Acrylic Polishing....

[SPotter]

So the inevitable happened today...I put a scratch in the exterior of my tank. It was my own fault because I was being lazy putting some coral back in the tank. So, I have been looking at the Novus product and was wondering if I need to do the entire panel or can I just spot repair where the scratch is?

 

[slief]

You can do the spot where the scratch is. You should only need to polish a small area around the scratch to feather it in.

 

[SPotter]

Thanks Scott! Is the novus product good or do you like something else better?

 

[slief]

Thanks Scott! Is the novus product good or do you like something else better?

It really depends on how deep the scratch is. Deep scratches usually require some wet sanding with fine grade paper followed by polishing with an electric wheel polisher. Novus works fine or you can use automotive grade micro grain clear coat safe polish followed finishing polish.

 

[Arthur1]

Spotter, novus is good but as mentioned, if it is a deeper scratch, you'll need some wet sanding prior to polishing it out. I can't remember the grit sizes but when I was polishing my headlights with a restoration kit, I remember thinking, "this would be good for aquariums". Whatever route you decide to go, be thorough and don't be afraid lol.

 

[ghostman]

Just polished some scratches out of my tank and stand. I use the 2400 wet sandpaper for deeper scratches, followed by 3200, 6000, 8000, and 12000. I feathered it out a bit with each step up. I followed that with Novus 2 and Novus 1 to get a nice shine. No issues at all. Looks gorgeous.

 

[Aquatron]

Meguiar's # 105 Ultra Cut Compound
Meguiar's # 9 Swirl Remover 2.0
Will make your acrylic squeak it's that clean
Deep scratch's wet sand using step up's then above product's # 105 then # 9

 

[Arthur1]

Aqua, are you using any "special" buffing wheels at all?