Hey there,
Making my own aquarium hood this weekend...wanted to paint the inside a nice glossy white, was going to to use plastic paint, very durable and washable, but is it safe? What would you suggest?
I would imagine that as long as you let it dry properly and keep it from flaking into the water it should be fine. IMO. If your that worried about it you could use animal based food grade paint for use in restaurants near food preparation areas. It is about $120 a gallon though.
I recently built a canopy and used Rust-oleum for the color and sealed it with a few coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane. You have to use an oil based paint with Spars....Worked great and super shiny!
I would not use a marine paint because some have antifouling agents or copper added to them. I would use a simple latex acryllic enamel. Exterior and bathroom paints also have a mildew inhib in them so I would also avoid these. All epoxies are safe once dry so they are always an option.
