbing is too short by a touch.)

The problem isn't even the T nuts.

Your gonna hate this... the problem is painted tanks. There is no end to the stuff that can and will scratch them.

A solution is duct tape... but don't put it on the nuts... put it on the tanks.

 

[Birdman]

I have a very similar setup to your's. The way I avoid this problem is not using bolts to attach the wing to the backplate. My wing stays in place between dives by way of the cam bands threaded thru the halcyon backplate slots. During dives the wing is not going any where since its cinched in place via the tank and cam band. For the record my cylinder is an OMS 112, and I have a 45# pioneer wing. IMO the setup is very stable and its not as hard to line up the wing and cylinder as one might think. My cylinder also has telltale bolt and sta scratches in the paint from all the permutations I've gone thru before I arrived at the one I use now.

 

[Goeduck]

I stand corrected by the Great Uncle Pug. :bonk:

 

[H2o Man]

THANKS- a-million guys

I'm going to go out and find that plasti-dip stuff and pour it all on those damn heads.
What a pain in the A!@!!!

 

[Uncle Pug]

Duct tape on the tank is the way to go.

Or...

The *T* head bolts and nuts that held the Halcyon plate pocket on used to be made out of plastic... same ones Zeagle uses... those would work just fine to hold the wing in place when a tank isn't clamped in the rig and being plastic they won't scratch your tank up either.

Or...

For those of you who haven't bought tanks yet... galvanizing is self-healing if scratched and is super manly

 

[Dryglove]

I had originally taken the bolts that came with it and ground off the dome making it flat kind of like the pieces that hold the storage pack on.It worked pretty good as far as beating my painted tanks.

Just recently i found some SS 1/4" flat head screws and they fit perfect in the grommet of the wing.They sit just a hair below the top of the grommet and appear not to make any contact with the tank.The tank just rests on the grommet and built in STA from the wing.

Pug also had a great idea with the old style plastic pieces from a storage pack.Then the tank is sitting on plastic instead of a bolt or a grommet.

If anyone is interrested in seeing a pic let me know and ill post one here of the two different style bolts i used.