Vacuum Chamber Cleaning

[Mark Rowley]

I am currently working on a new chamber design utilizing a small(new and unused) propane tank. Its steel and approx. 10" X 10". I do not plan on cutting the thing in half. Instead, I have bored two 2" holes for the HV feed-thru and the viewport. Smaller ones will be added for the TC gauge and D2 input later.

After I drilled the 2" holes, I discovered that the interior has a very thin coat of black paint. Probably to control rust. It will be way too difficult to get inside via the holes to properly clean this stuff off. Chemical paint removers require scraping which is not practical for this application.

Does anyone know of a commercially available acid or etching chemical that will quickly dissolve this paint ? Any help or ideas would be much appreciated.

Mark Rowley

[DaveC]

Mark -
The older type paint removers used methylene chloride as the thin solvent. You can probably puy this kind if you look around. It should take off the paint, unless it is an epoxy. Then in might not do the job. You could get some xylene probably from a large commercial paint supply place. That would dissolve just about anything.

Both methyl chloride and xylene are pretty nasty solvents.. you should used them with plenty of fresh air.. and not flames hot stuff or sparks within a "country mile" for general safety.

Since you have a closed container.. it should be possible to fill it half full with the solvent and let it stand for a while.. shake and flush.

There is also a citric acid based paint remover, that is more environmentally benign. Water cleanup, but that means you need to watch out for rusting..

Hope this is some help.

Dave Cooper