...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
here:

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! [
]=====================================[

...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
here:

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?

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?

...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
here:

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?

OM <om@all_trolls_must_DIE.com> wrote in
news:7fdc14pii5infa2e681soaoafvlqamjkg4@4ax.com:

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?

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:05:29 -0500, in a place far, far away, Damon
Hill <damon1SIX1@comcast.netnet> made the phosphor on my monitor glow
in such a way as to indicate that:

OM <om@all_trolls_must_DIE.com> wrote in
news:7fdc14pii5infa2e681soaoafvlqamjkg4@4ax.com:

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.

Yellow chromate primer to prevent corrosion of the aluminum?

What a boring answer.

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

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
damon1SIX1@comcast.netnet> 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.

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.

OM <om@all_trolls_must_DIE.com> wrote in
news:7k9d145u2fvlk2e8rjbtmcr41fbudd80u3@4ax.com:

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
damon1SIX1@comcast.netnet> 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.

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
damon1SIX1@comcast.netnet> 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.

"OM" <om@all_trolls_must_DIE.com> wrote in message

news:7k9d145u2fvlk2e8rjbtmcr41fbudd80u3@4ax.com...

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
damon1S...@comcast.netnet> 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.

No; that would have been protected by 'red lead' first, then painted.

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:20:52 -0500, Damon Hill
damon1SIX1@comcast.netnet> 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.