# painting pvc or dying



## zacw240 (Oct 28, 2008)

Hi, I'm new to the fish hobby and looking for some advise. What kind of paint would be best for painting pvc or what kind of dye. I remember reading on one of the topics about a dye that can be used and it wont chip like paint and I've been looking for it all day and just cant seem to find it.

Thanks Zach


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

The dye is the one you can find at Walmart called Rit-Dye.

The paint is Krylon Fusion that can be found at Walmart, Lowes or Home Depot


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## zacw240 (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks I appreciate it.

Zach


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Hey Zach..I could swear I saw a post by Hoosier Tank, that said his painted pvc started to blister and peel off,Krylon Fusion, with a complete prep job before painting.
Hope I didn`t mess up painting my siphion tubes insted of using dye.
Good luck to you.


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## tmcbride67 (Jul 6, 2007)

I haven't tried the dye, but I can tell you from first hand experience that the the Krylon Fusion paint will eventually start to chip and peel off of PVC in the tank. I prepped and painted all the PVC tubing for my Under Gravel Jets with Krylon Fusion black spray paint. It looked great at first. Now a year later, about 10 - 20% of the black paint has chipped off.

I have black 3M Color quartz as my substrate, which covers my UGF setup. I should say it covers it for maybe a day or two at a time, until my mbuna dig it up. My guess is the constant friction of the substrate being rubbed against the paint when my fish start digging has accelerated the chipping.

If you are just painting your intake tubes, I'm guessing that those should hold up a lot longer than any surface that is being rubbed against by substrate.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

For people that painted PVC, what was the prep? I used PVC primer before the Fusion paint and I don't have any problem with paint flaking. Of course sand or gravel will scratch some black off, but other than that I haven't any problems.

For PVC that I have dyed, those will not scratch off as easy, but the biggest problem with dye, and the reason I stopped using it, is that it shrinks the PVC. So if you dye your pieces separately and then try to put them together it will be a struggle. If you want to dye PVC I recommend trying to do it when the pieces are connected, if possible. That, and if you have large pieces it becomes very difficult to dye.

So depending on what you are doing, sometimes painting is the only option. If you go spray paint I recommend the PVC primer (its usually purple). It takes off the shiny coating of the PVC to make a better surface for paint (and glue) to stick. I know some people will just lightly sand the PVC before painting, but that will not be as effective as the primer unless you really spend a lot of time sanding the PVC.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Some plastic pipe comes already black, and even black square pipe is available. If you must make UGJets, my guess is a square pipe would stay buried longer. Lots of reasons I like powerheads or small pond filters for creating flow over tank substrate, but pretty is not one of them.


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

My local HD doesn't carry the Krylon, so you might have to look around. I used the Rust-Oleum equivalent, and I'm pretty underwhelmed by the performance. I have paint chips and pieces flaking off already, and it's barely a month old. Granted, I didn't do much prep other than a light sanding, so that might help, but still...

I think Mall wart is the most reliable place to get the Krylon.


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

KaiserSousay said:


> Hey Zach..I could swear I saw a post by Hoosier Tank, that said his painted pvc started to blister and peel off,Krylon Fusion, with a complete prep job before painting.
> Hope I didn`t mess up painting my siphion tubes insted of using dye.
> Good luck to you.


WOW! KaiserSousay what a memory you have!!! Yep, it was here LINKY.
In there I wrote...


Hoosier Tank said:


> I have used black Krylon Fusion on white PVC pipes several times. I prepped them by scuffing the gloss with scotchbrite, then wiped with alcohol to remove any contaminants and let them cure for days... But after a couple moths in the tank they start to blister. After a year they still look OK but small white spots show through the blisters if you look closely.
> This time around I used Rit Dye, you must heat it for it to work but don't boil, it can warp the plastic parts if it gets that hot.
> The finished product looks great.


That was back in August and the dyed PVC is still looking great. True if you heat it to a boil it makes the dyed pieces hard to fit together, (first hand experiance) but it can be heated without boiling and the rit dye does fine. (second batch) :thumb: Just keep stirring it because sitting on the bottom of the hot pan transfers the heat.


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## zacw240 (Oct 28, 2008)

i cant find rit dye at wal-mart any were and when i ask for it the old ladies look at me like im crazy when i explain to them what im doing and why i need it can anyone give me a product number so i can just have them look it up for me. i really hate going there for any length in time


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

zacw240 said:


> i cant find rit dye at wal-mart any were and when i ask for it the old ladies look at me like im crazy when i explain to them what im doing and why i need it can anyone give me a product number so i can just have them look it up for me. i really hate going there for any length in time


Well, don't go there. Order it online right from the source. http://www.ritdye.com/home.lasso


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

It is a clothing dye so its in the laundry soap aisle. Bar code # 8596788150 is on the bottle of liquid black I have left over. :thumb:


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

boredatwork said:


> ....So depending on what you are doing, sometimes painting is the only option. If you go spray paint I recommend the PVC primer (its usually purple). It takes off the shiny coating of the PVC to make a better surface for paint (and glue) to stick. I know some people will just lightly sand the PVC before painting, but that will not be as effective as the primer unless you really spend a lot of time sanding the PVC.


 I agree that the purple primer is the smart way to prep the pipe. Do it just before painting and if some bleeds through, do a second coat of paint. It not only takes the shine off but slightly softens the surface improving bond between solvent and pipe or in this case between paint and pipe. It is also purple so it should be easier for black paint to cover than white.


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## zacw240 (Oct 28, 2008)

thanks i'll order it online they tried the product number and they dont cary it here at this store


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You can also try at any grocery store, Kmart, fabric store for the Rit Dye. It is almost always by the laundry detergent & bleach products. It is a small rectangular cardboard box so it is sometimes hard to see on the shelf.


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## chefkeith (Sep 25, 2004)

I'm currently experimenting with Drylok on PVC. So far it has passed my my strength and water quality tests.

For prepping I sanded off the shiney surface layer with 220 grit sandpaper, then I scuffed it deeply with 60 grit paper.










I added a little bit of black coloring that is used for concrete to the Drylok.


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