technically speaking.. (..being that doing professional paintjobs is part of my job...) ..there are plenty of water-based (latex) paints that you can get in a spraybomb..
the biggest keys to getting a nice solid coat is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN your glass. ..after you've taped off the trim and covered the opening with saran wrap or some other kind of plastic.. (I recommend using a couple layers because I don't really know anyone that won't get a hole poked in a single layer..)
when it comes to spraying.. I don't remember who said he sprayed a 240 gallon tank with 3 or 4 cans? but that should have been done with 2 at the most.. LOTS of very light coats will give you a much smoother finish (no runs) and a more durable paintjob. ..if you go too thick right away, you risk not only runs, but cracking as well because the paint will shrink as it dries.. that's why many really light coats works better..
if you want to make sure you're not missing any spots.. ..setup a light facing the side you're painting and look through the glass from the other side (BRILLIANT!! buy that man a guiness)
..as far as scratches go.. if you have the time, find some 1000 grit sandpaper for metal and wet sand in tiny little circles for hours and hours and hours... do not rush this.. you CAN polish scratches out of glass.
...and if anyone might be interested.. I'm currently working on a stensil for sandblasting a design into one of my tanks.. I'm going to cut it out of 16 gauge steel and stitch it to the tank face (the backside) with a couple spots of silicon then blast it.. I can't use my cabinet so it's an outside job.. which sucks because that means I'm pretty much stuck using silica sand (disposable) and I'd rather use glass bead (re-usable sorta) because you get a much nicer "style" of blast finish... it almost looks like peened steel. I wish I had a giant blast cabinet now..
the biggest keys to getting a nice solid coat is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN your glass. ..after you've taped off the trim and covered the opening with saran wrap or some other kind of plastic.. (I recommend using a couple layers because I don't really know anyone that won't get a hole poked in a single layer..)
when it comes to spraying.. I don't remember who said he sprayed a 240 gallon tank with 3 or 4 cans? but that should have been done with 2 at the most.. LOTS of very light coats will give you a much smoother finish (no runs) and a more durable paintjob. ..if you go too thick right away, you risk not only runs, but cracking as well because the paint will shrink as it dries.. that's why many really light coats works better..
if you want to make sure you're not missing any spots.. ..setup a light facing the side you're painting and look through the glass from the other side (BRILLIANT!! buy that man a guiness)
..as far as scratches go.. if you have the time, find some 1000 grit sandpaper for metal and wet sand in tiny little circles for hours and hours and hours... do not rush this.. you CAN polish scratches out of glass.
...and if anyone might be interested.. I'm currently working on a stensil for sandblasting a design into one of my tanks.. I'm going to cut it out of 16 gauge steel and stitch it to the tank face (the backside) with a couple spots of silicon then blast it.. I can't use my cabinet so it's an outside job.. which sucks because that means I'm pretty much stuck using silica sand (disposable) and I'd rather use glass bead (re-usable sorta) because you get a much nicer "style" of blast finish... it almost looks like peened steel. I wish I had a giant blast cabinet now..
