Painting LP Tanks

[bowhuntr311]

Hey all,

Has anyone repainted any LP tanks. I have a 100lb and a couple of 30s propane tanks I'd really like to redo. I wanna do a decent job on them so Im thinking a light sanding, primer, paint. I didnt think about any kind of safety concern until a coworker made a joke and said dont sand it to far and blow yourself up.

Is there a safety concern I should be considering?

 

[tatra]

Don’t paint a dark colour .

 

[PelicanPines]

I have painted a few 20 pounders... I roloc'ed the surface with a medium scotch brite pad... used a rattle can high gloss white.

I painted the bottom ring bright yellow (I have too many bright yellow cans of spray paint)

Goes without saying... mask off the valve area.

 

[48RON54]

I don't think I'd be worried about sanding it to far and blowing yourself up unless the sandpaper you were using was comparable to a cheese grater lol. For safeties sake though I would refurbish it when it was empty just for my own piece of mind. It would be much easier to move around at that point anyway.

 

[chaosracing]

Unless you are using a angle grinder and have some bad pitting, you wont sand thru the metal. If you have pitting, I would advise getting rid of the tanks for safety.
Had to look up 30# tanks, never knew such a tank existed. You should also think about age of tanks as well. Some places will not refill if the tanks are out of date. You can get recertified, but sometimes its just easier to exchange the tank and forget about it for a while again. Not sure if thats an option for your 30# tanks like it is for 20# tanks.

 

[Richard Cranium]

paint it a white or silver or some thing light colored to reflect the sun heat, not a dark that will heat up.

 

[48RON54]

Don’t paint a dark colour .

Im just curious why? Certainly a dark color would cause it to absorb more heat, but it seems rather unlikely it would ever absorb enough heat to ignite or combust. I'm sure it would **** grabbing your gloss black propane tank that had been sitting in the sun for 12 hours on an august day but outside of that I'm not sure what other issues there could be

 

[jubilee]

One of my future inventions. Plastic sleeves for portable propane tanks. Black for the cold climes, gray for the moderate climes, and white for the warmer climes.

 

[ckucia]

Im just curious why? Certainly a dark color would cause it to absorb more heat, but it seems rather unlikely it would ever absorb enough heat to ignite or combust. I'm sure it would **** grabbing your gloss black propane tank that had been sitting in the sun for 12 hours on an august day but outside of that I'm not sure what other issues there could be

The tanks have a pressure relief valve. Generally they're filled so there's enough space for expansion should the tank get taken to a warmer area. But there are at least anecdotal stories of people filling tanks in the NE in winter and driving to FLA and having the tanks vent on the way.

Making them dark just makes it more likely they'll vent.

Not a problem for the tank, but if you're nearby with a cigarette when it decides to vent...

 

[48RON54]

ahhhhhhh I wasn't aware of the pressure relief valve. Thanks for the info!

 

[Bondo]

Is there a safety concern I should be considering?

Nope,.... Not with sandin',..... you'd have to get aggressive even with a grinder,....

As noted above, use a light color, or the sun will cause the tanks to self-vent when full,....
I use silver or white, Rustoleum, myself,.....

I also use my number stamps to renew the test dates, before I paint 'em,....

 

[bowhuntr311]

I was thinking probably a wire brush on drill for my "light sanding" I would probably do a grey color with the base ring being a different color so they are easily identifiable if they ever grew legs and walked off.

 

[Adk Mike]

The industry uses the same type of paint that used on gas station curbs. Sticky stuff. I’d just paint it with good old rustoluem.
For what it’s worth. You buy Propane in liquid form either by the pound or gallon. Propane tanks are filled to 80 percent. Your burning the vapor that boils off the liquid. That’s why you need the space. Otherwise you’d get liquid in your barbecue grill or whatever your using it for.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I recently did my 123 gallon vertical tank. I sanded the entire tank to metal with a DeWalt random orbital sander, power wire brushed crevices and such, then primed, scuffed, and painted with gloss white. I caught it empty, moved it to the shop with my forklift, then laid it down and rolled it around to get all over it to prep. It came out great.

 

[Nivekdodge]

The exchange guys use the cheapest stuff they can find and then blast and paint often. A couple years ago they told me they would paint at every fill

 

[sberry]

Does that make sense? Paint a tank to sell 4 gallons of gas?

 

[86turbodsl]

I painted my 1000gal. You can't hurt it. Go for it.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

My 1K tank purchased and installed by the dealer was painted "Forrest Green" to match/blend in with the pine trees/surroundings. They sand blasted the heck out of it to get rid of the corrosion/deep pock marks/blisters and rolled it with a 10" paint roller with Ace hardware enamel paint. It was a older tank and is twice as heavy empty as the newer tanks. Built like a brick s__t house to last for 100 plus years. It sets in a shaded area during most of the summer days and has never vented that I am aware of-does have the relief valve in case it would. Also have two 44# fork lift tanks that were rusty, cleaned them up with wire wheel/scotchbrite pads-masked off valve etc. and shot with self etching primer (Two coats) light sanding between coats and two coats of Ace hardware hammered silver wheel paint. Look great and have held up very well considering rolling around and being strapped to Fork lift. Primary concern would be sure the "O" ring in the valve/mating threaded end is new and not dried out-otherwise it might leak and DO NOT paint it!
Just my two cents worth.

 

[chaosracing]

Does that make sense? Paint a tank to sell 4 gallons of gas?

Those exchange places are doing it on a mass scale. Plus they are checking the tanks for defects and testing them. Maybe re-certifying or just scrapping.

Honestly, I only use them if I have a crappy tank or its at the end of its inspection life span. I go to a local place and refill mine all the time.

 

[sberry]

They do service ones that need it.

 

[Nivekdodge]

Does that make sense? Paint a tank to sell 4 gallons of gas?

They couldn't seem to find paint that was cheap enough to do it. and direct to metal. and fast drying.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I just had to redo some LP tanks for the concessions stands at the high schools. NFPA says it must be a light, reflective color like white, silver, yellow or beige and must be paint specified for use on metal, with a rust inhibitor.

Tommy

 

[rkevins]

Atwoods sells a paint for LP tanks, Tractor Supply may also

 

[sberry]

There is a reman plant here, I will have to ask someone what paint they are using. I heard they do 20's but they have 1000's in the fields and just built a plant to make new ones. They do mostly 500 and 1000#.

 

[nes999]

Im just curious why? Certainly a dark color would cause it to absorb more heat, but it seems rather unlikely it would ever absorb enough heat to ignite or combust. I'm sure it would **** grabbing your gloss black propane tank that had been sitting in the sun for 12 hours on an august day but outside of that I'm not sure what other issues there could be

We have to keep the tanks on pallets or else they over heat and release pressure. We have had it,happen a few times.

Make sure you store your empty tanks on their side or right side up. Our propane supplier talked about a customers tank exploding because it couldn't vent properly.

Why refurbish your tanks? The first time you swap them you'll get another crappy tank. Do you guys drop yours off to get filled?



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[TractorJeff]

Was at a party before the new Safety valve tanks came into regulation. The Homeowner had his under the deck in the shade on a high humid HOT day. He got a good fill on one of those tanks because all day long it would "pop off" a little!
Just scuff up the paint a little and use whatever is cheapest. You'll end up swapping at some point and lose that nice paint job anyways.

 

[4x4_G30_Sportvan]

Not if you have a liquid line from your big tank.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I take mine to get filled at a place about 4 miles away for around $12 usually. I swapped until I got nice tanks to refill.

 

[zmotorsports]

I repainted the ones on an old travel trailer many years ago so they would match. I used a DA with some 220-grit paper, hit the areas that were pitted with some high build primer then ran over those areas again with DA. Painted them silver to match the stripes on the trailer using urethane paint and clearcoat. Looked great and help up amazing.