Question about painting my Stand...

[cthoughts1]

Hey guys I have an unfinished pine stand that went well with my previous place. I've since moved and the unfinished pine stand no longer "fits in" like I would like it to so I am considering painting/staining the stand black color. I'm just wondering if anyone here has ever painted their stand with their reef tank still on it? Should I worry that the fumes may affect the water in the tank? I do not have a sump so I do not have to worry about the paint accidently making it into the water that way. Is it a good idea, bad idea, etc? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

Eddie,

I'm sure it's possible to do but definitely don't use spray paint it comes out like crap it drips like crazy and will look uneven. That's not something you want to do indoors anyway, not to mention that it will fly around in the air and get on EVERYTHING in your house. If you are going to paint indoors definitely go with standard liquid paint made for wood. Spray paint is only good to use with a fat cap from a graffiti store out doors.

 

[cthoughts1]

LOL.. Thanks trigger.. Yeah I was thinking of staining it.. Just wondering if the fumes could cause any ill effects to the tank.. Definitely no spray paint next to the tank..

 

[KathyC]

Some stains are available as water based stain. The color is not near as rich as with a real wood strain, but it shouldn't affect your tank negatively. You'd need to top coat it with a water based polyurathane as well.

I've painted stands before (by brush) and if carefully done, they come out pretty well. I've also used a water based polyurathane to top coat those.

 

[cthoughts1]

Kathy thank you for the input. So you would advise against the oil based stains?

 

[tonyyammine]

make sure it is airy in the house

 

[KathyC]

Kathy thank you for the input. So you would advise against the oil based stains?

I wouldn't be comfortable doing it with an oil based stain with the tank being operational on there.

One other thing - if you've had the unfinished stand under the tank for a while, I think you won't get an 'even' finish using a stain due to any SW that might have splashed on there and absorbed.
If you are planning on black, you might as well just paint it with a latex paint and putting a polyurathane water based finish over it.