Tanked!

I had been doing a lot of thinking about what design I wanted to paint on my oil tank. I wanted a design that would be interesting and not fussy to paint. Although the designs I liked were kind of 60's-ish abstract I really wanted something organic, so I went through my stash again and found some fabric with a leaf design I liked.

I liked it because I could paint it easily freehand and it didn't have to be exact.

 I didn't want to paint the whole tank, but I did want to break up that vast expanse of white.

I have no trouble handling a brush and getting it to do what I want it to do.
 

It looked good, but the more time that passed made me realize that the paint I was using wasn't designed to stay where I put it, unlike artist oil paints which are generally stiffer than toothpaste.

Even though the design looked good when I painted it, a short time later, drips appeared.

I tried to wipe the drips with a rag, and almost made it worse. I have to decide how much touching up I want to do.

Because in the grand scheme of things, it looks fine.

The Tank, Day One

Never in a thousand years would I have expected a post about painting my oil tank to generate such interest!

I had two concerns. The tank is 9-1/2" away from the house. Not enough space to squeeze into, and there's an old plastic storage shed on the other side, making access from that side difficult as well. The other was a label on one side of the tank. Closer inspection of the label solved that problem. "Do not paint over this label." OK!

The weather report told me that Friday would be a good day to paint. The weather would be a lot cooler and drier. The rest I knew from studying Oil Painting in college, and working at hardware stores during those years. I'd already prepared the surface by brushing off any debris and cleaning the tank.

As soon as I painted the first stroke, I knew two things. One, the paint was nice and I was going to enjoy working with it. The second, I love painting. There's something about pushing paint around with a brush that I find incredibly soothing. Not for nothing did I focus on Oil Painting in college.

Painting the side of the tank against the house was tricky. I used a roller and a long handle. I did brush up against the tank and got white paint on my upper arms a couple of times, but at least I didn't get paint on my house.  For the bottom of the tank, there was nothing I else could do but lie on the ground and use the roller. I had made sure to spray myself with insect repellent before I got started.

To my everlasting delight, the job took one hour. I cleaned tools and put everything away. The paint needs 24 hours to dry completely, so I'll do the second coat tomorrow, and the fancy design stuff the day after that.

This was taken a few hours later when the afternoon sun hit the tank. Yes, it is white!

And about that fancy design stuff - I really haven't decided what to do. Zebra stripes would be fun, just as a bar code design of varying vertical stripes would be too. One thing I do know is that I don't want to get overly complicated. For this, I think less is definitely better.

The Tank

THIS is the oil tank behind my house. The one I have to paint. For your reference, the window on the far right is the window at the end of my sewing studio.

My Dad had laughingly suggested pink, like my doors. I figured I'd get busted for that as the neighborhood organization is decidedly conservative and not particularly creative. Dark brown - the color of the trim - would read as a dark blob, but I wasn't sure I had many other options.

But I thought I could do something soothing, like these colors, the soft blue, green and yellow. I'dve arranged them like this: light blue, green, yellow, green, light blue in vertical stripes. It would have been very pretty and soothing.

Alas, painting a metal tank has some limitations. If I want the paint to stick, the paint guy suggested Rustoleum, which has a very limited selection of colors, at least in the gallon size which I would need to cover my tank. So I surrendered, and chose "Brown Leather." I bought the paint, the brushes, the roller and tray, and paint thinner, because Rustoleum is an oil based paint.

So I had just checked out at the big box hardware store, and while I was waiting for my Dad who was using the restroom, I checked out my blog.

Julie suggested Black and White. Oh holy hell! How come I didn't think of that? Then Ducky suggested a geometric design. DOUBLE holy hell!!!

HOWEVER.... Black and White are colors I CAN get in Rustoleum, so I will return the brown for WHITE!  Until I work out a design I can give the thing a basic coat of white.

Then I did what any good painter does. I prepared the surface. I washed the tank. After that I was chatting with Julie because I thought her black and white idea was totally kick ass. But I didn't really want to exert a lot of energy or effort.

"...just go look at your stash" Julie suggested.

Oh. Well, I have this (above).

I also have THIS, which could be a lot of fun because it is pretty much free hand, and kinda silly.

which reminds me.

See that little window above the tank? It's my bathroom, and HERE is the curtain in that window.

Yes. Black and White. Bras and Panties.



No, don't go there. I will NOT be painting my oil tank with bras and panties.