Painted Aquarium

Dorothy Phitey · Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 6

Im asking here, but this question is probably suited to a hardware newsgroup
or something....

I have an aquarium that is painted blue on the outside, so the inside of the
aquarium is glass but the outside is blue. I would like to strip the blue
paint off because the blue is getting a bit old, and it also looks cheap
(which is probably why the aquarium WAS so cheap!). What is the best way to
do this? I can take small bits of paint off with my fingernail, but is there
some paint stripper that i can use?

Instead of the blue i would like to have a black background, as we plan to
have neons in the tank and they look fantastic this way. How is this effect
best achieved without black paint? On clear glass aquariums the backggrounds
sometimes look faded or these air pockets form between the glass and
background... or should i strip the blue off and paint it black? Would i
need a specific glass paint, or would any paint do that doesnt dissolve?

Archived from group: alt>aquaria>tropical>fish>hobbist

Trinity · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 7

> I have an aquarium that is painted blue on the outside, so the inside of
> the aquarium is glass but the outside is blue. I would like to strip the
> blue paint off because the blue is getting a bit old, and it also looks
> cheap (which is probably why the aquarium WAS so cheap!). What is the best
> way to do this? I can take small bits of paint off with my fingernail, but
> is there some paint stripper that i can use?
>

What you need is some gloves, a rag, and some of that Easy Off Oven spray on
foam, or any type of spray on oven cleaner (the white stuff). Apply the foam
spraying it generously, leave it on the glass for about 2 hours. Then come
back with gloves and rag and a bucket of water and watch the paint just melt
away against the rag. Note: this can get messy and is very effective at
removing paint from almost everything, so you might want to do this on a
tiled area or on grass or somewhere easy to wash.

Let that be something to learn, this stuff is paints worst nightmare, for
example if you left this on your car then 2 hours later you could kiss your
paint job goodbye, or melt the paint off your walls or have a bleaching
effect on clothes and wood. In fact if you are planning to repaint your
windows then give this stuff a try for a little longer than 2 hours, maybe 3
or 4, and it will melt the paint away almost to the core with no need for
sanding.

Trinity

Tynk · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 200

On Jan 20, 6:49�am, "Trinity" wrote:

>
> What you need is some gloves, a rag, and some of that Easy Off Oven spray on
> foam, or any type of spray on oven cleaner (the white stuff). Apply the foam
> spraying it generously, leave it on the glass for about 2 hours. Then come
> back with gloves and rag and a bucket of water and watch the paint just melt
> away against the rag. Note: this can get messy and is very effective at
> removing paint from almost everything, so you might want to do this on a
> tiled area or on grass or somewhere easy to wash.
>
> Let that be something to learn, this stuff is paints worst nightmare, for
> example if you left this on your car then 2 hours later you could kiss your
> paint job goodbye, or melt the paint off your walls or have a bleaching
> effect on clothes and wood. In fact if you are planning to repaint your
> windows then give this stuff a try for a little longer than 2 hours, maybe 3
> or 4, and it will melt the paint away almost to the core with no need for
> sanding.
>
> Trinity

I don't know if this is something I would do with a fish tank though.
The frame is plastic. Then there's silicone to think about.
I would think the oven cleaners would either eat both of those up or
damage it. Either way, not something you want to happen.
The safest way would be to simply use a razor blade scraper.
They even have little handles y ou put the blade into.
If it's easy to pick off with their finger nail, a quick zip across
with a razor blade should make an easy job of it.
Best of all, no poisonous chemicals.

Tynk · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 200

On Jan 23, 9:17�am, "Bob" wrote:
> "Dorothy Phitey" wrote in message
>
> $0$30016$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Im asking here, but this question is probably suited to a hardware
> > newsgroup or something....
>
> > I have an aquarium that is painted blue on the outside, so the inside of
> > the aquarium is glass but the outside is blue. I would like to strip the
> > blue paint off because the blue is getting a bit old, and it also looks
> > cheap (which is probably why the aquarium WAS so cheap!). What is the best
> > way to do this? I can take small bits of paint off with my fingernail, but
> > is there some paint stripper that i can use?
>
> > Instead of the blue i would like to have a black background, as we plan to
> > have neons in the tank and they look fantastic this way. How is this
> > effect best achieved without black paint? On clear glass aquariums the
> > backggrounds sometimes look faded or these air pockets form between the
> > glass and background... or should i strip the blue off and paint it black?
> > Would i need a specific glass paint, or would any paint do that doesnt
> > dissolve?
>
> As far as attaching a new background when you've got the paint off, there is
> something new that I saw in Petco that is made to attach the plastic
> backgrounds ( You can get them in black) that are sold. It comes in a
> plastic container and is supposed to eliminate the air pockets that often
> form when you attach a background to a tank. Haven't tried it yet but it is
> available near the section where they sell the rolls of background plastic..
> It's this stuff:http://www.aquariumguys.com/seaview-background-adhesive.html
> Bob- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Speaking of backgrounds..........
Here's an idea I came up with many years ago.
I take wrapping paper (quality) and along with poster board I make my
own.
My favorite is a medium/dark ocean blue.
I simply measure the surface to be covered.
I like it to rest in the middle of both top and bottom frames of the
tank.
I cut or tape together with clear packing tape, the poster board (like
a kid uses for a school project) and then wrap it with the chosen
wrapping paper.
Then simply hang it on the tank.
The background can also be changed SO easily too.
Like for special occasions, have a new background. Just wrap right
over the original one, and then unwrap it when you want to go back to
the normal one.
Holidays can have special backgrounds, events, etc.
You can even use the metallic papers. Male Bettas show off to
themselves and put on a lovely show...no mirror necessary. = )
The choices are endless when you think about how many different
wrapping papers there are.
Just make sure you get a roll that is wider than your tank is tall.
You don't want to piece it together. You want one piece.

Bob · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

"Dorothy Phitey" wrote in message $0$30016$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> Im asking here, but this question is probably suited to a hardware
> newsgroup or something....
>
>
>
> I have an aquarium that is painted blue on the outside, so the inside of
> the aquarium is glass but the outside is blue. I would like to strip the
> blue paint off because the blue is getting a bit old, and it also looks
> cheap (which is probably why the aquarium WAS so cheap!). What is the best
> way to do this? I can take small bits of paint off with my fingernail, but
> is there some paint stripper that i can use?
>
>
>
> Instead of the blue i would like to have a black background, as we plan to
> have neons in the tank and they look fantastic this way. How is this
> effect best achieved without black paint? On clear glass aquariums the
> backggrounds sometimes look faded or these air pockets form between the
> glass and background... or should i strip the blue off and paint it black?
> Would i need a specific glass paint, or would any paint do that doesnt
> dissolve?

As far as attaching a new background when you've got the paint off, there is
something new that I saw in Petco that is made to attach the plastic
backgrounds ( You can get them in black) that are sold. It comes in a
plastic container and is supposed to eliminate the air pockets that often
form when you attach a background to a tank. Haven't tried it yet but it is
available near the section where they sell the rolls of background plastic.
It's this stuff:
http://www.aquariumguys.com/seaview-background-adhesive.html
Bob

Dorothy Phitey · Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 6

I went about taking the paint off with a razor blade and nailpolish remover
for the tiny bits. It took a while and ive been doing one side per day. But
on the last day i decided to give the last wall a coat of the oven cleaner,
and i left it on for an hour. To my absolute shock, when i went to wipe it
off the paint came off onto the sponge as easy as butter on a teflon pan.
There were small portions i still had to do with a razor. Also a bit of
silicone was on the glass that had to be razor bladed off - the oven cleaner
left it to my surprise. So is that why my oven is always so dirty on the
sponge? The oven cleaner is removing a small layer of paint every time i
clean it? Oh my gosh!!!!

As for the background, i went to my local aquaria store and asked them, and
the nice man told me to just buy the black plastic sheeting they sell and
apply it to the glass carefully. There are some air pockets, but i guess i
can live with it for now.

Thanks for all the replies and help.

D
"Tynk" wrote in message @m34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
On Jan 23, 9:17?am, "Bob" wrote:
> "Dorothy Phitey" wrote in message
>
> $0$30016$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Im asking here, but this question is probably suited to a hardware
> > newsgroup or something....
>
> > I have an aquarium that is painted blue on the outside, so the inside of
> > the aquarium is glass but the outside is blue. I would like to strip the
> > blue paint off because the blue is getting a bit old, and it also looks
> > cheap (which is probably why the aquarium WAS so cheap!). What is the
> > best
> > way to do this? I can take small bits of paint off with my fingernail,
> > but
> > is there some paint stripper that i can use?
>
> > Instead of the blue i would like to have a black background, as we plan
> > to
> > have neons in the tank and they look fantastic this way. How is this
> > effect best achieved without black paint? On clear glass aquariums the
> > backggrounds sometimes look faded or these air pockets form between the
> > glass and background... or should i strip the blue off and paint it
> > black?
> > Would i need a specific glass paint, or would any paint do that doesnt
> > dissolve?
>
> As far as attaching a new background when you've got the paint off, there
> is
> something new that I saw in Petco that is made to attach the plastic
> backgrounds ( You can get them in black) that are sold. It comes in a
> plastic container and is supposed to eliminate the air pockets that often
> form when you attach a background to a tank. Haven't tried it yet but it
> is
> available near the section where they sell the rolls of background
> plastic.
> It's this
> stuff:http://www.aquariumguys.com/seaview-background-adhesive.html
> Bob- Hide quoted text -
>