Buffing Tru Vu tank...

O

ogredawg19

New member
I bought a 40 Gallon tru vu with custom overflow tank from a local guy and it had coraline algae all over. Well without any experience with acrylic I thought I could just scrub it with a regular sponge like I do in glass. I found out that it was a bad idea, and now I have light scratches all over.

What do you guys think, can I still buff the scratches out? I called TAP Plastics and they said they have this 3 part solution that'd take the scratches out, but they said that I'd have to leave the tank with no water for 1 week.

Has any tried this product that TAP plastic sells? Is it safe? Does anyone else have other products that's been proven to work?

TIA
 
Marc Daniels from the Sac area is an expert at just such a task, from what I have heard. Why not drop him a PM and see what he has to say ?
 
try the Pentair Scratch Removal Kit...

it has the complete parts to remove scratches with water in or without...

its around $20-$25

I have it but haven't used it... read a lot about it and saw good reviews.
 
I've used the tap plastic stuff made by novus a bunch of times.. No ill effects yet.. I don't even bother waiting a week.. I just wipe it all out give it a good rinse and refill with water... They tell you not to use a power buffer with it but I do.. Don't buy the three part.. Just get 2 and 3 the red bottle and the green bottle.. You don't need part 1 or the blue bottle... If it is just fine scratches they will come right out.. If you have gouges or deep ones that you could feel with your finger nail you might need to sand first...
 
Hmmm I might have to invest some money on that pentair kit, my nice sps is really starting to look like crap with all the scratches in it mostly because diatoms love to live in those so they become way more visible.
 
Thanks for the response everyone. I did try the novus 1,2,3 kit and it worked pretty good. Although the big scratches didn't really come off, but I expected that.

fishnfst:
I should've read this first before I bought the kit. I bought the #1 solution, and I guess it's useless. Oh well I might use it later when I clean the outside.

Although the lower part of the tank, I guess where the level of the sand were, seems to be really really scratched up, or maybe even crazing. I'm not sure, but if anyone knows what it is, and how to get rid of it please let me know. I tried buffiing it but it didn't help.

Here's the FTS of my 50 gallon (I found out it's 50 not 40).
IMG_0031.jpg


<br>
And here are the scratches on the lower part of the tank I was talking about.
IMG_0032.jpg

IMG_0033.jpg

IMG_0029.jpg

IMG_0026.jpg
 
IT's hard to tell by the pic.. Is it corraline buildup? Or is it actually scratches.. If they are deep scratches you will have to wet sand andn then rebuff.. A standard 50 might be a little too thin to sand though... Alot of times on thicker plexi I will sand the edges off the scratch and then buff the inside of the scratch out so at least its clear... Diatom and corraline find it sway into every little imperfection like that though... Keep the part 1 for cleaning up the outside of your tank...
 
Yeah I figure I'm going to need the part 1 later on anyway, but good thing I bought the small bottle :)

You're right! I don't think I should sand it down because it might be too thin. I'm just going to make sure my sand bed is deep enough to cover it.
 
wow those are interesting scratches. nice picture, so detailed. looks like an urchin chomping on the acrylic or something like that.

keep us updated!
 
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