Buff

[laserjim]

Picked me up a 125 on the CHEAP, started buffing it out. I must say, its a lot easier to restore a acrylic tank than I thought. My first try. Its a SeaClear tank, it has the built in filtration in the back. I would like to drill it for a sump. Im not sure where to drill it, maybe I should try and close off some of the back of the tank. Kind of hard to explain. There are a bunch of chambers in the back.

 

[rogergolf66]

Great job. Did u watch a you tube video? If so what one? What was the process? I know you use differnt grade sand papers and buff it out I think right?

 

[snake1]

sweet buy ....did you use a kit for aquariums or just use high grit paper and plastix polish.....Roger there is one guy with a freshwater tank on you tube who shows you how step by step

 

[snake1]

Great job. Did u watch a you tube video? If so what one? What was the process? I know you use differnt grade sand papers and buff it out I think right?

his name is James Chitty
http://youtu.be/QnIwVp2a7F8

I hope the link works

 

[laserjim]

his name is James Chitty
http://youtu.be/QnIwVp2a7F8

I hope the link works

That's the one I followed, works great. I still have a few scratches to go over again. But huge difference you can see. I cant figure out how to drill it, with all the chambers in the back. They are glued in too, not silicone.

 

[snake1]

do you have any good pics of the chambers like is the back clear in that area or maybe a top down shot .......

 

[snake1]

Also i just looked at the sandpaper pack i purchased it has 1000,1500,2000,2500 and i purchased 3000 grit which is the equivalent of your skin and a headlight restore kit with the polishing wheel and plastix polish...i would just imagine orbital would produce a better result than the sander he was using...how did you sand the acrylic.

 

[hockusspockuss]

I know this tank very well, good job!

 

[BlueCoast]

Also i just looked at the sandpaper pack i purchased it has 1000,1500,2000,2500 and i purchased 3000 grit which is the equivalent of your skin and a headlight restore kit with the polishing wheel and plastix polish...i would just imagine orbital would produce a better result than the sander he was using...how did you sand the acrylic.

Buy the Novus 3 step polish. I tried the plastix on a frag tank and was not happy with the results. It looked better, but I could still see a lot of fine scratches. The Novus polish did a much better job and was pretty cheap off Amazon.

With the high grit paper, use a foam pad backer to evenly distribute pressure and keep it wet. I was constantly spraying down the panel I was working on to remove the sanded off grit.

 

[laserjim]

Also i just looked at the sandpaper pack i purchased it has 1000,1500,2000,2500 and i purchased 3000 grit which is the equivalent of your skin and a headlight restore kit with the polishing wheel and plastix polish...i would just imagine orbital would produce a better result than the sander he was using...how did you sand the acrylic.

Palm sander

 

[laserjim]

do you have any good pics of the chambers like is the back clear in that area or maybe a top down shot .......

 

[rogergolf66]

Have u decided what u r going to do w the chambers?

 

[laserjim]

Have u decided what u r going to do w the chambers?

I would like to just drill it. Do you think it would work ok if I just left the chambers in ?

 

[sirrealism]

Looks like a great spot for a fug back there.

 

[snake1]

Maybe drill a few bigger holes from chamber to chamber and keep a power head back there to keep the detritus stirred up.that's a lot of overflow I could just see pockets of detritus building up on each lip ....if your talking about having it drain down to a sump