# [Wet Thumb Forum]-painting the back of a tank.



## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I've never done it.

How does one go about it? Is it best to use the standard latex paint? I'd imagine several thin coats works best. Does the paints glossiness matter?

I plan on using a VERY dark shade of blue that is almost black.

TIA,
Karl

 MY Web Page - go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

I've never done it.

How does one go about it? Is it best to use the standard latex paint? I'd imagine several thin coats works best. Does the paints glossiness matter?

I plan on using a VERY dark shade of blue that is almost black.

TIA,
Karl

 MY Web Page - go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

I think you can use any kind of paint you chose!

I prefer oil based paints, flat in color!
I find glossy ones make the background slightly reflective! I think spraying the paint on works best!

I have painted 3 of my tanks, 1 with glossy black and 2 with flat black, 1 with a brush, 1 with a roller & 1 with a spray can!

good luck!


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

If you look at my 2.5 gallon hood post, I used ford engine blue paint. I read somewhere that the paint is made to bond to metal and aquarium glass has iron in it or something, so its good paint to sue.


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## Harvey (Apr 23, 2003)

I know this is old

But for future reference to anyone

If you spray paint the back of the tank. Dont forget that you have to do a VERY light coat to start with. Let that sit for a while. Then gradually increase in how much you spray on at a time. To prevent streaking and such.

Now the problem I ran into is that the color would come off on my hands. My suggestion is to buy some Polyurethane (sp) and coat the back of it. Polyurethane will still come off when touched, but you dont have to worry about the actual color coming off. Besides, how many times are you going to touch the back


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

FYI - Krylon just came out with a paint which specificallly bonds to plastic (i.e. acrylic) and might do better on glass than others;

www.krylon.com

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## Cody (Jun 26, 2004)

I recently painted the back of my glass tank and it turned out great.

I used exterior grade ACRYLIC LATEX paint in a flat finish. It took about four coats. The first 2 coats will look terrible but keep going and by the third or fourth coat you should have a completely opaque finish.

IMPORTANT TIP: Clean the surface to be painted with rubbing alcohol very, very well. Or else you will experience paint creep and no matter what the paint will not stick. 

The acrylic latex is supposed to be a harder finish than the regular latex paint but, even so you may have some chipping caused by equipment rubbing against the painted surface. So, keep your left over paint for touch-ups. A quart will more than enough for a 100 gal. tank.

I painted mine black and it looks great as a background for both the plants and fish. Gives the tank a lot of depth.

Also, for any color choice it's a good idea to paint a large sample (paint a piece of cardboard) and hold it behind the tank to get a good visual of the finished product so you don't have to waste time scraping off paint if you don't like the color.

Have fun!


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## Slappy (Mar 2, 2003)

I painted the back of my tank with flat black enamel paint. I just taped around all the edges and brushed it on with a 3.5" brush. Ended up with about 3 coats.


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## tdog44632 (Feb 5, 2003)

You can also use window tint, glue an colored acrylic sheet to bak of aquarium or the method I use, Rubbermaid shelf paper comes in black or I use Forest Green. It's easy to remove if you make a mistake. can be used on a occupied tank where paint may be toxic, and you can change colors if you like. You might even try plaid if you want


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

tdog,

Those are some interesting ideas. I'll have to look into them as options.

I have a fear of painting hte back of the tank. I might just paint a piece of wood black and put it behind hte tank's glass.

Thanks again for al the advice!

http://www.geocities.com/kfh227- go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.

*I am probably going to start work on my stand for the 100 gallon tank in about 2 weeks(May 22). Pics coming soon







*


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## tdog44632 (Feb 5, 2003)

Good luck with whichever option you chose. I will look foreward to your pictures.

Tony


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Anyone ever try a dark stain ? Seems like it would get it a natural riverbank tye look. Would it even stick to glass ?


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## Slappy (Mar 2, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Doomer:
> Anyone ever try a dark stain ? Seems like it would get it a natural riverbank tye look. Would it even stick to glass ?


No..it wouldn't.


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