Removing Paint From Old Tank - How?

[wilchil64]

I've bought an old corner tank on Ebay, which looked great in the photo but when we got it, it turned out they had painted over dark wooden veneer (I guess it's veneer) with paint that I suppose is meant to look like pine.

I decided to strip it but am having trouble doing this without scratching the paint below, plus some just won't come off.

Any idea?

Would it be easier to just sand it down? But then what would I do? Not sure about applying varnish or paint afterwards as I read this can be harmful to fish and the tank is in my dining room, very near my other tanks. And I can't move it anywhere else.

Has anyone else done this and got any good tips/

Thanks.

(hope I posted this in the right place)

 

[smegforbrains]

You can sand it down and use a few coats of Yacht Varnish. This is perfectly safe for the fish


I've found Blackfriars to be the best Yacht Varnish btw

 

[wilchil64]

You can sand it down and use a few coats of Yacht Varnish. This is perfectly safe for the fish


I've found Blackfriars to be the best Yacht Varnish btw

Thanks. I've looked this up on the internet and found a stockist but can find no mention of VOCs. Is this definitely not dangerous to fish? Obviously I'm not painting the inside of the tank, it's the fumes I'm worried about.

Any idea if I can use paint stripper to remove the paint in the same room as the fish tanks? It's Homebase Paint and Varnish stripper, my neighbour lent it to me.

 

[wilchil64]

Just wondered if anyone knows if it'll be ok to use paint stripper in the same room as my other tanks (all with lids)? Thanks.