Non-toxic spray paint...do I need to redo?

[YinDragon]

Hi all!
I am new to this. I've done a lot of research and I am building a river tank for my Chinese water dragon.
I built ledges and "water holders" out of great stuff as advised. I also spray painted them with rust-oleum hammered finish spray paint for a more "natural" look. After talking to a reptile keeper friend of mine, he was worried about the toxicity of the paint with my water dragon.
SO...I researched again and found that Krylon Fusion is inert and safer for living creatures. My question is, can I spray paint over the rust-oleum, or should I start all over creating new pieces out of the great stuff?
I welcome any advice including your preferred paint for using in living river tanks.
Thanks!
Jenn
Yin's Keeper

 

[jsoong]

Painting over with a "safe" paint is not a good solution IMO. The wet paint (your top coat) is dissolved in a carrier, which can dissolve the bottom coat & bring stuff to the front.

If you don't want to do over, you can consider sealing the base coat with something like epoxy, which is relatively impervious, then paint over the epoxy after.

 

[YinDragon]

Thanks for the reply! Now I just have to decide which is the lesser of two evils lol. BTW...I was told to use Great Stuff to build my pieces...but now thinking about it wouldn't that also be toxic?

Thanks again,
Jenn
Yin's Keeper

 

[Codyheitmiller]

I know it's this thread is kinda old, and you probably got it all figured out, but Pond foam is good to use, I use it in my reef tank, and everything is fine.