CrayolaViolence
New member
I was just given an acrylic tank which was a great find, but it has a lot of scratches on it. What can I use to buff out the scratches with? They are on the inside and outside.
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buffing out scratches on acrylic tank
- Thread starter CrayolaViolence
- Start date
lespaul339
Reefer
I used this stuff with great success. Would definitely recommend it. I got wax buffer pads and used them on my cordless drill. Did all the steps until the scratch was done. It worked great!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UCYRZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UCYRZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
ColoReefer970
New member
Definitely do it dry if possible
CrayolaViolence
New member
buffing; is that with a chemical? or with a certain type of fabric. Do you sand then buff? or what. It's almost a 200 gallon tank, so it's pretty damn big. And yes, some of the scratches are pretty deep.
kmbyrnes
New member
Lucky you on the new tank!
Save yourself the heartache. With a big tank lie that, sand tank before polishing thing. Google 'sanding acrylic tanks'. Unless the scratches are really light, the polsih is a lot of work for a small payoff. However, that polish works great on a well prepped tank.
Use wet/dry sandpaper from 400 - 2000 or 3000 grit. Sand in opposite directions when changing grits. It looks scary but you have to scuff up the surface to remove the scratches. It took me about a month of working a couple hours at a time to do the inside and outside of a 350.
Once the tank is a good as it gets at the highest grit, THEN use the polish and a buffer to make it look fantastic.
Save yourself the heartache. With a big tank lie that, sand tank before polishing thing. Google 'sanding acrylic tanks'. Unless the scratches are really light, the polsih is a lot of work for a small payoff. However, that polish works great on a well prepped tank.
Use wet/dry sandpaper from 400 - 2000 or 3000 grit. Sand in opposite directions when changing grits. It looks scary but you have to scuff up the surface to remove the scratches. It took me about a month of working a couple hours at a time to do the inside and outside of a 350.
Once the tank is a good as it gets at the highest grit, THEN use the polish and a buffer to make it look fantastic.
I work with acrylic everyday and primarily I do the finishing. There are many methods you can use but it all depends on how bad the scratches are. I would suggest sanding, starting with the least abrasive that will effectively remove the scratches. Then work your way to higher grits until you can buff them out with a power buffer. You can buy what you need at an auto paint store and I would also suggest a block sander. Power sanders can be difficult to use and it's easy to create a wavy panel if your not careful. The good news is scratches on the inside are tough to see when it's filled with water so you can get away with some imperfections.
