Spray Painting Bottles...
- Thread starter FUBAR
- Start date
Isn't the Melee a steel tank? Wouldn't have though a bit of paint will affect a steel tank much - no polymers to get affected by solvents or anything... 
possible but it looks like its got wrap on it tho, cos the HSE info is under something see-thru that looks like fibre wrap.
Looks like its going to be a bad idea to spray it, shame, it would have looked cool
FUB
Looks like its going to be a bad idea to spray it, shame, it would have looked cool
FUB
I don't know about the UK, but in the US it is illegal to fill a bottle than can not be visually inspected. Painting it could cover a home made repair to damage done, so you may end up with a cool tank no one will fill.
Tanks with graphics on them have the graphics applied below the last protective coating, and are part of the production proses, so they are OK.
Tanks with graphics on them have the graphics applied below the last protective coating, and are part of the production proses, so they are OK.
Vant is spot-on. Depending on how picky the retesting company is, they can refuse to even test the bottle if it's been painted. Many will even require that any stickers be removed prior to testing as well.
Part of the Hydrotest procedure is a visual inspection- for a steel tank, they look for dents, signs the tank's been subjected to heat, or mechanical damage like gouges or stress cracks.
On a fiber-wrap (or fibre-wrap for you Brit mooks) they look to see if any of the fibers have been cut, damaged or broken, the epoxy/glass matrix has been stressed or damaged, and so on.
It is not unknown for people to have a small tear in the fiber and to "fix" it with a bit of 2-part epoxy, or superglue, or fiberglass resin. Said patch is then "hidden" by the paintjob or a sticker.
Given that the fiber shell is a major portion of the bottle's strength- better than 80%, as I recall- even minor damage here, if not caught in time, can lead to a catastrophic failure.
I don't know how the UK testing is done or checked at the events, but the pickier US events can refuse to fill a painted or excessively-stickered tank. (Realistically though, fills are done either by the player or by some peon who barely knows which valve to yank, so checking isn't as thorough as it could be.)
But I'd bet money the actual hydrotester will refuse to test it if it has an opaque paintjob on it.
Doc.
Part of the Hydrotest procedure is a visual inspection- for a steel tank, they look for dents, signs the tank's been subjected to heat, or mechanical damage like gouges or stress cracks.
On a fiber-wrap (or fibre-wrap for you Brit mooks) they look to see if any of the fibers have been cut, damaged or broken, the epoxy/glass matrix has been stressed or damaged, and so on.
It is not unknown for people to have a small tear in the fiber and to "fix" it with a bit of 2-part epoxy, or superglue, or fiberglass resin. Said patch is then "hidden" by the paintjob or a sticker.
Given that the fiber shell is a major portion of the bottle's strength- better than 80%, as I recall- even minor damage here, if not caught in time, can lead to a catastrophic failure.
I don't know how the UK testing is done or checked at the events, but the pickier US events can refuse to fill a painted or excessively-stickered tank. (Realistically though, fills are done either by the player or by some peon who barely knows which valve to yank, so checking isn't as thorough as it could be.)
But I'd bet money the actual hydrotester will refuse to test it if it has an opaque paintjob on it.
Doc.
cheers Doc, I wont be painting it now, too many implications & consequences.
i'll just get a tank cover instead.
Fub
i'll just get a tank cover instead.
Fub
some one told me when they test comprssed gas tanks...
they put the canister in a tank of water with a very sensertive mesuring device in the water....
they fill the tank using hydrolic pumps and they presurise them
twice their psi limmit.... the tank expands in VOLUME and the
water level rises.. if the water level rises too much it fails!
(sorry it was a bit of a thred jack)
they put the canister in a tank of water with a very sensertive mesuring device in the water....
they fill the tank using hydrolic pumps and they presurise them
twice their psi limmit.... the tank expands in VOLUME and the
water level rises.. if the water level rises too much it fails!
(sorry it was a bit of a thred jack)