What type of paint for back of tank?

[MT79]

I want to paint the outside of the back of my tank. What type of paint should I use? Is there something just for aquariums, or can I pick something up at say Home Depot? I'm looking for gloss black if it matters. Any tips, personal experiences welcome. Thanks.

 

[malkore]

latex works great. acrylic craft paint works great too.

gloss, matte...doesn't really matter, as any sheen will pretty much come out matte on the underside...the top side will be glossy if you use gloss.

If you're after a shiny look, try some acrylic paint, and add a bit of silver to the black.

as far as tips...shoot for about 3 coats.

 

[bound_for_obx]

I used paint from Lowes when I painted the back of my tank. I kept on finding little hairline cracks after a layer dried so I'd apply another coat. It took a lot of coats. You might want to check with a local crafts store to see if they have a paint that is designed for coating glass. Good luck!

 

[fishfreek]

I acutally used Rustoleum Gloss spray enamel. It rubs off if you scrape it but it does stick to the glass overall.

 

[darb2]

Many thin coats, as opposed to 2 regular coats may cover the cracks. But I think spray would be easier.

 

[neide]

I used Krylon Fusion. Its the only paint I found that does actually bond to glass. Its technically made for plastic, but it works well with glass as well. I used a blue, but it came out incredible. Way better then I even expected.

 

[revhtree]

Can some of you post pics of your backgrounds?

 

[Nitrate]

I used 2 part speckle paint, then filled in the voids with acrylic that matched. Looks irregular, not happy with the color I chose, but otherwise love the look.

 

[malkore]

Just look at my sig. the 40gallon SW is cobalt blue acrylic craft paint. 3 coats. The 20gallon is black acrylic.
I need to update the 15 gallon. I used a crackle glaze on it this weekend, with silver over it. THen I put up black posterboard to fill in the crackle gaps.
I have a copper crackled 5 gallon tank that's empty..but soon to have a plant an another betta in it, so I'll post it soon.

 

[XXFirefighter]

Rustoleum Gloss enamel in a can. Used a sponge to paint it on THICK one coat.

 

[neide]

http://photobucket.com/albums/v422/nateeide/Fish/

 

[EELectric]

i used rustoleum and id reccommend 3 coats

 

[indy]

$1 a can walmart spraypaint. I don't know how many coats, but I shot it in an enclosed garage until I felt happy all over.

 

[fishman]

Do you guys tape anything off or cover the tank itself I assume? Would be afraid about the minutest amt of paint getting inside the tank and then coming off later when the water is put in...or paint getting in the water if its already in the tank...

 

[neide]

Tape everything well - especially with spray paint. It can get everywhere very easily. I wouldn't paint with water in the tank, if I were you. If you paint without water in there, even if some paint gets in, once its dry it really shouldn't pose a big threat. But wet would be a different story I would think.

 

[TygGer]

I used Krylon Fusion. Its the only paint I found that does actually bond to glass. Its technically made for plastic, but it works well with glass as well. I used a blue, but it came out incredible. Way better then I even expected.

That's the same one I bought. What color blue did you get? I bought Navy and was hoping it would be darker than yours.

 

[haub]

Update on Krylon Fusion

I used Krylon Fusion Navy Blue on the back of a Eclipse 12 tank (acrylic) and it worked great. Looks similar to the backing 'cobalt blue' used in Seaclear aquariums. It adhered to the acrylic nicely and looks great.

Side note:
I picked up the Eclipse 12 from Petsmart. Someone had gutted the filtration unit from it, but I still got the acrylic tank, hood, lights for $30. Picked up a cheap Whisper internal filter and am going to use it for QT.

 

[neide]

I'm pretty sure mine was the Navy, but I don't have it in front of me. Sorry I didn't see your question till just now (only two weeks too late). It does look lighter in the picture than it really is.

 

[TygGer]

Not a problem. I bought the Navy anyways and it turned out nice and def. quite a bit darker than in your pic. Thanks

 

[JG]

I like to change my mind a lot when it comes to paint colors. I had a thin piece of plexi cut to fit the back of my tank and sprayed it with Krylon Fusion. If ( more likely when ) I chose to change it I won't be trying to scrape the back of my tank.