Painting my tank

[kbxiong67]

Hey Reefers....I wanted to get some advice from ya'll. I plan to spray paint the back of my tank back so I won't have to worry bout sticking something back there. Have any of you tried spray paint? Will it stick pretty good? Name some other methods that are fairly cheap. Thanks!!

kb

[kbxiong67]

oppss....meant to say *BLACK

[RobinsonFam1]

yes there are paints that will bond to glass. just need to make sure it is very clean. there are also paints made for plastic if you have acrylic. at HD there is a spray paint made by Krylon called "Fusion" just for plastic

HTH
BR

[jdbassin]

There's also a paint that's meant to make a chalkboard like finish to be written on. Anyway it's made to go on gleass as well and is a bit easier to remove if you ever need to than fusion. the coating looks mattte from the back but through the glass it's a nich even gloss finish


it's available at wal-mart and lowes or home depot

[jimbeau]

I just painted the back of my tank blue. On the advice of the paint person at home depot, I first sprayed a couple coats of a clear shellac stuff that is made for prepping hard to paint surfaces. Then I just used a quart of regular latex paint. The total cost waas less than $20 and I was able to choose a custom blue color.
Jim

[yousuredo]

any paint will work just clean it well with rubbing alcohol/or something simular first i spraid, used brushes and airbrushed all kinds of acrylic & enamels...all worked fine

[kbxiong67]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm gonna clean my "glass" tank with rubbing alcohol then spray it with a flat black color. If anyone experienced any difficulties with this method before...please do tell. If not...I'm gonna paint that baby! =)

[jdbassin]

Just make sure you apply several light coats. be patient it could take 5 or 6 coats doing them all lightly but you don't want any runs and several light coatrs will give you an awesome finish. also pay special attention to where the moulding and glass come together some people tend to miss little bits there


jd

[kbxiong67]

Be patient...aahhH the key to SW success! Thanks for the tip jd. Will post pix of my finished project soon. Thanks all!

[chicagoman_35]

Go over it with a good razor blade as well! I did that on mine and used a black enamel spray paint, 3 coats and it looks awesome!

[kbxiong67]

Thanks chicagoman! I'll do a combo of everything that'll help!

KB

[Joel]

Runs won't be noticable from the front as long as the light inside is brighter than the backside of the tank. All my tanks have had major runs but nobody is willing to move ~1500 lbs of water, rock and tank weight to inspect my painting skills. I've only ever used windex and a razor blade to prep, then brush on a light coat, wait until it gets really tacky, then continue til it looks perfect through the front of the tank. (the back will probably always look bad if you brush it on)

Originally Posted by jdbassin

Just make sure you apply several light coats. be patient it could take 5 or 6 coats doing them all lightly but you don't want any runs and several light coatrs will give you an awesome finish. also pay special attention to where the moulding and glass come together some people tend to miss little bits there


jd

[kellymm]

latex with a foam roller will work perfect ask one who knows

[Joel]

I just painted the back of a new 30 tall today as I have with every other tank I've ever had and it still works great. cheap (no cleanup just throw it away) soft brush, lay the tank on its front in the sun and paint the back. It'll look like crap until you get the lights on it in the house. Outside you will see light spots and you will need to put your light on to check for any very thin spots before you fill it with water.

[traip93]

can you use the same paint used to paint walls? with a normal roller brush