Spray painting back of tank...

[Marconis]

I have always used tape on black backgrounds and I am sick of them. I have a can of rustoleum black plastic paint in my garage, how would this do on glass? If it will work the same as any other black paint, then I'm set.

 

[HN1]

I'm not sure what surface that type is made for. Does the can say?

I've painted most of our tank backs with Fusion without problem. Just be patient. MANY light coats are the way to go. I can definitely see which tanks I rushed if I look closely.

 

[Marconis]

Well I'm at my apartment now so when I go home tonight to get all my aquarium supplies I'll check it out, but all I can recall is that it is strictly made for plastics. Other than many light coats, can you recommend any tips for painting the glass?

Thanks

 

[neilanh]

I used the same plastic stuff. There isn't really a paint made for glass. no matter what paint you use it will come off without too much force, so you just have to be careful when moving the tank around and doing maintenance.

 

[BigJim]

I'm in the process of painting a tank with regular Rustoleum gloss black.

Here's some tips from my experience:

1. Make sure the glass is clean! Wipe it down with paint thinner and make sure it's clean and dry before painting. I had some patches that crinkled because of something on the glass. Took me a couple hours of scrubbing with steel wool and paint thinner to remove the bad spots.

2. Lay your first coat on really thin. Glass is pretty smooth, so there's nothing for the paint to really latch onto. It's really easy to get runs.

3. Scuff the paint with extra fine steel wool and wipe down with paint thinner between coats. Scuffing will give the paint some tooth for the next coat to grab and wiping down will remove all the dust and dirt.

4. If you do get a bad spot that you want to remove, extra fine steel wool will cut through the paint without scratching the glass. It takes some elbow grease, but it works.