Abstract: An exterior impact and abrasion resistant protective coating (14) is provided on the surface of the vessel (12) having information (16, 18, 20) provided on the exterior surface thereof to form a container (10) for storing and dispensing gas under pressure. The coating (14) is sufficiently transparent such that said information (16, 18, 20) is visible through the coating (14). One advantage of the invention is that any labels (16, 18, 20) on which the information is provided are protected against abrasion and other damage that would otherwise obscure the information thereby reducing the frequency with which the labels (16, 18, 20) need to be replaced.