stripping paint off tank?

[DavidC]

what do you guys recommend using to remove the krylon black paint off of a glass tank? seems pretty bonded but i dont wanna use chemicals if i can avoid and a razor didnt seem to work very well....

[Eddie]

what do you guys recommend using to remove the krylon black paint off of a glass tank? seems pretty bonded but i dont wanna use chemicals if i can avoid and a razor didnt seem to work very well....

Razor blade and elbow grease. With a good blade, it comes off pretty easy. ;)

[DavidC]

sounds good, im trying to help figure it out for my dad, we barely attempted, didnt have enough time, but that stuff seemed very well bonded but im sure once we work up a clean spot we could continue making the runs...

thanks again for your help EDDIE :D DR.

[Eddie]

sounds good, im trying to help figure it out for my dad, we barely attempted, didnt have enough time, but that stuff seemed very well bonded but im sure once we work up a clean spot we could continue making the runs...

thanks again for your help EDDIE :D DR.

LOL, no doctor here....maybe doctor death. :D

Should be good once you get a good spot clear. You can also use vise-grips to clamp the razor blade and use it to scrape the paint, rather than your fingers since it will get painful on your hands after a while. After it starts getting tough, you will need to use a new blade.

HTH

Eddie

[scottishbloke]

I agree, a single-edge razor blade mounted in one of the commercial scraper-style handles made specifically for this purpose (which also allows retraction of the blade) works really well. I bought a 90g tank from Chlorophil recently which had a black painted back, and within 3/4 of an hour it was scraped clean without a scratch. You can buy both a pack of blades and the mounting handle at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc for only a few bucks. I personally don't ever paint tanks- I simply cut to size a big sheet of construction paper of the desired background color, laminate it, and attach it to back and sometimes also the sides of tank with Scotch tape. Such a background is ultra-cheap, is 100% waterproof, and can be affixed or removed at any time. Good hobby stores have a ton of colors in numerous shades.

Good Scraping!!

Colin

[William Palumbo]

I use HOT water and razor blades. I soak a large towel in hot water and let it sit on the pane of glass I want to scrape. Most times, this softens the paint and it more or less peels off. Works great with acrylics, latex, and the fake stone spray paint. I have scraped it all!...Scraping it dry will take you all day. Get it, and keep it wet...Bill

[Eddie]

I use HOT water and razor blades. I soak a large towel in hot water and let it sit on the pane of glass I want to scrape. Most times, this softens the paint and it more or less peels off. Works great with acrylics, latex, and the fake stone spray paint. I have scraped it all!...Scraping it dry will take you all day. Get it, and keep it wet...Bill

Good call Bill, never tried soaking the paint. Thanks for the tip!

Eddie

[William Palumbo]

Hey Eddie...yea soaking works well, and keeps the mess to a minimum. No flying paint chips or dust. When taking paint off the bottom, I just turn it over upside down, pour hot water on the bottom to cover the whole area, let sit a few, and will scrape off in sheets...Bill

[DavidC]

thanks for that tip, i have done acoustic ceilings a few times and sounds similar, heat, water, steam it all works wonders... maybe my dad will see this here and if not ill advise tomorrow morning/day... even though the paint is the krylon glass paint it should come off just as easy huh?

- krylon says it bounds and adheres to the glass but i guess it cant penetrate completely???

also maybe someone here would know?..
does glass absorb chemicals?

[William Palumbo]

should come off just the same. Glass is not porous, so the paint will just be on the surface...Painting and stripping so many tanks...I use latex on all of them now. VERY easy to strip when need be...Tho any brand new tanks I may get in the future, will just have painted cardboard, or styro...Bill

[Eddie]

All my tanks are painted using krylon and anytime I had to scrape the tank, it came off fine. Although, I will be trying Bill's method in the future if I need to take the paint off.

Eddie

[DavidC]

i didnt think glass was porous by any means but does that mean you could use stripper or cleaner... there shouldnt be any leeching right?... i dont wanna do it this way im just trying to learn another thing....

[William Palumbo]

Strippers and cleaners are messy to work with, and will require thorough cleaning of the tank. It will splash!.Some strippers will eat at the plastic trim...Bill

[DavidC]

thanks again, bill... i did use the search function and there wasnt to much info there so i am also asking any questions that come to mind...

so besides the mess and eating at trim possibly, do you think the silicon may allow some chemicals to leach?.. what about windex for cleaning? i know the advise is vinegar but just curious...

[William Palumbo]

Not sure. I know silicone gets stained by methylene blue and malachite green. Windex is fine for the outside of the glass. I usually spray it on my towel first, away from any tanks or water source, then wipe the glass clean...Bill