Buffing acrylic

[Chrisnnemo]

Anyone have any experience buffing out scratches in acrylic? Suggestions?

 

[Jim Tansey]

I have never tried it but its a lot easier than glass and I've seen the end results and the tank looks new. A member here spilled a can of PVC cement inside a large acrylic tank he was installing it made a real mess, I saw it after it had been buffed and it looked great.

Jim

 

[Chrisnnemo]

I’ve heard they buff out fairly easy and makes a huge difference. Just acquired a 40b that has quite a few light scratches in it. I’m gonna Buff it before I throw her all back together.

 

[dakar652]

wet sand with 1200 or 1500 then 2000 grit with a foam sanding block, then buff with a quality compound. the stuff for headlights works really well in my experience. i've done entire tanks and all the way down to my CPR HOB refugium with great success.

 

[Chrisnnemo]

Thanks dakar

 

[dakar652]

if you need any advice along the way, let me know. with buffing...slow and low is the key. if your arms feel like they're going to fall off from holding the buffer for so long, you're doing it right ;D

 

[Chrisnnemo]

I will. Lol I hear ya, will do. Hey, do you remember what compound you used? Did you do inside too?

 

[Chris A.]

The scratches are usually from the inside

 

[Chrisnnemo]

Really? I figured there wouldn’t be as many on the inside. Hows that?

 

[Chris A.]

The sand gets caught on algae magnets or a rock hits the acrylic

 

[Chrisnnemo]

Got ya. I’m hoping it isn’t too bad inside. Seems to me if I buff the inside it’ll compromise water quality when I fill the tank.

 

[Chris A.]

Just clean it after the buffing with some vinegar and water, maybe someone with more experience in acrylic can chime in

 

[Chrisnnemo]

Thanks Chris

 

[tmanmtb]

If you go up several more grits of wet sand paper you will not need to buff with a compound. I have seen people remove scratches while the water is still in the tank with just sandpaper starting at 1500 grit progressing to 8000 grit using a mighty mag.


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[Chrisnnemo]

Wow. Interesting. Didn’t realize they make 8000 grit sandpaper! Mighty mag? Is that a heavy mag-float?

 

[tmanmtb]

Yes I think they even sell a scratch removal kit with all the sand paper progressions

http://www.mightymagnets.com


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[Gsxkid]

http://bostonreefers.org/forums/index.php?threads/acrylic-buff-question.153247/


I stand by that Novus stuff. I posted pics of how well it works in that thread. Scope it out I mean the sand paper might work better but bringing sand paper to my tank was just scary to me lol

 

[MarvinsReef]

I used the 3 step Novus stuff and it worked amazingly on my 360 gallon acrylic tank. Cannot even find a scratch on it today. I bought a harbor freight tools buffer and this helped alot. Just go slow with it.