Esso tank No.1914 at the start of the day, light surface rust has appeared over the last few weeks since the paint was stripped.
The needle-gunned area was wire-brushed, to remove the surface rust. The area was then degreased and green primer went on. The painting didn't take long, but the aforementioned preparation took most of the day! This is a view from the tank ladder as the primer was going on. Left to right, black topcoat (north side) feathered into black undercoat, green primer, wire-brushed and degreased bare metal. Note the state of the old paintwork/rust in the foreground!
Priming finished.
Current state of play of the tank: Green primer on one third of the south side; black undercoat and black topcoat to follow asap.
The other side: one third of the north side in first topcoat, which should protect it from the weather until I can replace the rotten timber baulks, whenever that might be.
Painting completed, an hour was spent needle-gunning the next, central section (bottom of the tank). As can be seen, an hour of needle-gunning doesn't go very far, which gives an idea of how long it has taken to do the work to date. I am aiming for the panel line which can be seen near the top of the tank as a natural break, when the painting process will begin once again.
Esso tank No.1914 at the start of the day, light surface rust has appeared over the last few weeks since the paint was stripped.
The needle-gunned area was wire-brushed, to remove the surface rust. The area was then degreased and green primer went on. The painting didn't take long, but the aforementioned preparation took most of the day! This is a view from the tank ladder as the primer was going on. Left to right, black topcoat (north side) feathered into black undercoat, green primer, wire-brushed and degreased bare metal. Note the state of the old paintwork/rust in the foreground!
Priming finished.
Current state of play of the tank: Green primer on one third of the south side; black undercoat and black topcoat to follow asap. 
The other side: one third of the north side in first topcoat, which should protect it from the weather until I can replace the rotten timber baulks, whenever that might be.
Painting completed, an hour was spent needle-gunning the next, central section (bottom of the tank). As can be seen, an hour of needle-gunning doesn't go very far, which gives an idea of how long it has taken to do the work to date. I am aiming for the panel line which can be seen near the top of the tank as a natural break, when the painting process will begin once again.
