Acrylic buffing kit?

[zrogst]

Some of you know I just got a 6.2g and 2g used acrylic tanks. They could use a nice polish, nothing deep (no chips, cracks, or gouges) just from cleaning brushes and magnet cleaners.

Anyone recommend a kit for buffering? Never done it before, don't mind spending a couple hours with a little muscle work.

Thanks

 

[buffalobunch]

Novus 1 2 3 kit and an car buffer works great!!

 

[albano]

Novus 1 2 3 kit and an car buffer works great!!

+1... Shouldn't take long on those tanks!

 

[jjk_reef00]

I like to use a micromesh kit for deeper scratches and then Novus to polish

 

[bugs713]

Novus 1-2-3 is good stuff!

I also use #1 as a weekly cleaner, works great AND reduces static which means dust does not stick to the acrylic.

If you get Novus, shop around both local and online, pricing is all over the place on the kits.

Good luck!

 

[zrogst]

Picked up a kit at Aquatouch - little pricey but I figured I'd rather have it now then wait for Amazon shipping through Sunday.

Working great so far - I've never buffed acrylic, so I didn't really understand what to use #3 on vs #2, but I'm starting to get an idea. I'm using a plain old micro-fiber cloth now (Aquatouch sold as individual bottles, not a complete kit) - is that the best? Is it important to press down while I scrub?

 

[zrogst]

This is not fun.

lol... I'm glad these tanks are small. I cannot imagine doing a 20g+ tank by hand like this. My hands are destroyed and the first tank is about 25% done

 

[jjk_reef00]

I'm not sure what your kit came with.
Use micromesh and a water spray bottle to take out any visible scatches. Once you get down to the very lowest grit you will have a cloudy tank. Then use the Novus to polish. That works very well for me.

 

[brian cummings]

when I had to buff out scratches on the acrylic cases at the museum, power is the way to go. You can get polishing buff for drills or angle grinders. We used both.

The micromesh kit is highly recommended by acrylics professionals. I am thinking to get one myself. I think it's the KR-70 kit...

 

[jjk_reef00]

Be careful with power tools because you can leave circles in the acrylic. I prefer hand so I know I'm going slow enough not to do any real damage.

 

[Pescado Racing]

3M makes micron sandpaper. It starts at 30 micron all to way down to .5 micron. It can be used in wet sanding applications with a buffing wheel or by hand, Best stuff hands down, I even use it in filled tanks.