Has anyone used Acrylic Scratch Remover?

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MonkeyChunks
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:42 am

Has anyone used Acrylic Scratch Remover?

by MonkeyChunks

Hi. I have a potentially good 20gallon acrylic tank but it has some bad scratches on front. I bought the scratch removal kit that includes a number of sanding papers, sponge block and a finish solution. The instructions are very vague and lack detail.

The instructions say to sand down the surface of the scratches with a sandpaper but it doesn't say to what extent, that is how many strokes, or how long to apply it. How would I know I do this right?

Can someone tell me more or link me to a tutorial? I wouldn't want the money I spent on the kit to go to waste.


Snowboss4492
 
Posts: 2098
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm

by Snowboss4492

never done acrylic repair but i have done a lot of clear coat repair on cars and gecoat repair on boats, very fine sand paper 1500,2000,2500 grit and you basically want to polish the scratches out then buff it back to clear

not to sound silly but .................if the scratches are in the front why not turn the tank around and put them in the back?

also not the tanks are cheap but a 20 gallon tank is cheap and if it needs to awful much work i'd say get a new one and forgert this one or use it for a QT, sump, or something else where it isn't a display tank


Boss


MonkeyChunks
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:42 am

by MonkeyChunks

Snowboss, I agree with you 100%, its just that I already bought this scratch remover kit since I have 2 unused acrylic aquariums. Also the back of the aquarium in question has black paper glued on to it . Previous owner applied it for background I guess.

So when I began to sand down the bigger scratches I see a lot of tiny scratches left by the sand paper, even the finer one. Should I keep sanding it down until the tiny scratches are almost not visible?


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I'm just guessing here, but the idea with the sandpaper is to probably create a clean and ''level'' surface for the polish or w/e to adhear to. So by using very fine sandpaper over the surface of the -whole- side you create a uniform surface where nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. Instead of one big scratch you have millions of teeny tiny ones the same size across the whole side that the filler/polish works to hide?

Again, just guessing here...never used one of those kits myself.

I got an acrylic 5gal once and i"ll probably never go acrylic again unless it involves a tank of such massive size I would have to sell my home or rights to stay in my apartment for. lol

Even algae is easier to deal with on glass..


MonkeyChunks
 
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:42 am

by MonkeyChunks

Yea you're right. Instructions say that the its a special superfine snad paper that is made with crystals. It does create millions of scratches but some times they are visible as a cloud.

Bigger acrylic tanks may be safer because they wont break and they're very light to carry around when empty. Algae can abe removed with a magnet remover that is two magnets, one on each side.


Snowboss4492
 
Posts: 2098
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm

by Snowboss4492

where you sand will be "cloudy" ive never used a kit but have polished acrylic, i started with a lower grit paper like 1500 and ended up with 3500 grit then buffed it with a buffer to get rid of that dull cloudiness left by the sanding, i don't know what all is included in the repair kits....................but thats how you repair scratches in em, you know your done sanding when you can't feel the scratch or feel it anymore, and you wanna "feather" the sanding out a couple inches arond all sides of the scratch - - -you might even try to find up to 5000 - 7500 grit paper at a body shop or something, then you could probably polish it by hand from there if you dont have or cant get a buffer in there

your wet sanding right?


Tod748678
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:04 pm

by Tod748678

I am new to fish tanks but I paint cars as a side job sometimes, and I have sanded and buffed LEXAN windows on race car to remove scratches before.In case you don't know Lexan is like plexiglass but much stronger and won't shatter.Plexiglass is acrylic while lexan is polycarbonate.. They look the same. I use 2000 grit sandpaper and sand til all deep scratches are smooth then buff with a clean bonnet and rubbing compound. It will look very dull and cloudy from sanding but the compound will bring it back.Make sure you use a block of some sort when you sand. A wooden paint stick will work good just make sure it's straight..Or cut up a piece of a wooden yard stick. You can buy a rubber sanding block at WalMart for about 5 bucks. If you don'tyou can sand finger marks into it. It is as stated above you are cutting the entire surface down to be even with the deepest part of the scratch,then polishing it back slick.

Has anyone used Acrylic Scratch Remover?

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