last resort acrylic help

[giants4pc]

I've redone my 75 acylic twice. I bought it used and when I finally set it up and running, it was scratched to s***. I redid the inside and out with the micro-mesh sandpaper. It looked better but not to my liking, so I did it again. It actually looked worse the second time. I then ordered another kit, drained everything this time and did it again. First time i left it stocked. This time it improved, but it still has one big scratch on the bottom and countless faint scratches throughout which still give it a hazy look. I WANT that crystal clear look and have always read that acrylic is clearer than glass. I read about so many people getting their tanks make to new condition by redoing them. Am I not using kit correctly? What am I doing wrong. Perhaps I'm going too strong with the first grade and actually making more scratches? Any advice...I can't really afford, nor do I want to, buy a new tank, but I want this haziness to go away. HELP

 

[Chris Witort]

In my experience you can make it perfectly clear but it takes allot of work and you need to thoroughly sand each progressively finer grit to remove the scratches of the courser grit used before the current one. Polishing a small area or a corner will give you a workout doing a whole thank would be exhausting. Micromesh has a kit that can be used with an orbital sander that might be better for your situation.

 

[giants4pc]

i followed the instructions but it just didn't work like they said. I can still see tiny scratches throughout the acrylic. It's hazy. How much should each area be worked over? If you press too much with the tough grit, will it ever come out with the final grade?

 

[giants4pc]

anyone else?

 

[8BALL_99]

I've almost never heard of anyone getting one looking brand new again.. Almost every post like this ends with the thread starter unhappy.. A 75 gallon isn't that expensive. By the time you keep buying these repair kits and spending so much time on the tank you would probably be better off just buying a new one..

But if scratches bother you I'd buy a glass tank...I hate Acrylic displays simply for this reason.. After a couple of years you will always have scratches.. I'm like you I simply can't stand scratches.. They just seem to draw my eyes right to them everytime I walk up to the tank :rolleye1:

 

[Beaner3]

After working your way through all the various grits of sand paper, (I usually take it all the way up to 2,000 grit) use a buffing compound like Wizard turbo cut (it has a pleasant odor) and a hand held buffing wheel to polish the he** out of it, let the buffing wheel do the work though so you don't "tattoo" the surface, make sure you use plenty of water while sanding at the scratches too, I use a little bit of dish soap with the water to wick away the excess acrylic dust that will accumulate under your palm/radial sander. Good Luck!