Removing black background- Plexiglass

Bree7

Bree7

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May 22, 2010
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Hey guys!

I am buying a 100 gallon plexiglass aquarium. The background is painted black. Is there any way to remove the black paint without ruining the aquarium with scratches so I can paint it white??

I've been told that scraping it off will probably leave it all scratched up.. but if I repaint it afterward with white paint, will it fill in the scratches and make them unnoticeable?

If that's a bad idea, is there any way to paint the inside safely without it chipping/flaking off? I don't want to buy a false background like an acrylic cutout to silicone to the inside, either.
 
This is why I never felt comfortable painting a tank. You change your mind--or you sell it to someone--and what do you or they do about changing it to the way you or they want it now?

Only thing I can think of is to find out what sort of paint it is. If you still have contact with the person you bought it from they might be able to tell you. Then research everything you can find, including accosting random strangers in the street, about how to remove [type x--latex, enamel, whatever] paint from a plexiglass surface. Without damage to said surface.

If you can find out the type of paint a google search would no doubt turn up suggestions. Failing that makes it a longer search, you have to look up every type of paint there is and search through all the suggestions. Then try them on a tiny spot of background way down at the bottom of the tank, where if it screws up it will most likely be covered by substrate and not visible to casual viewing.

I doubt that there is any solution that is both cheap and easy.

What you might wind up doing is finding an internal solution that doesn't involve the "false background" of the sort you dislike. There are some threads in here whereon people demonstrate phenomenally gorgeous backgrounds made of things like cork bark or moss walls. What sort of background do you want to achieve anyway? Open glass, realistic biotope, something else? Removing the paint may not wind up being necessary to get to where you want to be.

Best of luck, sounds like a great tank. If you can't find a way to work this out I will be happy to take it off your hands if you can deliver it to west Tennessee. :)
 
Maybe?

Bree7 said:
Hey guys!

I am buying a 100 gallon plexiglass aquarium. The background is painted black. Is there any way to remove the black paint without ruining the aquarium with scratches so I can paint it white??

I've been told that scraping it off will probably leave it all scratched up.. but if I repaint it afterward with white paint, will it fill in the scratches and make them unnoticeable?

If that's a bad idea, is there any way to paint the inside safely without it chipping/flaking off? I don't want to buy a false background like an acrylic cutout to silicone to the inside, either.
Click to expand...

It might be possible to use a spray on oven cleaner to remove the paint. Or, perhaps another lye based product. You will want to try a small place on the plastic of the aquarium, out of sight, and make sure the plastic is stable to the use of potent lye. Wear rubber gloves, lye will dissolve your skin much easier than the paint. After, 30 mins, or so, the paint should begin to be able to be wiped off. This has worked on any painted aquarium I have clean off. But, it does depend on the type of paint which was used. For example, if an epoxy paint was used, I would suspect this method would fail. I would still try, but some paints are very iffy. It seems to work well with all latex and many oil based paints.

DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT use a methylene chloride based remover, it will crack and dissolve the plastic of the aquarium. And, I would beware of most solvents ability to damage the plastic.

If necessary, you can cover the oven cleaner or lye based remove with saran wrap or some plastic sheeting to keep it from drying before it can soften and dissolve the paint. Use only a soft plastic tool, spatula or the like, gently, and you should be left with minimal or even no scratches, depending on the level of skill at your disposal.
 
scrape paint off with shaving blade (we call them minora blades, very flat very sharp) and the paint , you will not see a thing
 
I definitely wouldn't be using a razor blade on a Plexiglas or acrylic aquarium.

Are you absolutely sure it is a painted background and the Plexiglas isn't tinted?
 
I purchased a 100 gallon Plexiglas tank off CL and besides being completely opaque with scratches scuffs it also had a white painted back ground. The pain was the easiest and fastest to remove by emptying the tank and laying it on its side with the painted side up so you could use a hand sanding block with a secession of 3 wet/dry automotive sand papers. 600 grit (entire side panel) which will remove the paint fast, followed by 1000 grit (entire side panel) which will take out the 600 grit scuffs, and 2000 grit (entire side panel) which will take out the 1000 grit scuffs) and finally finishing up with a paste (Turtle Wax heavy duty polishing compound) or liquid (Novus 2 & 3) for a final new like clear finish.

The entire sanding block work will take only 15 minutes (5 minutes for each sand paper) but the paste or liquid polishing with take 1 hour by hand or 5 minutes with a $24 Robi electric polisher. I used this method and it turned my 12 year old scratched opaque CL Plexiglas tank into a showroom tank.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219193&page=2
 
Can I just use a normal paint stripper since it is only on the outside of the tank? I've heard that PollyS makes one called Easy Lift Off that will leave the plexiglass crystal clear. You spread it on, leave it for a while, and the paint will ripple up, leaving it very easy to remove. Will the paint stripper get absorbed into the plexi and leach into the water? If not, I don't see how using it on the outside would be bad... it just seems like too simple of an answer! haha
 
I have also heard that just simple nail polish remover (without acetone) works.. thoughts?
 
As I stated.

Bree7 said:
Can I just use a normal paint stripper since it is only on the outside of the tank? I've heard that PollyS makes one called Easy Lift Off that will leave the plexiglass crystal clear. You spread it on, leave it for a while, and the paint will ripple up, leaving it very easy to remove. Will the paint stripper get absorbed into the plexi and leach into the water? If not, I don't see how using it on the outside would be bad... it just seems like too simple of an answer! haha
Click to expand...

If it an absolute lye based stripper, NO solvents, it, most likely, will work. I would definitely skip fingernail stripper!

Ask a paint shop or painting contractor in your area, someone who has had to strip paint from plastic, I am sure they will recommend a lye based product. What ever you do, first test it well on a part of the plastic which is not noticeable.

What you now do is up to you. Good luck.

There is a product called paint brush saver, or something similar, it may be lye based.
 
just go to home depot talk to a experienced employee like the paint dept manager and ask them what you should use for this. they will be able to advise you and show you the different options. the employees of my local home depot are always very helpful.
 
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