refinishing and building canopy Q's

[jaiza]

Hi,
I'm about to pick up a used tank with stand and was wondering if it would be hard to refinish it. I also wanted to build a canopy for it as well. It is a light Pine color and I really would like a darker cherry color. Do you think black might be the better option?

Here is a picture of the stand and would like some opinions on whether I should even attempt to do anything to it. I'm upgrading from a 55g so I'm excited. Thanks.

 

[pjsmetana]

Refinishing wood is so easy, even a caveman can do it. Look for stripper and varnish/lacquer at your local hardware store. Follow the directions. One note though... don't buy the cheap brushes, only the expensive ones will not leave brush strokes.

 

[claire32526]

thanks so much for the help we are in the process of refinishing it and will def post pictures of the finished product.

 

[pshtex]

that's soo true about the brushes if u want a nice looking finish they u cant skimp on the brushes the only option other than brushes would be it u had a friend with a spray gun and air compressor that would work really well

 

[claire32526]

yes we got good brushes...I'm not actually doing the work...but more like aqua-managing it for my husband. We are very new to the hobby and have learned to not believe what they tell you at the fish stores

 

[claire32526]

We finished the tank a while ago. We decided to do glass tops instead of the canopy. We resealed the tank, refinished the stand and painted the frame black. We also changed out the brass fixtures for I believe brushed nickel and splurged on new T5 lights. It's not a huge difference but we love it,we had to make a large order of fish online and decided we should have gone bigger after the fish got here. We lucked out and found a 240 gallon and stand for cheap but needs work and is our next project. love this tank too much so will keep it but not sure of stock...may try salt with it.

 

[tonto95]

nice job. still have room for the fish to grow.

 

[dougbuswell]

you did a great job on the stand looks great

 

[csaechao]

wow! looks awesome. i've been deciding weather or not to re do the stand i got recently. maybe this will change my mind.

 

[Warlock]

We finished the tank a while ago. We decided to do glass tops instead of the canopy. We resealed the tank, refinished the stand and painted the frame black. We also changed out the brass fixtures for I believe brushed nickel and splurged on new T5 lights. It's not a huge difference but we love it,we had to make a large order of fish online and decided we should have gone bigger after the fish got here. We lucked out and found a 240 gallon and stand for cheap but needs work and is our next project. love this tank too much so will keep it but not sure of stock...may try salt with it.
View attachment 690204

nice tank! kind of ugly doors on the stand though IMO