A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 save my aloe...please

i just cut off some funny looking leaves from my aloe plant and dissected them to discover they were oozing orange junk. i've concluded that since the plant is in an orange pot that was hand painted, the paint is getting into the roots. i want to repot it, however i may possibly need to trim the roots to fit it in a smaller pot. can that be done safely? i also know that they have shallow root systems, but this one needs to be planted a little lower cuz of the long trunk it seems to be growing. can someone tell me what to do?

If you need to repot it, it's as tough as old boots so go for it. Don't plant the trunk any deeper though as you'll cause collar rot and it'll die. Leave the soil level the same as it is now. The roots won't mind a trim. I had some in an old laundry tub and decided i needed the tub for something else. I just ripped the stuff out and dropped it round the base of a tree. Threw a wheelbarrow full of sandy soil around it and that was it. Knocked it around for about a month. Now its gone berko. I've never even watered the stuff.
I think the biggest problem with aloe is too much root moisture so normal potting mix should have some coarse river sand added for extra drainage.