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On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 28th 08, 09:42 PM posted to sci.space.history
OM[_6_]
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Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

....In an effort to get topics back on track around here - I've nothing
better to do for reasons we're all aware of - here's the first in a
series of topics that might get things going back to normal around
he

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[
  #2  
Old April 29th 08, 12:58 AM posted to sci.space.history
Rand Simberg[_1_]
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Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:42:45 -0500, in a place far, far away, OM
made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:

...In an effort to get topics back on track around here - I've nothing
better to do for reasons we're all aware of - here's the first in a
series of topics that might get things going back to normal around
he

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?


To make inquisitive little boys with (big) booboos on their leg ask
questions.

Obviously, it worked.

Well, anyway, that's *my* best guess. Others, more knowledgeable, may
have better ones.
  #3  
Old April 29th 08, 01:05 AM posted to sci.space.history
Damon Hill[_4_]
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Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

OM wrote in
:

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?


Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?

--Damon

  #4  
Old April 29th 08, 03:18 AM posted to sci.space.history
M
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Posts: 110
Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

On Apr 28, 1:42 pm, OM wrote:
...In an effort to get topics back on track around here - I've nothing
better to do for reasons we're all aware of - here's the first in a
series of topics that might get things going back to normal around
he

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog -http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[


I bet it was zinc chromate paint, used in the aerospace industry to
coat aluminum to prevent corrosion.
  #5  
Old April 29th 08, 03:18 AM posted to sci.space.history
Pat Flannery
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Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage



OM wrote:
...In an effort to get topics back on track around here - I've nothing
better to do for reasons we're all aware of - here's the first in a
series of topics that might get things going back to normal around
he

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?


Was it zinc chromate paint for corrosion resistance?
We had a can of zinc chromate paint around our house when I was a kid,
and although the WW II stuff was light yellow-green, our can had yellow
paint in it.

Pat
  #6  
Old April 29th 08, 03:31 AM posted to sci.space.history
Pat Flannery
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Posts: 18,465
Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage



Damon Hill wrote:
Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?


Corrosion must have been a major concern for NASA with the Saturns in
the humid and salty Cape environment.
Remember how the zinc primer on the Shuttle launch facility leeched off
as zinc oxide during rain and weakened the RCC panels on the wings, by
causing some of the structure to convert to CO2 during reentry.
Then there was SpaceX's failed Falcon launch due to a corroded nut:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...n1_update.html

Pat
  #7  
Old April 29th 08, 04:05 AM posted to sci.space.history
Rand Simberg[_1_]
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Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:05:29 -0500, in a place far, far away, Damon
Hill made the phosphor on my monitor glow
in such a way as to indicate that:

OM wrote in
:

Q: After having watched that famous clip of the S-IVB leaving the
Saturn IB's first stage - the one that looks just like the Original
Galactica's main guns firing! - something came to mind that I never
wondered about before. Why was the entire inside of the adapter above
the fuel tanks painted yellow? What was the decision rationale behind
that choice of color? Was there a specific reason yellow was used, and
did it apply to why the same color was used on the top of the S-II
tank dome?


Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?


What a boring answer.
  #9  
Old April 29th 08, 05:42 AM posted to sci.space.history
OM[_6_]
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Posts: 1,849
Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
wrote:

Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?


....This makes sense, as the primer used on a lot of nautical items is
the same type. It does beg the next question as to whether or not the
red/white painting most gantry structures in the early days used was
also of a similar composition to provide the same service.

What a boring answer.


Yeah, that's practical engineering for you...


....Nah, it's just Rand and his usual short, sniping commentary. I find
now, after all the morphine and dilauded intake, some of the neurons
in my brain that usually fired off RED ALERT signals appear to have
been numbed enough to where I can sort of tolerate it enough to almost
ignore it. Even if he still can't trim his quotes worth a frack.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[
  #10  
Old April 29th 08, 06:22 AM posted to sci.space.history
Damon Hill[_4_]
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Posts: 566
Default On Topic: Choice of paint used inside S-I stage

OM wrote in
:

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
wrote:

Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?


...This makes sense, as the primer used on a lot of nautical items is
the same type. It does beg the next question as to whether or not the
red/white painting most gantry structures in the early days used was
also of a similar composition to provide the same service.


Might have started out as red and white lead paint, the idea being to
stand out to aircraft.

Well, from what I've seen of the salt haze down there, some daze it's
so thick that everything more than a few miles away turns the same
greyscale and blends together. Besides, I'm pretty sure lead paint
got banned decades ago; seems like even nitrocelluose aircraft paint
won't stand up to that and heavy UV for more than a decade. So, I
dunno what they'd be using now but it seems like you neglect that
stuff for too many years and it all starts to corrode dangerously,
hot-dipped zinc galvanizing or not... Maybe they're using some sort
of thick coat polyurethane or suchlike? There are conversion
coatings that are supposed to bond to corrosion and neutralize it.

Don't get me started on the buzzard droppings. Nasty stuff.

We need a local who actually works onsite; too bad Kim Keller's
moved on. I saw the 'milkstool' up close back in the 70's, but all
I remember it was a thickish grey paint.

--Damon

 




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