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75 gallon tank

Activities to cure my impatience

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5 Comments
by
blakew
, 02-15-2012 at 12:18 AM (1517 Views)
I want to keep my project moving forward, but as I said in my last post the oil base floor and utility enamel is taking a long time to dry. Fortunately, I learned my lesson and started painting without thinning first. When I painted the remainder of the stand, it dried much faster and I've been able to get two good coats on the top and sides. I plan on moving ahead with the plumbing this week prior to putting the second coat on the underside of the stand.

For tonight, I decided to move the project forward the only way I could. I decided to finally clean the back and paint it.

A quick trip to Walmart, stopping by Dairy Queen on the way so my wife could have an ice cream cone, and I had the Krylon Fusion.
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I mixed up a vinegar solution (1 cup of white vinegar per gallon of hot water) and started washing the tank. I found, for many of the more stuborn dirt/scale (this tank was previously used for Discus) a razor blade out of a utility knife worked well.

After cleaning the outside of the back glass as good as I could, I masked off the tank. I used masking tape to tape around the inside of the holes I had previously cut in the tank and back masked the holes on the inside of the tank. Then I used some old newspaper (we always keep the sales papers we get in the mail to start fires (we heat with a wood stove)) and masking tape to protect the sides, top and bottom of the tank.
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Next, painted the back, using multiple light passes in each direction until the glass was evenly coated.
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I let the paint flash for a few minutes and then removed all the masking.

I'll let the the paint cure overnight (or maybe two days depending on if the stand is completely dry tomorrow or not. Then I'll finally get started on the plumbing.

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Categories
‎ Tank Entry , ‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. DJ in WV's Avatar
    oil base paint takes forever to dry. Even after it feels dry to the touch it is soft for a long time
  2. melev's Avatar
    I wish I had a wood stove.
  3. blakew's Avatar
    I wish I had put up more wood for my stove this year. Colder than normal year and we've already burned the cord and a half I had put up. Only have a small emergency stash left. Paying for electric baseboard heat is killing me.
  4. melev's Avatar
    You may have to get some from elsewhere where they keep it covered. Out in the country, or further.
  5. blakew's Avatar
    If the electric bill is a high as my wife expects it to be, I'll have to do a more thorough search of craigslist or the newspaper or something. There was a burn ban in the Puget Sound Area a couple of months ago due to air quality that lasted 4 days. Between that and running led Christmas lights our December electric bill went up about $50. This is the first time in 7 years we've ran the heaters for a full month at this house. I'm expecting the bill in the next couple of days.

    The couple of times I've ran out of wood over the last 10 years and had to buy firewood from craigslist, it showed up soaking wet, even after asking the seller if it was dry.