Scratch Removal Cofferdam

L

LucidGoblin

New member
I going to attempt to remove a scratch using a 4 x 4 x 6 inch acrylic box as a cofferdam. I will cut a panel out of one side side of the box, submerge it, attach it to the glass, then remove the water inside. This will hopefully give me a waterproof work space to use a rotary tool polishing pad with cerium oxide. The question: Does anyone know what I can use to safely stick the box to the glass underwater temporarily? (My thoughts were either some sort of plumber's putty or silicone that I can scrape off later.)
 
I would have to drain half the water out, I'd rather not if I can avoid it. Other than finding something to attach the box with (Flex Tape?), is there some other problem I'm not seeing?
 
You "might" be able to just get by with a soft continuous oring seal on the sealing edges of the box and relying on the external water pressure acting against it to create a seal..
No "adhesives required"...

I'd try that first before I tried to get anything else to work..
In reality flex tape may be your only choice but I don't know how easy it will be to remove that residue underwater...
 
I think I figured it out, maybe. Strong magnets and neoprene strips. If the neodymium bar magnets are strong enough to attract each other through the glass, I can put them on either side with the neoprene in between, forming a gasket. (Yes, I am on a mission. Update will follow in a few days.)
 
My NuvoFusion 30L is 13" deep. In order to safely use cerium oxide above the water, I think I would have to drain a least 7 inches of water to reach the scratch. I've tried draining water for a scratch higher up, attempting to cover the remaining water with plastic wrap and so on. A complete pain in the butt. Cerium oxide still got into the water. With a water tight cofferdam, I can buff as long as I need to without worrying about contaminating the water.
 
haha..oh come on.. such a small tank.. Transfer contents to a temporary bucket... drain... buff till scratch is gone...clean tank... fill it back again..

Can't believe someone would need to do anything else on such a tiny tank..
 
haha? Okay...thanks for the helpful tip. I've spent over a year building up my reef with hundreds of dollars worth of coral, and everyone who sees it says its beautiful. Not all of us can afford to spend the money on huge tanks, or have the space. But I cherish what I do have. I started this thread with the hope someone had some advice about building a water tight work space to remove scratches below the water line. But I figured it out on my own. I think my idea will work, and I was going to post the results so that other enthusiasts might benefit. But I think this will be the last time I log into this website.
 
LucidGoblin said:
haha? Okay...thanks for the helpful tip. I've spent over a year building up my reef with hundreds of dollars worth of coral, and everyone who sees it says its beautiful. Not all of us can afford to spend the money on huge tanks, or have the space. But I cherish what I do have. I started this thread with the hope someone had some advice about building a water tight work space to remove scratches below the water line. But I figured it out on my own. I think my idea will work, and I was going to post the results so that other enthusiasts might benefit. But I think this will be the last time I log into this website.
Click to expand...

oh RELAX ....
I'm not making fun of your tank.. Lots of people have only great little nano tanks and enjoy them..
It just seems to me like the time/money/effort you would put into constructing an acrylic box (one that really seems to small to be able to get any sort of buffing equipment/elbow room into anyways) and then getting a proper watertight seal would be more work,etc... than just emptying out the tank and having full/complete access to the scratch..
Then fill the tank right back up when done..

I can see going through your cofferdam process if you had a much larger tank and the amount of time/effort to empty it out was greater.. But again just seems like it would be easier/better to empty the tank to fix the scratch then put it all right back like it was.. Just as beautiful as it is now I'm sure..

Your idea can certainly work though.. So go ahead.. Don't mind my opinions..
 
mcgyvr said:
haha..oh come on.. such a small tank.. Transfer contents to a temporary bucket... drain... buff till scratch is gone...clean tank... fill it back again..

Can't believe someone would need to do anything else on such a tiny tank..
Click to expand...

+1

your talking about a 7 gallon tank. Even if you emptied it "¦.it would be very hard to work in such a small space. Did you ever try to buff out a scratch in glass ???
 
Okay, I couldn't resist checking back on this thread. Sorry about any misunderstandings. Now, allow me to explain. My rock work is rather elaborate, and it took a lot of trial and error to get just right, finding the right specimens to fit in the space I had, and so on. I would never be able to get everything to fit together again if I took it apart. As far as the cofferdam, 4 x 4 x 6 inches is just enough room for me to lower my hand in with a flexible rotary tool extension. I tested it. And yes, I know its a lot of work. But that scuff mark in front of my purple acropora will drive me crazy if I don't try something. If anyone is still interested in the results, let me know.
 
Please do report back. All kinds of potential usefulness in this, it will serve as a good case study for other people regardless of the size of your tank.
 
Okay, I should be getting all the parts I ordered later today. The first thing I'll do is cut the panels out of the acrylic box using a rotary tool cut off disc. Then I apply the neoprene strips using silicone, and glue the magnets to the inside of the box. This should take me the rest of the weekend. I'll post a picture when I'm done with this phase. Thanks for your interest.
 
I'll skip the picture. The neoprene wasn't soft enough, the magnets not strong enough. Still got leaks. Applied silicone on neoprene, clamped box, let set overnight. Still tiny bit of seepage. Dried inside of box, applied more silicone along edges. Finally stopped leaks. With softer material than neoprene, this would have worked better. Stronger magnets would be difficult to work with. Getting them apart if they smacked together (dangerous) would be near impossible. All in all, the experiment wasn't a total failure, but way more work than planned.
 
If I were going to attempt this I would probably use a pre-made box - something like one of those isolation compartments or the little acrylic hang-on boxes fish shops use to hold bags as they're netting fish. That avoids the complications of building the box yourself.

I'd also try to get a gasket that worked without and adhesive. Silicone isn't really going to seal well to acrylic or neoprene.
 
Glad to see the thread still running. I found a self-adhesive, "closed-cell sponge" silicone sheet that I'm going to try for a gasket. And yes, I got the scratch out. Believe it or not, there was another scratch I wasn't even going to attempt because everyone says a scratch that catches your fingernail can't be buffed. NOT TRUE. The scratch, about 1/2 inch long, began to disappear after about 15 minutes. Half hour of aggressive buffing with rotary tool at medium speed, reapplying cerium oxide paste and water frequently, and the scratch became nearly invisible to the naked eye. After removing box, the water made the scratch invisible. Next time, I'll try to get before and after pictures of a "fingernail-catching" scratch removal. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done.
 
I forgot to mention an important issue. If you try this, make sure you have a way to remove every bit of cerium oxide/water from the box before you remove it. I used a small wet/dry vacuum.
 
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