Staining Tank...

[hatty324]

I am in the process of finishing up my stand for my 75 Gallon tank. Someone mentioned I should stain the trim on the tank to match the stand. Would this be an easy thing if it came pre-stained/finished in a different color? Would it be easy to stain it in my color? Would I just sand it down or what? Here is an image of what it looks like so far:

[whatevva]

You can't stain that. It's plastic. The wood grain is a plastic film that's applyed at the factory.

[LiquidLunch]

Like Butch said, plastic won't take a stain. I had a walnut finish on an old 75gal tank that I was able to remove. It was black underneath and you couldn't tell that it ever had a finish on it before. Yours might not be black underneath but at the very least you can apply a paint color of your choice.

[Hardhead Cat]

Yeh, it's plastic but you can buy something called 'gel stain' that looks like wood and works on fiberglass. It's made by Minwax. You can get it in all colors, it's not expensive but let it dry thoroughly or it will be sticky!

There's always contact paper too (smile) - -

HHC

[hatty324]

Thanks much....I'll look into that gel stain. Since the stain I used on the stand was Minwax stain, I'm sure I can find the exact color in that gel stain you were referring to. I mean the off color really doesnt bug me that much, but it would be nice to have a matching color.

Thanks

[whatevva]

If you use any petroleum product on that film, it's going to make a bubbley, gooey mess. Don't say I didn't warn ya! There are paints that are made for plastic. I'd try one of those if you need to change the color.

[wharyat]

You can always take a few pieces of wood trim to make a piece that wraps around the bottom of the tank; masking the plastic trim.

[Loverotties]

That's an Ideal Vince.

[hatty324]

I've thought about all these different ideas....I think I'm just not going to bother with it....maybe down the long road if it starts to bug me, but I guess it really doesn't bug me right now....thanks for all the advice