My 125 gallon build a.k.a. in the deep end...

After 2 days of finishing (and 5 days away with the family on spring break), I returned to inspect the finish on the 3 upper doors and was, to put it mildly, disappointed. The color was good, but the poly coat was streaky and uneven. I have researched a bit more on the internet and it seems as if this isn't an unusual problem. On my test pieces, it was easy to get a consistent coat. But on the larger areas, well...

So this morning I sanded everything down to baseline and started in again. I will stir the poly much longer this time, I guess some of the flattener can settle out in the "satin finish" types. Also, I will cut it 50/50 with mineral spirits to try to get it to lay down a little better. Frustrating setback, but what can I do. I've put way too much time in this thing to settle for a streaky finish. I know it would drive me nuts every time I looked at it!

Good news is the light retrofit kits showed up, so I have something to do between coats. Unfortunately, I need to make the light panel, but the shop is in "clean mode" now for the finishing work. Can't very well stir up too much saw dust. I'll try to mock up what I can in the mean time. Wish me luck.

Also, any other finishing advice would be great right now. I'm happy to listen.

Stained doors and top

I think I've finally come up with a recipe that is working for the finish. It matches the rest of the pieces downstairs. Hard to capture on an iPhone, but it looks good in person.
Going to finish sanding the rest of the hood and stain that this weekend, between work and taxes that is.



Haven't made much progress on the lights, either. But now that the finish is decided, I should be able to move a little faster. I'm anxious to see the end result.

Hoods finished...

After several weeks of sanding, finishing, sanding, finishing, etc., I think the finish on the hood is done. I'm pleased with the results, sort of the dark reddish brown color I was looking for. I think I've got the process down, so hopefully the base won't take so long.

Here's some shots of the hood...



As some of you may have noticed, I also painting the back of the tank black. Just used a brush, blue tape, and some latex enamel black paint. Took 4 coats until the whole thing was opaque. After the first coat, I thought I had really screwed it up. It took 6 hours to dry and barely covered anything, but each coat was better and better.

I still need to build the light rack inside the hood and finish the base. Then its off to doing regular aquarium stuff like filters, heaters, CO2, water, plants, fish, etc.

Anyone vote for a two tone stand? I'm so sick of finishing right now :yuck:

Regards, Dave

Finished finishing

Well I can finally turn my shop back into a shop and not a finishing room. I think I've got the final coat of finish on the final piece of the hood and stand. Very hard to capture the true color on an iPhone photo, it looks lighter in some shots, darker in others, but I'm pleased how it turned out. Here are some final finish shots...



Tomorrow I have a day off and the kids will be at school. I'm going to build the light rack and try to get those fired up. My sons birthday (8th) is the middle of June. He wonders if it will be running by then? So do I. I think I've got a pretty good idea of how I want to go on filters, heaters, UV, CO2, substrate, and stock list. Its now just a matter of piecing it together and spending the dough!

Hope the stand and hood build were interesting. Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words along the way. It took off very fast, but the finishing stage has limped to the finish. I'm anxious to move on.

Stay tuned! Best wishes. Dave