Oil paint

[Bam327]

I hope I didn’t royally screw up.
I just bought a brand new 120 and had a can of black paint from painting an exterior door this summer. I just applied a coat on the back and bottom and looked an the can and saw it’s an oil based enamel. What have I got myself into? I hope I didn’t just ruin this thing

 

[Quietman]

Did you paint inside or outside the tank?

 

[Bam327]

Outside. And the tank is empty

 

[Infidel]

It should be fine as long as it sticks to the glass being an oil base.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

It’ll be fine. Let it dry. If it was an issue all the folks with oil based paint on the walls behind their tanks would have glass boxes full of dead stuff.

 

[Bam327]

Well I’m glad it won’t be toxic. Is there a risk of oil flaking off once it’s dry?

 

[lilgrounchuck]

It should be fine as long as it sticks to the glass being an oil base.

+1. You might find it pools as it dries and wind up with streaks. Acrylic paint works great on glass if you have to redo it.

 

[Quietman]

It'll take a long time to dry and cure...but it'll be fine and dandy. It'll harden from inside out, meaning once it feels dry, it's dry. Latex is opposite, it'll feel dry but not be cured all the way through.

 

[Bam327]

Huge relief. Thank you all

 

[Quietman]

Oh and I know this is super obvious...don't put anything in the tank until that paint dries (leak test) as it'll mess up the enamel cure. You can heat (gently) and add fans to speed up drying time. Be aware that once dry all enamel paints will need to cure to harden to full potential. That can take from a couple weeks to a couple months depending on environment. You don't have to wait that long to use it...it's fine once dry. But just be careful in touching the paint with anything that can scratch it until it's fully cured.

 

[Bam327]

Thanks. Would a heat gun be a bad idea in between coats?

 

[mrpizzaface]

I have painted many aquarium backs. I have only used a solvent based spray paint, or rolled on oil based enamel paint. I highly prefer the oil based enamel. I know acrylic based paints can work as well, I don’t think latex is as good of a bond to glass as oil or acrylic.
These days I prefer vinyl films.

long story short. You will be fine and accidentally probably used the best paint you could for the application.

 

[Quietman]

Thanks. Would a heat gun be a bad idea in between coats?

Wouldn't think so. You do want it dry before adding next coat. Use thin coats, it's counterintuitive but many thinner coats will get the job done faster than fewer thick coats.

 

[Bam327]

Update:
Just in case anyone finds this thread in the future I wanted to update this with my conclusion.
Ive painted tanks before with latex, and it was super easy. 2-3 coats and call it a day. I started this thread after I applied my first coat, noticed it looked like crap and read the can as being oil based enamel. I had thoughts of the BP oil spill running through my head, along with the thought of the paint not sticking and looking terrible. Neither was a good thought considering I had the tank less than 24 hours.
Well it took 7 coats, I probably could have gotten away with 5-6, but I went with a couple more for good measure. It turned out awesome. I am very happy with it and although it took longer I’m glad I made this “mistake”