Paint for a lathe

Hello
The paint inside my lathes coolant tank is peeling.
What kind of paint would I need?
I found some information about powdercoating or epoxy paint.
But I'm not fully convinced which way to go.

Peeling paint in coolant tank? I would think a combination of things went wrong. Top coat incompatability with second coat, wrong primer, poor prep, inter-coat contamination, repaint over poor prep. Probably a long list if you carry it out to all the permutations.

A good paint job is actually a system where all the components are compatible and work together starting with the surface on which the paint is to be applied. Paint, like welding, is a mature technology where there is a cook book solution for almost every problem. If yours is a steel coolant tank, then a specific prep followed by this primer, that second coat, and a certain top coat with instructions for application, cure times between coats, film thickness etc are all spelled out.

People get into trouble skipping steps, using the available stuff instead of the proper stuff, or worse listening to bad advise from folks who think they know more than the manufacturer on how their products should be used in demanding applications.

My suggestion is to consult the various manufacturers of industrial coatings, do your research as to the coating system best suited for coolant service. Strip the tank, get it sandblasted and immediately prime it with the coating recommended by the system manufacturer. Proceed with subsequent coats following instructions.

Most importantly, ignore contrary advice.

The result is a durable paint system proof against the coolants you use and whatever contaminants you may put into it.

I'd say we painted them 50% of the time because painting a surface that is oily the new paint will peel away soon after it's applied. When we used to,we used the red primmer to paint tanks after scraping off the old paint and washing with Lacquer thinner. Check with a local body shop to the paint they use to paint the outside of car engines. Oily, hot and cold. If your out in the boonies..go to a farm store and buy tractor paint.

IF inside the tank- just peel it all off and let it be. if you have the proper % of coolant you will be fine and no rust.

If you insist to paint- you will first need to sand blast the tanks. Then use Sherwin Williams High Solids Polane.

FYI- my central coolant system tanks, 4,000 and 6,000 gal. The insides are not painted.

We use Glyptal for painting inside our hydraulic oil tanks, works well and from what I can tell, lasts long. As mentioned, surface prep is this most important part of the job.

Corey

Most tank paint manufacturers will not guarantee good results on tanks that are not new and painting a used coolant tank is really not required. Just clean it and leave it alone.

Reason I want to paint is is because the color of the paint gets mixed with the coolant.
So now I have a nice green coolant spraying trough my machine.
The lathe is from +/- 1990. But it's a retrofit and very happy with it so far.
Eventually I want a complete new color on it.
How are the panels/coolant tank from new machines? Is it painted or coated?

Most of the time tanks ar not painted for the exact reason you're saying. The paint peels. Why don't strip off the old paint and leave it bare?

Thanks for all the replies

I was just curious what paint machine manufacturers use.
My new Haas got a painted coolant tank.

Yes the cheapest option would be to remove the paint and leave it like it is. But I really like clean machines. I want to repaint the complete machine.

tcncj said:

Thanks for all the replies

I was just curious what paint machine manufacturers use.
My new Haas got a painted coolant tank.

Yes the cheapest option would be to remove the paint and leave it like it is. But I really like clean machines. I want to repaint the complete machine.

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But can you see the inside of the coolant tank ''normally'' ?? personally I'd leave it un painted - almost every painted tank I've come across has ended up being a royal PITA

tcncj said:

Yes the cheapest option would be to remove the paint and leave it like it is. But I really like clean machines. I want to repaint the complete machine.

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Like cash says, Polane is the paint to use if you're gonna use paint. But it's some nasty stuff to spray ... probably took three years off my life, after one machine I went back to enamel. Nowadays I'd rather pull out the rattle can once in a while for touchups instead of lose my lungs.