*HELP I made a mistake with spraypaint

[pocilloporno]

Last night, I went to paint the back of my tank black, I had already tried latex paint and failed so I figured I would try using spray paint this time. I bought the Rustoleum 2x coverage paint+primer stuff from Home Depot, proceeded to spray paint the back of my 75 tank. I was by myself and the tank/stand was too heavy for me to move outside, so I just figured screw it and spray painted it inside my small living room. I covered the top of the tank, but to my dismay, I didn't realize until after two coats, that the aerosol was covering the whole room in paint errant paint particles...including my uncovered sump that was in the bottom of my stand.

The paint residue is almost invisible to the eye, but when you run your fingers across the anywhere inside of the sump, you pick up the thin film of paint I have included pictures of. Fortunately, the paint isn't adhered to the tank, it just seems to have landed and is sitting in a layer on top of it, but I can only imagine that if I don't clean it all up that it will make my entire system unsuitable for coral.

Before I do anything else, can anyone recommend a good way to successfully clean up this mess that I made, this is my first time build and I have put a lot of work/$ into it, any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Also advice for getting this crap off of my wood floor would help me also, it is all over the place:debi:

 

[midnightmadman]

Maybe use some compressed air and blow it off anything you need to

 

[pocilloporno]

pic of the paint dust I am referring to

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Yeah, just blow it out or clean it out with R/O.

 

[pocilloporno]

Maybe use some compressed air and blow it off anything you need to

I don't have any air but I feel like that might just going to blow it around my living room even more...I was thinking more along the lines of reliable way to thoroughly clean it out I dunno I just want to make sure it doesn't affect my system

 

[marioensf]

If it's stuck on a little, use an old credit/gift card as a scraper; damp cloth to pick the dusty stuff is lifted off.

 

[pocilloporno]

If it's stuck on a little, use an old credit/gift card as a scraper; damp cloth to pick the dusty stuff is lifted off.

after I do this and wash it out, do you think I'll have anything to worry about going forward?

 

[Higher Thinking]

I would first use some kind of cloth to wipe everything out. Then I would hose it down real good. After that (assuming you're still motivated), I'd use a razor and clean the whole tank. One more spray with the hose and you should be good.

As for your house? No guarantees there. Spray paint certainly travels. If you weren't wearing a mask, you definitely put a nice layer of paint on your lungs. I'm no doctor, but I imagine nothing serious, but certainly nothing you want to repeat.

 

[Jonviviano]

A box fan with an air conditioning filter taped to it will do wonders to help with particulate in your house, however if you do not know better than to spray paint in your living room you may want to rethink this hobby:reading::hmm4:

 

[marioensf]

If you wash it well I don't think there will be a problem. Check over the silicone too.
A white cloth after you are done, will tell you if any specks of paint were left.

 

[marioensf]

...and for the floors too, a CC scraper will do if you feel the paint.

 

[pocilloporno]

thanks will do

 

[pocilloporno]

thanks for the responses, good to know I just need to clean it out

 

[ericarenee]

You can scrape it off most surfaces . for the wood floors depending on the finish the best thing i have found to remove paint is GOOF-OFF.. Just get a two damp rags . one of the put the goof-off on and rub the paint spots then use the damp rag to buff the finish back as goof-off can dull it..

Good Luck... I am just glad you did not end up with a trip to the ER. .

 

[lmm1967]

Ummm - please take this as a lesson to never spray paint anything inside - overspray, which is what you are now the proud owner of, gets on EVERYTHING.

Once you are all cleaned up - you could think about using window tint on the back of the tank. It's not permanent, easy to apply, easy to redo if you mess up, and has pretty much zero chance of causing harm.

I have a feeling you are in for a long road cleaning all of that. What I haven't seen is what do you currently have in your tank as far as animals? Is the tank currently empty?

If so - I would absolutely drain all water, scrape with credit card as others have pointed out and flush very well with clean, new water. Then let everything sit and dry for a few days so that any remaining overspray is able to cure and not be toxic - hopefully.

 

[PilotMaximus]

Plasti Dip tool coating also works quite well to paint the back of your tank with if your looking for something that offers fewer consequences. It is easy to peel right off if you ever decide you don't want it. It does however come in a spray can and must be done outdoors or well ventilated garage/shop. I put it on my 180 and it was super easy to do.