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Does anyone know what type of paint is used to paint ornaments for the aquarium? plastic

enamel I belief

I think this will depend very much on the manufacturer. Most of them will probably just use paints that are specifically formulated to not contain anything very poisonus [Note: This is quite different from NOT CONTAINING ANYTHING POISONUS].

There's different types of paint that you'd use for different materials. Enamel is used for ceramics, but won't work on plastic for instance.

You almost certainly won't be able to buy a paint that is suitable for your own decorations, except for ones that are used for ceramic painting in those childrens "paint your own pots" shops...

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Mats

I sould have said that I would be painting plastic. sorry

That'll be difficult puzzle to solve.

One thought: If you go to a DIY shop of choice and as if they have some paint that is child-safe [as in it's safe for small children to chew on after it's cured, not for children to paint with]. Chances are, however, that the paint is water-based rather than "solvent" based, which means that it's going to be somewhat dubious if it's placed in water...

And of course, even solvent based paints will not always be definitely water proof.

Another thought, which does depend on the type of plastic you're painting, would be to paint with above said water-based child-safe paint, and then varnish it with "boat-varninsh". This would be a polyurethane varnish, which will be 100% water-proof [it's used for wooden boats]. However, watch out for additives like "Anti-mould/fungicide". Some of them have all sorts of "improvements" over the "plain" PU varnish, and you don't want any of that.

In the case of PU varnish, there will be a warning on the label for the solvent being harmfull. This should not cause any problems as long as the varnish is properly cured when finished.

To be sure that you haven't got any leftover water solubles in the final product, leave it to soak a few days in a tub of water, and replacing the water every day.

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Mats

Anyone else know what I can paint PVC with?