scratched the front of my tank

sinbad

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We won't get into details, but essentially my wife scratched the front of my 180. There are 2 small scratches and 1 larger. It did not go all the way through, but you can feel it with your fingernail.

This is right in the front - driving me crazy. Any suggestions?
 
I have a suggestion..........
Time for an upgrade. How could your wife possibly protest? After all, she did it.
See how far you get with that one
 
...and if you can't pull off the new (bigger of course) tank...


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Yeah....bonus points for nassar.....my recommendation only applies to glass.
 
Unfortunately I just upgraded to this one...don't think I can convince her for a new one though I have been given permission to get some of those extras I have been watching :-)

It is glass - and it hurts to look at it.

Will post a pic in a minute

Edit: Here is a picture from my phone - the 2 smaller ones on top are about 1/4" or so but the larger one is about 1-1 1/4" and a little deeper

Edit:

Edit: picture
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You could try one of those windshield repair kits at the auto stores, it's just a resin that you put under a vacuum with a syringe, only kicker is it cures with UV light(the sun) and clean up excess with a razor blade, I did it on a chip in my windshield and could never find it after that. Never tried it on a tank so I don't know how great of an idea that actually is however. Maybe someone will chime in with a better idea.
 
That's assuming the scratch is on the outside, also just read some where you can use clear nail polish and a razor blade to almost the same extent, it will still be visible just less so.
 
No, it is thick glass and the scratch can just be felt pretty good but I would say it is not even a fourth of the way through
 
I think I am going to try this - I also heard about Diamond Powder.


elFloyd;876332 wrote: ...and if you can't pull off the new (bigger of course) tank...


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Okay - here is what we did.

I went online and researched. I found this forum that really helped http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/showthread.php?3307-Scratched-my-37-gallon-glass-aquarium-Need-a-fix">http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/showthread.php?3307-Scratched-my-37-gallon-glass-aquarium-Need-a-fix</a>

I ended up ordering these from Amazon (Glass Polishing Kit and Diamond Powder)
[IMG]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFAEE4I/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">Amazon.com: Glass Polishing Kit (Light Scratches) 2'' 50mm: Home Improvement</a>
[IMG]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFAEE4I/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">Amazon.com: Glass Polishing Kit (Light Scratches) 2'' 50mm: Home Improvement</a>

I ended up trying a few other things as well and will post all of it.

We quickly realized the polishing kits by themselves are just not abrasive enough to get out more than just a very minor scratch. The diamond powder really does work, at least to a degree - I will explain how we ended up using it in a minute.

My scratches were basically chips, they were just deep enough to catch your fingernail on - more than just your basic scratch. The thing that actually worked the best was a fingernail file my wife had. It was not an ordinary one (according to her) - but I put some car buffing compound on it and essentially sanded the scratch/chips. Yes, I was hesitant about creating more scratches (and you will see I did), but it worked. It started sanding the glass to smooth out the chip.

I had 3 spots though and the file did not last for all. We looked for a similar one in a couple of stores and did not see one. So we went to Home Depot and bought a sanding block - they recommend a very fine one for glass. In theory I know why they say this, however it was too fine and did nothing to the glass. So I start thinking about the fingernail file and wonder if just regular sandpaper will do.

Only do this as a last resort.

While the fingernail file was similar, it was better. The sandpaper created LOTS of scratches around the chips. Yes, it did sand the glass down - but man was I worried when I finished this part. I now went from 3 small chips to 3 large circular hazy, scratchy areas. A major eyesore.

Now it was Amazon stuff to the rescue. The glass kit was good for the pads and drill piece, but I did not care for the cerium oxide in it. I did use the pads with the diamond powder and was able to buff out all the scratches from the sandpaper.

My end result was a few hours of labor and though not completely gone, much smaller areas from the original incident. You can no longer feel the area with your fingernail - yes, there is still small marks but I guess I will just have to live with it.

What I learned; minor to medium scratches can be taken care of. Even small chips can be made better.
Maybe that will help someone else

**the pics were taken with my iphone - not the clearest
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