Sometimes you can get back there with a small, 1-inch round roller, called a Whiz by one manufacturer. If you'd rather not remove the whole tank, take the lid off, and paint what ever you can reach with brush or Whiz. With a rag you can wipe off paint that gets on the tank. Chances are no one will see that small spot behind the center of the tank that's a different color.

Easy as falling off a log.buya small sponge ( around 3 to 4 inches) half inch thick staple this to a wooden yard stick.take a brush and put paint on sponge.you can get behind most any toilet this way.even if you get paint on back of toilet you won't be able to see it.try it you will like it.

A sponge pad with the handle. I never recommend painting with them, except behind a toilet tank. IMO, that's about all they are good for. :)

Michael

thanks, will report back with results

Do you have an ACE store near you? They have narrow-rollers that have a long handle. The roller-cover itself is about an inch in diameter and rolls down behind stools fine!
Faron

Buy a refill pad for a paint edger and then tape it to a ruler or yardstick. This way you do not get paint on the back of your toilet.

This trick works for getting behind an entertainment center or bookcase without having to move the whole dang thing or getting paint slopped on expensive wood furniture like the sponge trick would. Even though no one would *see* the paint slopped on the back of an expensive entertainment center, it would still bug me knowing that it was there.

I painted behind my gigantic refrigerator using this method without having to disconnect everything and move it out from the wall.

Edger replacement pad:
http://mrlongarm.com/Newimages/bigimages/0455.jpg

They can be found at nearly every store and you do not need to purchase the telescoping pad holder - saving yourself a few bucks. The edgers themselves are too thick to get into really small spaces anyway. The replacemnt pad and a yardstick and some duct tape works better.

If you haven't already finished, a suggestion: take Saran wrap, or big pieces of that thin film used for shrink wrapping and wrap it tightly around and behind the toilet. That way you can be as enthusiastic (and messy) as you want to get the paint spread, and not worry about having to clean it off the toilet. Let the paint dry completely before you unwrap the toilet and everything will be tidy in two minutes.

HTH

Molly~