Got Scratches in your Acrylic?? This IS how you remove them while your tank is full.

[johnike]

Could someone pleases direct me to the 'who cares about scratches in my acrylic' thread?



Signed, Johns 15 year old Truvu.

 

[slief]

Slightly off topic, but does this mean if you're working on a dry tank you'll never get it clear with a random orbital sander? I realize there's the "random" in the name, but it is overall a circular motion. I've heard it said before to not use a circular motion but for some reason I've never heard it explained why. And if it's in the video just tell me to stop being dumb and watch the video...

Also, let's say you've got a curved section of acrylic you'd like to clear up. Any suggestions?

On a dry tank I would absolutely use an orbital polisher. At least for the buffing part. Plus with a dry tank, you have the advantage of using a polisher which goes a long way in removing the swirls and creating a nice finish. On a wet tank using this method, those swirls will take much more effort to manually remove. By going one direction then the other with each progressive step, the paper will cut the sanding marks down as they are more effective going across the sanded pattern vs in the same direction much the same way a files surface has it's directional pattern. I hope that makes sense. The whole idea is to remove or reduce the marks from the previous sanding and by going vertical followed by horizontal, you will remove more surface with less effort with each progressive step.

For curved, maybe doubling up on the pads that go between the magnet and the sand paper so that the sanding surface is a bit more conforming.

Could someone pleases direct me to the 'who cares about scratches in my acrylic' thread?



Signed, Johns 15 year old Truvu.

:lolspin: :lolspin:

You're not far behind me! I had my tank made right around 20 years ago. There aren't too many of us that can say they have had the same tank that long. That said, I do like the fact that after all these years, you can look through the viewing panes and not see scratches. :thumbsup:

 

[Darth_Tater]

On a dry tank I would absolutely use an orbital polisher. At least for the buffing part. Plus with a dry tank, you have the advantage of using a polisher which goes a long way in removing the swirls and creating a nice finish. On a wet tank using this method, those swirls will take much more effort to manually remove. By going one direction then the other with each progressive step, the paper will cut the sanding marks down as they are more effective going across the sanded pattern vs in the same direction much the same way a files surface has it's directional pattern. I hope that makes sense. The whole idea is to remove or reduce the marks from the previous sanding and by going vertical followed by horizontal, you will remove more surface with less effort with each progressive step.

For curved, maybe doubling up on the pads that go between the magnet and the sand paper so that the sanding surface is a bit more conforming.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[woodnaquanut]

:lolspin: :lolspin:

You're not far behind me! I had my tank made right around 20 years ago. There aren't too many of us that can say they have had the same tank that long. That said, I do like the fact that after all these years, you can look through the viewing panes and not see scratches. :thumbsup:

I have a couple of TruVu's that are at least 20 y/o. They have been FW tanks so only have a fine net pattern of scratches. Almost invisible when wet so I have never polished. Also being TruVu, they are so thin I'd worry about sanding off ANY! :uhoh3:

 

[Dmorty217]

The kit does not include anything below 1000 grit. For that, I used store bought wet sand paper. Hopefully you ordered extra algae pads so you have something to glue the sand paper to.

That said, it's tough to say how deep. If you can feel it with your nail, that is fairly deep. Best advice is to do a test spot using a finer grade and see how it removes the scratch. It took me a bit of testing to realise I could make quicker work of what I perceived as a deeper scratch using the heavier grit. The heavier grit will make quicker work of the deep scratches but it's more work overall if you use the heavy grit as your starter for lighter scratches since you have to go through additional sanding stages. This is why I would suggest doing a test area first.

And remember, never work in a circular motion. Work one step vertical and the next horizontal. Or work vertically for several passes and then horizontally for several passes before moving on to the next finer grit.

I will order extra algae pads, thanks for reminding me of that. Do you just super glue them to the pad then?

 

[slief]

I will order extra algae pads, thanks for reminding me of that. Do you just super glue them to the pad then?

I used silicone. I applied some to the pad first and then spread a thin layer over the backside of the sand paper. Without bonding the paper to the pads, the paper will slip on the pad and you won't be able to jump corners with the magnet. I ordered enough pads to have one pad per grit. ideally you want the paper to cover the entire pads. At least for 1000 and up. For the 400 and 600 grit, I covered 1/4 (400 grit)of the pad along one edge and about 1/3 (600 grit)the pad along 1 entire long edge of the pad. The reason I didn't cover the entire pad with the heavy grit is because you want to work a narrower area when working with the heavy grit. Working a smaller area and then slightly wider with each successive grade means less effort and less material removal.

 

[Dmorty217]

Thank you for the advise!

 

[dockery07]

We did my 510 this week. I don't think my kid will ever talk to me again

 

[slief]

We did my 510 this week. I don't think my kid will ever talk to me again

Nice!! How did it turn out?

 

[xcvnhvj]

Here are some shots of the tank after this process was complete. The results were spectacu

ar and well worth the effort.

 

[jbvdhp]

That's great! For me, I tried 3M Trizact 3000 grit and it left a haze. I had to get 3M sanding cloths that were rated in microns and they removed the haze from the 3000. That's great to see the transition from 400 on up.


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[SirToadie]

This was a great thread chain to read. I just bought a used acrylic tank and will need to tackle this issue on the outside and the inside I believe.

 

[slief]

This was a great thread chain to read. I just bought a used acrylic tank and will need to tackle this issue on the outside and the inside I believe.

For a used dry tank, get yourself a bunch of different grades of wet sand paper and a vibrating sander. Sand, sand sand to remove the scratches and work you way up to around 4000 grit. Only use 400 grit on the deeper scratches and work as small of an area as possible and then fan out each successive grade a bit more. Then use an orbital polisher with some novus 1 and novus 2 to do the final polishing.

 

[Synden]

Thanks for this! I am in the process of building a custom 500g acrylic tank. It will be my first acrylic tank, as I have always had glass before, and I was worried about the scratches long term and how to manage them once the tank is wet. This puts me at ease a bit.
Although I think I should start working on my forearms muscles now so that I will be well equipped to tackle this when the time comes lol

 

[GardenVariety]

What's the process for the outside of the tank? If you are serious I would pay for this service. I'm in Orange County.

 

[slief]

What's the process for the outside of the tank? If you are serious I would pay for this service. I'm in Orange County.

The outside is actually easier. You tread it more like you would a car. I vibrating sander using wet sand paper in similar grades and then an orbital polisher. Some use clear coat safe buffing and polishing compounds. I suggest using Novus 1 and Novus 2 buffing and polishing compounds. If you search YouTube, you can find videos for polishing acrylic that will cover that.

 

[ca1ore]

Scott, what kind of regular maintenance do you do on the outside. With my glass tank its a soft cotton cloth and a bit of Windex. Is acrylic similar? Waffling will be turning to ordering very soon.

 

[slief]

Scott, what kind of regular maintenance do you do on the outside. With my glass tank its a soft cotton cloth and a bit of Windex. Is acrylic similar? Waffling will be turning to ordering very soon.

I use acrylic cleaner and wipe it down with a soft cloth every once in a while. Because my tank is built in, I rarely get anything on the viewing panes so I end up cleaning the outside once a month or so.

 

[Cammunoz]

just found this thread awesome! jus bought my shallow 150 i started sanding it with 1000 and 2000 grit followed by novus 3 didnt come out as i expected so far any tips?

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[slief]

just found this thread awesome! jus bought my shallow 150 i started sanding it with 1000 and 2000 grit followed by novus 3 didnt come out as i expected so far any tips?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Depending on the depth of the scratches, you may need to go down as low as 600 grit. You also need to go higher than 2000 before polishing and I would suggest using a machine such as an orbital polisher to do the polishing. A vibrating sander will work well for the sanding process. Don't sand in a circular motion. Do one grit vertical and the next horizontal.