Can i fix scratches

[mikede]

Hey gang. i am going to take a look at a 140gal acrylic tank that reportedly has "some"scratches". It wasn't very clear as to how bad or where so i am not sure but will see it saturday. I was wondering if there are some "slight" or "small" scratches can they be fixed in an acrylic tank? If they are small and not worth touching will it effect the structural integrity of the tank? Any thoughts would be appreciated. The tank is 140 gal acrylic and asking $230.00 for it.

 

[dmjordan]

i believe you can buy scratch removal kits online. you will need to do a lot of buffing but if they are not bad it is worth it.

 

[michaeltx]

to a degree you can get rid of scratches in acrylic Here is the catch though is they are deep then its harder of not impossible without weakening the acrylic. there is a several part system that starts with a more abrasive going down to a real fine buffer type material. You just need to gauge how deep the scrathes are and look at the buffering systems to see how deep of a sctratch can be removed safely.
mike

 

[krashpd]

I have actually been doing this on a 90g corner tank. Dont buy the scratch removal kit because it is not worth it. Depending on how bad the scratches are, use something like:
http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-SANDING-...5?ie=UTF8&s=hi
or
http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SAN...5?ie=UTF8&s=hi
If the scratches are pretty bad and there are alot of them like on the tank I bought, then be prepared to spend some real time working on the tank. I have a hard time believeing that it will hurt the structural integrity of the tank because you really are not removing that much acrylic, just a fine dust of it. From my experience so far, you will not get the tank to look brand new again but it will look better than it did before. It will also look a little "foggy" after sanding it but that dissapears when the tank has water in it. If they are not too bad, I would just reccomend leaving them alone. You won't see them with the tank is filled with water anyway as long as they are not deep enough for algae to grow in. Good luck and that is a very good price on an acrylic tank that size.
Krash

 

[michaeltx]

it depends on how deep the scrathes are to the thickness of the aacrylic. its rare but I have seen scratches that go half way or more through the acrylic if you try to buffer that deep of a scratch then it will most arent that deep if its a "taken care of " tank. most will be shallow.
Mike

 

[f14peter]

Once you sand things down, an excellent (And cheap) polishing compound is toothpaste. Make sure it's the old-school paste and not a gel, and it's abrasive enough to take the clouded look out.
I even used it to restore the faded black trim such as the grill and mirror housings on an old BMW I had.
Brasso polish can do the trick too, although I'd be reluctant to use that on a tank.

 

[krashpd]

Great idea about the toothpaste. I forgot about that and I may try that this weekend too.
Thanks,
Krash

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by MichaelTX
to a degree you can get rid of scratches in acrylic Here is the catch though is they are deep then its harder of not impossible without weakening the acrylic. there is a several part system that starts with a more abrasive going down to a real fine buffer type material. You just need to gauge how deep the scrathes are and look at the buffering systems to see how deep of a sctratch can be removed safely.
mike
I agree to a degree you'll get rid of them....

 

[doody00]

Originally Posted by KRASHPD
I have actually been doing this on a 90g corner tank. Dont buy the scratch removal kit because it is not worth it. Depending on how bad the scratches are, use something like:
http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-SANDING-...5?ie=UTF8&s=hi
or
http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SAN...5?ie=UTF8&s=hi
If the scratches are pretty bad and there are alot of them like on the tank I bought, then be prepared to spend some real time working on the tank. I have a hard time believeing that it will hurt the structural integrity of the tank because you really are not removing that much acrylic, just a fine dust of it. From my experience so far, you will not get the tank to look brand new again but it will look better than it did before. It will also look a little "foggy" after sanding it but that dissapears when the tank has water in it. If they are not too bad, I would just reccomend leaving them alone. You won't see them with the tank is filled with water anyway as long as they are not deep enough for algae to grow in. Good luck and that is a very good price on an acrylic tank that size.
Krash
I have used the micro mesh kit quite a few times with excellent success...however I haven't used it on an acrylic tank. I work at Boeing and used the micro mesh to repair a badly damaged acrylic wine opener shroud in the galley of a new 747. It took 16 hours of slow and constant sanding according to directions, but the results were amazing. It saved replacing the wine opener at a cost of a $1000.
Remember if you go this route, the whole surface has to be sanded for the best results (the side of the tank that has the scratches has to be done, not just the spots or scratches themselves).
Just a bit of information.
Good luck
judy
p.s.
I don't believe there should be any fogging of the acrylic. By following the directions the acrylic should finish up crystal clear. Also, if the micro mesh kit has a small container of "anti static" liquid, don't use it. I found it to be more of a hinderance than a help.

 

[mikede]

Thanks gang for all the great responses. Unfortunately I was able to go check the tank out tonight and was not very impressed. Sorry to have wasted your time and mine. Back to the drawing board except this time I am just going brand new.