# Tinting the back of your aquarium



## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I think that's a great idea! Where did you get the tinting?


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## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

you can buy it at any auto parts store or walmart


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## Lnb (Apr 15, 2008)

There's no pic of the completed tank. 

Love the idea ............ thanks! This would get my respect! :icon_mrgr


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## neonmkr (May 16, 2008)

You should use dish soap instead of shampoo. Make sure that it's plain sopa & not detergent. You don't want any grease cutters, fragrances, etc. in it. You only need a drop or two in the water. Make sure you saturate the glass & both sides of the film as well. You can have too much soap in the solution but you can never have too much solution. Also make sure whatever you are using to cut the film (razor blade, x-acto knife) is nice & sharp. You can also use a squegee to lay the film. You use the same method for applying sign vinyl. Just applied a 4' x 10' piece of it yesterday using the same method.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks for the write-up, I am sure you have inspired a few of us!



lnb said:


> Love the idea ............ thanks! This would get my respect! :icon_mrgr


Hint... there is that "Rate Thread" button towards the right in the menu. Try it. :thumbsup:


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## mattd390 (Jun 19, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I think that's a great idea! Where did you get the tinting?


I got my piece at dukes car stereo (specialty shop) but it was kinda expensive. Meijers had a whole kit for 10 bucks. 

MattD


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## mattd390 (Jun 19, 2008)

lnb said:


> There's no pic of the completed tank.
> 
> Love the idea ............ thanks! This would get my respect! :icon_mrgr












Here it is empty sorry. Thanx for the nice comments!

MattD


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## mattd390 (Jun 19, 2008)

neonmkr said:


> You should use dish soap instead of shampoo. Make sure that it's plain sopa & not detergent. You don't want any grease cutters, fragrances, etc. in it. You only need a drop or two in the water. Make sure you saturate the glass & both sides of the film as well. You can have too much soap in the solution but you can never have too much solution. Also make sure whatever you are using to cut the film (razor blade, x-acto knife) is nice & sharp. You can also use a squegee to lay the film. You use the same method for applying sign vinyl. Just applied a 4' x 10' piece of it yesterday using the same method.


Always a nay sayer LOL jk. Baby shampoo is pretty basic stuff I imagine so that it doesn't irritate the babies skin and eyes. The dude that worked there for years swore it was the best and the place makes BANK doing custom installs and what not so I followed his steps 100% . Thanx for the clarification of some of the steps though bro.

MattD


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

it really is a great idea.

i am using a tape on black background now because i put it on before i thought of this. oh well, the tank is full now, so it would be a bit hard.. 

now go out in the driveway and squeegee the remainder of that stuff onto your front side windows and get a nice lenghth of 35% for the windshield


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## icom (Mar 14, 2008)

Thats what I did to a 75 a few months ago. I got the darkest "limo black" I could find,$11 for a 6ft roll,a spray bottle with baby shampoo and my dl for smoothing it out.I think it looks great;easier and less stinky than paint.


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## Lnb (Apr 15, 2008)

> Ok, now you want to clean the back side of the tank and while you're at it clean the spare piece of glass. I used glass cleaner and then cleaned it with the baby shampoo mixture.


Not everyone has a spare piece of glass. Is this necessary and what can one use in place of it?


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## neonmkr (May 16, 2008)

Not a naysayer, just 30 yrs experience. Baby shampoo has fragrance, which is why fresh bathed babies smell so nice. lnb, you can use any hard smooth surface that can get wet & is large enough, table, counter top, floor. As Matt has said, just make sure it's good & clean. A lot of times I'll wet the surface that I'm going to cover, lay the film face side down, peel the backing, wet the sticky side & flip it over. As long as you get plenty of solution on the film, it won't stick until you squeegee it.


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## mattd390 (Jun 19, 2008)

lnb said:


> Not everyone has a spare piece of glass. Is this necessary and what can one use in place of it?


Just clean a window and use that.  Sounds stupid but works. It won't leave anything behind besides the soap/shampoo mixture that's easy enough to clean. Hope this helps.

MattD


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Very cool, good stuff...


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## Lnb (Apr 15, 2008)

Hey check out this video on how to apply window tint. Sorry the first part is a "commercial" for the stuff but this gives you a visual reference on how it's done.

Here's a link for home, car, rear windshield and removing tint videos

http://www.snaptint.com/video-instructions.html#home


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