Scratched Acrylic

[frankenbakon]

I made a huge mistake and used my mag float after my roommate dropped it and it had a jagged edge i didn't notice so now I have a HUGE scrape going from one side of the tank to the other. long story short Ive heard there are kits to get scratches out and that you can use them without draining the tank if you have inside scratches as well..

Whats the best product to use? any cons from specific experiences?

I have a small circular buffer thing we used to polish our old granite counter tops if that helps or makes it easier

my roommate is going to pay for it since he kind of caused the scratch lol

 

[heathlindner25]

I think there's a kit out there that is basically different grains of sand paper. you can use those with the water in the tank

 

[frankenbakon]

Seems a bit counter productive as I would think that sand paper would cause more scratches lol but I will look into that

seems like kind of a deep scratch to sand out at least to me.Id like to maybe find something to buff the whole outside and use the sand paper kit on the inside

 

[reefkeeper]

FrankenBakon;833043 wrote: I made a huge mistake and used my mag float after my roommate dropped it and it had a jagged edge i didn't notice so now I have a HUGE scrape going from one side of the tank to the other. long story short Ive heard there are kits to get scratches out and that you can use them without draining the tank if you have inside scratches as well..

Whats the best product to use? any cons from specific experiences?

I have a small circular buffer thing we used to polish our old granite counter tops if that helps or makes it easier

my roommate is going to pay for it since he kind of caused the scratch lol

Here you go...



http://www.mightymagnets.com/scratchkits">http://www.mightymagnets.com/scratchkits</a>

I have the Magnet and the scratch kit. It works awesome!!

 

[cj22009]

It may seem counter productive but it does work . Same principal as buffing your car the finer grains of actually polishes the acrylic.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[heathlindner25]

yeah that's basically what you're doing...lol making finer and finer scratches until its polished out
kind of like wet sanding a car... you gotta remember you're talking about a deep scratch in acrylic, no easy fix.
I could be wrong but I clean a 600 gallon acrylic tank, and sandpaper is the kit I was given to use

 

[reefkeeper]

cj22009;833052 wrote: It may seem counter productive but it does work . Same principal as buffing your car the finer grains of actually polishes the acrylic.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

Yup, he's right. You'll need to get your hands on 12000 grid SP and work your way down to a real fine grid. If your patient, It will work.

 

[frankenbakon]

I found a kit on ebay for 19.99.. those mighty magnets are cool but what justifies the price? that just seems outrageous

Edit: would it be recommended to use a sp kit on the circular buffer thing ive got or do it by hand?

 

[reefkeeper]

The cleaner Magnet is the best on the market. With the proper pads installed it takes coralline alge off the glass with hardly any effort.

 

[fidofence]

If you think $20 bucks is expensive you are in the wrong hobby

 

[frankenbakon]

lol I was referencing the price of the mighty magnets that were over $150

 

[fidofence]

I gotcha, but they are very good magnets

 

[snowmansnow]

best mags out there.. period.. best tank maintenance purchase I've ever made

oh, and if you start sanding it take a LOT of elbow grease and TIME. When I do mine I do it over a week's time... 20 passes per day on one grit... until I work through them

acrylic works a lot like a really hard wood would.

b

 

[frankenbakon]

Im sure they are but suffice it to say $99.95+ tax for something I could technically do myself with the hand held scraper i have isn't a justifiable reef expense lol

 

[snowmansnow]

what i mean by 20 passes.. is 20 passes on one line, before I move the mag down and do the next area...

Edit:

FrankenBakon;833092 wrote: Im sure they are but suffice it to say $99.95+ tax for something I could technically do myself with the hand held scraper i have isn't a justifiable reef expense lol

scraper?

 

[frankenbakon]

SnowManSnow;833091 wrote: oh, and if you start sanding it take a LOT of elbow grease and TIME. When I do mine I do it over a week's time... 20 passes per day on one grit... until I work through them

acrylic works a lot like a really hard wood would.

b

Thanks for the info I didn't even think to ask that :up:

Edit: Im talking about a little red scraper to get coralline off the acrylic it was 12 bucks i think its made my kent?

 

[epauluke]

I always have used Novus products. The problem is your tank must be dry...
I've logged many an hour inside of my acrylic tanks buffing out scratches. Hard work and HOT.
I think if you do the sandpaper it will help but nothing compares to refinishing the tank with Novus.
It is basically new again. BTW Novus is what the military uses to refinish the cockpit canopies of fighter jets.

 

[jdavid]

I was in a petsmart the other day looking at glofish because I think they are awesome and have a small glofish tank. Anyway I have talked to the girl that works in there several times and I made a remark about how incredibly clean every single one of her tanks were and she whipped out a toothbrush lol. She said it may seem crazy, but it gets in the corners really good and its about the only thing that wont scratch acrylic. I couldn't imagine scrubbing out all those tanks with a toothbrush.

 

[enderg60]

save yourself the headache and just buy a glass tank. took me 5 years and refinishing a tank 3 times to finally realize that.

 

[tchristman]

Fidofence;833082 wrote: If you think $20 bucks is expensive you are in the wrong hobby

No doubt.