Sponsor Our Community
Go Back   The Reef Tank > Equipment / Methodology related Forums > DIY Forum

DIY Forum Share those Do-It-Yourself projects and money saving tips with us here.


Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 12-30-2003, 10:04 AM   #1
Deepsixer
squid
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Belfair, WA
Posts: 3

Stripping Applied Background


I have a 55 gal Acrylic Aquarium my dad gave me and it has some sort of painted background on it that I want to remove. Can I use a stripper on this? Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Registered Members don't see these ads. Register now it's free!
Deepsixer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2003, 11:20 AM   #2
tims
Admin/ Super mod
 
tims's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: New Castle, Delaware
Posts: 20,201
Images: 223
the background is painted to the inside of the tank?

i would be careful with that. if it is glass then maybe acetone and a razor blade. i would think any chemical used would be a very bad thing in the long run... you could never be sure if you got it out.
take a lot of care with the silcone sealent.

opps just re read do not use acetone an un glass..
__________________
Tim
need something to read? just ask me.
tims is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2003, 06:08 PM   #3
Deepsixer
squid
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Belfair, WA
Posts: 3
Quote:
Originally posted by tims
the background is painted to the inside of the tank?

i would be careful with that. if it is glass then maybe acetone and a razor blade. i would think any chemical used would be a very bad thing in the long run... you could never be sure if you got it out.
take a lot of care with the silcone sealent.

opps just re read do not use acetone an un glass..
Nope it's on the outside. Some sort of spray on that was popular 12 or 13 years ago. I want to strip it if possible and re-paint it a solid blue.
Deepsixer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2003, 09:42 PM   #4
Geoff
It can be rebuilt.
 
Geoff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
Images: 166
Welcome to TRT!!!



is it showing any signs of flaking? if not then you may be out of luck. acrylic scratches very easily. about the only thing i can think of would be heating it to remove it. look up flame polishing in google and see what it says. i have never done it, but it sounds like it may work.

G~
__________________
Think Tanker
Friends Don't Let Friends Use Refugiums!
Reef Knowledge Impaired
"J" crowd member.
My Build Thread
Geoff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2003, 09:49 PM   #5
Deepsixer
squid
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Belfair, WA
Posts: 3
Quote:
Originally posted by Geoff
Welcome to TRT!!!



is it showing any signs of flaking? if not then you may be out of luck. acrylic scratches very easily. about the only thing i can think of would be heating it to remove it. look up flame polishing in google and see what it says. i have never done it, but it sounds like it may work.

G~
Thanks!

No, actually there is nothing wrong with it. No chips, I just wanted to re-do it with a solid blue. Some told me to try mineral spirits but that didn't work. I am now thinking I will just leave well enough alone and move on to the next project on the list.
Deepsixer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2003, 11:03 PM   #6
Geoff
It can be rebuilt.
 
Geoff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
Images: 166
i was afraid of that. it is prolly chemically bonded to the acrylic. you could possibly try painting over it in another colour like black and see if it darkens it to a colour you like better.

just an idea.

G~
__________________
Think Tanker
Friends Don't Let Friends Use Refugiums!
Reef Knowledge Impaired
"J" crowd member.
My Build Thread
Geoff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2003, 01:05 AM   #7
Acrylics
Little Fishy
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 72
Using mineral spirits or any other solvent will most likely craze the tank (badly) and heating it up by flame will degrade the acrylic as well. As you said, prolly best to move on the the next project

James
Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2003, 09:21 AM   #8
Geoff
It can be rebuilt.
 
Geoff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
Images: 166
Acrylics- Welcome to TRT!!!



do you work with acrylics alot?

G~
__________________
Think Tanker
Friends Don't Let Friends Use Refugiums!
Reef Knowledge Impaired
"J" crowd member.
My Build Thread
Geoff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2003, 01:42 PM   #9
Acrylics
Little Fishy
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 72
Quote:
Originally posted by Geoff
do you work with acrylics alot?
Geoff, it's what I do for a living, building tanks for public aquariums and the rich & shameless

James
Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Sitemap:1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181
Sponsor Our Community

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Our lawyer tells us that, by pressing the "New Thread" or "New Reply" button, you acknowledge that the opinions and information expressed in your article are yours alone and not those of thereeftank.com, dba The Reef Tank. Further, you agree to indemnify The Reef Tank, its moderators, administrators and agents from any and all liability which may arise as a result of your article. (C)opyright 2006 TheReefTank.com