Aquarium rim painting?

[justme97]

So I just got a 58 gallon oceanic overflow aquarium in light oak with stand and sump/pump for $250 which I think is a good deal...from a friend that is moving. Never been used even.

Only issue is that light oak isn't the color I want, I want black. No problem on the wood stand but what about for that plastic rim on the aquarium...has anyone painted this piece (which is nice looking on an oceanic)? I'm scared to take it off to refinish (or replace) since oceanic glued it on there pretty well and wouldn't want to weaken the aquarium. I was thinking I would tape off the rim then scuff up the plastic gently with very fine grit sandpaper (maybe) and put on spray primer then finish off with black spray paint.

Has anyone ever done something like this? Does that paint hold up?

 

[barnett8]

Spray paint probably isn't the best idea, I would use either potable water epoxy, or krylon fusion. both of which are reef safe.

Best of luck!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

fusion is your best bet, however it will still scratch off if your not careful.

 

[jb61264]

Tagging along..I have a 75 AGA that I purchased recently from someone else. It has been spray painted with blue for the background which I have since removed during an fun filled evening of scraping with a razor blade, however, when they spray painted the glass, some of the blue got on the trim as well...I want to go over it so it is all black (especially since I'll be using it for the front

 

[justme97]

I called ocean to get a quote on replacement trim in black and when the lady spoke with the techs they said it would be a "nightmare" to replace. So refinish in place it is.

So krylon fusion basically is spray paint for plastics right? It screatches easily though? I guess with carefull taping touch-ups wouldn't be that bad...

The stand (older model) meanwhile doesn't seem to be polyurethaned...I was thinking of doing a nice reeealy dark espresso stain with the black aquarium on top. Hopefully it'll look nice...

 

[justme97]

This looks interesting. It's like an adhesion promoter/primer for plastics. Then you use regular spray paint. It seems popular with people in automotive forums....

http://duplicolor.com/products/adhesion.html

 

[mille239]

Spray painting it with Krylon fusion should be no problem... just mask off the glass, as well as the top (opening to prevent overspray from getting inside the tank. The krylon is fairly durable, so scratching should be minimal, but you will always be able to touch it up with a sharpie marker. Good luck!

Oh, and please make sure you paint in a well ventilated area

 

[lurch]

Would it help if he sanded the plastic lightly to rough up the surface so the paint would stick better?

 

[mille239]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14837224#post14837224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lurch
Would it help if he sanded the plastic lightly to rough up the surface so the paint would stick better?

Yes, that would help... nothing too rough, just 150grit or so would work.

 

[runningstix]

Im assuming no, but are you planning on ever using a canopy? Could be an easy solution, as thats what I did on my 58, just make the canopy to cover it.

Heres a pic from the side just so you can see it hidden when canopy is down. Also covered the bottom trim with the stand as well.

 

[ludnix]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14837179#post14837179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mille239
, but you will always be able to touch it up with a sharpie marker. Good luck!

This is true for a black pen, but don't use a sharpie. They aren't actually black and become kind of iridescent purple when marked over black paint.

I would do the sanding -> kyrlon route as well. I don't know if you're supposed to use primer with kyrlon though since it's meant to bond with plastic. If you ever need to touch it up you can also spray the kyrlon in a little water bottle cap and use a q-tip or tooth pick to apply the paint over the scratches manually. A sharpie mark will stick out in a lot of lighting.

 

[luv951]

I did this with my 155 bow front and I sanded lightly with 200 grit and then masked and shot krylon. To prevent scratches, I took melamine edge banding and ironed black onto the top of the tank frame. I ironed white onto the under-side of my canopy since its white inside. Now the canopy slides nice and easily and since all the contact is plastic on plastic (melamine to melamine), I don't have to worry about scratches at all.

 

[ChuckLawson]

Check with a couple of your LFS's, or call Oceanic (or whoever owns them now).

About a year ago, I bought a new Oceanic 70 from an LFS to replace a 58 that had some scratched glass. It was in a display with a black Oceanic stand (which has no lip on the rim) and canopy, and I was surprised when the canopy was removed to see that the top trim was oak. On closer examination, I noticed that a thin black plastic (with woodgrain molded in) "shell" had been glued over the top of the oak trim at the bottom, in order to make it match the stand (with no lip).

My stand and canopy were black, so this suited me fine, but this stuff had to be applied by either the LFS or Oceanic, so if you could figure out how to ask for the right thing, you might be able to buy it. I don't know if there's an "upper trim" version of it as well as the bottom trim, but since a 58 won't have any molded-in braces, a "bottom trim" package might be adaptable to the top trim as well.