Painting a stand...What type of paint to use?

[Tropical]

I just got a fish tank stand for my 20 long tank. It was used, and has some chips in the paint. Should I use spray paint, or regular paint? What kind? Also, should I do something like a clear coat on top to protect it?

Sorry for the stupid questions. I'm a pretty young fish keeper (think Jr. High age), so I'm not too sure about this.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Any paint will do. I would go with oil based though, as water based may have some issues at some point. Brush it on, but spray paint would work too

 

[roydooms]

How about staining the stand instead of painting? That is if the stand is not already painted(you can sand it though then stain it) and you are just doing some retouching. IMO stained wood looks better.

 

[glassbird]

Which ever way you go, let it dry very well, and then seal it with a clear top coat. I like Minwax Polycoat...dries fast, and very little smell. But if you tend to be sloppy with the water during water changes or filter cleanings, then go with a spar varnish. That is the stuff they use on woodwork on sail boats...it is designed to handle water being splashed on it. I think Minwax makes a spar varnish, too. But you MUST let it dry for as long as you can before putting the tank on it, or it will stick the tank to the stand permanently! Give it at LEAST a week to dry, in a warm place. The regular Polycoat only needs to dry for 2-3 days after the last coat.

 

[Tropical]

Ok, thanks. The woman at Home Depot had a lot of advice for us, she seems to have done this before. I will pick up a clear coat later.