Exterior cleaning of SCBA?

[woogie_man]

Has anyone thought about cleaning or refinishing the exterior of their tanks? Looking at removing some stickers and what not, as well as some minor scratches. Nothing that has jeopardized the integrity of the tank, just scuffs and what not. Was wondering if there was a way to "refinish" the tanks to make them look decent. Was thinking of something like a quality epoxy or something thinned out and applied over the bottle. Just thinking and searching the net to see if there is anything out there. The tank holds air fine and has no issues, just normal wear marks and some stickers I want to remove.

So what says you?

 

[6gun]

Has anyone thought about cleaning or refinishing the exterior of their tanks? Looking at removing some stickers and what not, as well as some minor scratches. Nothing that has jeopardized the integrity of the tank, just scuffs and what not. Was wondering if there was a way to "refinish" the tanks to make them look decent. Was thinking of something like a quality epoxy or something thinned out and applied over the bottle. Just thinking and searching the net to see if there is anything out there. The tank holds air fine and has no issues, just normal wear marks and some stickers I want to remove.

So what says you?

I've done 3 of mine and a carbon gun bottle. I just use some car glazing polish and a wool pad on a car buffer because I have all that stuff for my truck. You can even make deep scratches in the label level of resting shiny to the point you don't see much.

The compound I use is for swirl marks, cutting compound would remove more "deep" scratches. If you don't have a buffer it's not awful to do by hand, but takes time.

 

[6gun]

Everything to the right of the buddy bottles got a little up-shine. The small scott scba next to the buddy bottles was retired fire gear and it was HAMMERED so I had to Dr it up to not look like garbage.

 

[OldVet]

I have recently found a epoxy style spray paint called 2K it's a 2 part can with hardener inside picture of it on page 1 of painting your beloved Airgun . Anyway there is some clear finishes in gloss , satin , or Mattee that could work great as a final finish on whatever you do
I have a old Scott tank that I want to refinish as well I know they are wrapped in carbon fiber which is just a outside coating to protect the aluminum tank underneath , so I need to look up how to work on carbon fiber finishing.

 

[TN_Yankee]

I know what you're saying, but just to clarify for any newcomers: they're wrapped in a CF-epoxy matrix over the aluminum bottle, with layers of epoxy on the exterior surface. If any fiber is exposed, that tank as ready for the dump immediately. One of my retired fire SCBAs had a moderate chip when I took it in years ago for testing. The tech just dabbed a bit of straight epoxy in the chip & smoothed it over; it looked fine to me & he said the integrity wasn't damaged at all.

 

[beerthief]

Has anyone thought about cleaning or refinishing the exterior of their tanks? Looking at removing some stickers and what not, as well as some minor scratches. Nothing that has jeopardized the integrity of the tank, just scuffs and what not. Was wondering if there was a way to "refinish" the tanks to make them look decent. Was thinking of something like a quality epoxy or something thinned out and applied over the bottle. Just thinking and searching the net to see if there is anything out there. The tank holds air fine and has no issues, just normal wear marks and some stickers I want to remove.

So what says you?

I have seen where a cover was made . like a simple "leg o' Jeans" with a draw string? all the way to a custom fitted Leather case with embossed long horn cattle and such .

 

[woogie_man]

I know what you're saying, but just to clarify for any newcomers: they're wrapped in a CF-epoxy matrix over the aluminum bottle, with layers of epoxy on the exterior surface. If any fiber is exposed, that tank as ready for the dump immediately. One of my retired fire SCBAs had a moderate chip when I took it in years ago for testing. The tech just dabbed a bit of straight epoxy in the chip & smoothed it over; it looked fine to me & he said the integrity wasn't damaged at all.

Agreed!! Please don't try and "repair" a damaged tank!

My tanks are not damaged, just the outside is a mate finish and I would like to clean them up to be glossy.

The left tank is my MSA and it looks great, the right tank is my newest purchase. The tank is fine and the seller made no attempt to hide how they looked! I knew they would be like this when I bought them and have no issue with them, would like to clean them up if possible. If not then no worries as they will be in my truck when I go hunting.

 

[grackleblast]

A little heat to loosen the glue from the stickers , then some goo- gone for the residue . The coatings on these tanks is like the gel coat on a fiberglass boat .
It is a protective layer , not a structural component. You can clean them , buff them , and I guess you could wax them. Get the stickers off , and clean things up........no harm done , The outer gel coat is to protect the carbon fiber wrap.........that is the important part . If it is intact , you are good to go .

 

[6gun]

A little heat to loosen the glue from the stickers , then some goo- gone for the residue . The coatings on these tanks is like the gel coat on a fiberglass boat .
It is a protective layer , not a structural component. You can clean them , buff them , and I guess you could wax them. Get the stickers off , and clean things up........no harm done , The outer gel coat is to protect the carbon fiber wrap.........that is the important part . If it is intact , you are good to go .

The typical construction today is the aluminum liner, the structural carbon and it's resin, a protective layer of glass and it's resin, a waist wrap and the a final protective outer coating of resin that can get chipped etc if memory serves. If no strands of any type are compromised there are no worries. I've back filled chips with 5 minute hardware store resin and buffed it out.

I'm the old head now and remember when wrapped hpa was 3k psi for paintball I still have a bulldog cylinder because it was so pretty.

 

[OldVet]

The typical construction today is the aluminum liner, the structural carbon and it's resin, a protective layer of glass and it's resin, a waist wrap and the a final protective outer coating of resin that can get chipped etc if memory serves. If no strands of any type are compromised there are no worries. I've back filled chips with 5 minute hardware store resin and buffed it out.

I'm the old head now and remember when wrapped hpa was 3k psi for paintball I still have a bulldog cylinder because it was so pretty.

There are fiberglass automotive repair kits that I bet would be a excellent thing to put on one of those tanks as a base for a nice paint job.