Using oil to stick on tank background.

FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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West Falls NY
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Joel
Ever try this? I'm about ready to LOOSE MY MIND!!!
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I can't keep the edges from curling up. Looks like the Exxon valdez disaster with the amount of oil I got all over the tank.

Any pointers here?
 
Next time just grab a can of 3M spray adhesive. I would think oil would be the opposite of what you want to use to stick a background on.
 
i have used cooking oil before, in fact almost all of my tanks use this method or just spray paint. what i do is get to much background, put it on the tank, and use a razor blade to cut it to the right size, then add just a small amount of oil to the tank and then smooth it all over the glass, put on the background and take a credit card or something flat and hard, and squeeze all the bubbles out. works every time. it helps if you roll the back ground up with the side you want to see to the inside. that way the curl turns towards the glass and not away.
 
ZN, it's a product called Clear View from Marina. "Background Adhesive Solution".

It's like a baby oil w/out any scent. Like I say, I had to walk away. I was about ready to p/up my new 75g and smash it through a window.

Ben, that's exactly what I've done, yet the sides keep curling. Top/bottom are OK, but some bubbles keep forming at the top.
 
If you are very careful to not get any inside Windex is a good way to stick the background down. Until I decided to paint my tanks, they all had background suck on with tape and Windex... it's just like putting on window tint.

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I think the biggest issue is, the stuff was coiled up on the spool a long time at the LFS. I didn't think to coil it up the other way like Ben suggested and I used-up the whole little tube of the "clear view" stuff. Paid $8 for it at my LFS store too. I am a genuine tard.
 
Sorry you are having a hard time, man! All I've got is sympathy to offer. It's frustrating when things don't go according to plan! You'll get it right... breathe a little and then come back to it with a clear head. Hang in there, buddy!
 
If you use oil, it should be a mineral oil as is used for butcher block. You shouldn't use a vegetable oil that in time will go rancid. It's my understanding that only a light coating is required. The challenge as you discovered, is with a curl that needs to be removed before the process (just like cutting to exact size).
 
Never tried this but what about using a hair dryer to warm up and maybe straighten out the background as you keep it pushed against the glass and put a book on it as it cools?
 
Scary how tankaholics think the same way.. I tried the hair dryer method too!

It's on as good as it's going to get w/ a combination of the oil/adhesive and tape. It does look SO much better than just a tape job. To trim it (before the oil), I ran a sharp new razor down the sides and carefully between the plastic/glass gap on the bottom frame.
 
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