Buffing acrylic with Novus 3, 2, 1. Orbital polisher/buffer or drill?

[cvrle1]

Hello everyone, I am in the process of refinishing acrylic tank and have a question about what tool to use for buffing/polishing step. I have wet sanded whole tank, inside and outside with sandpaper, going from 400-2000 grit. I have Novus kit (Novus 3, 2 and 1) ready to go for buffing. Since it is 110 gallon, I wont do it by hand, but not sure which tool to use for this. Should I get a orbital polisher like WEN 6010 or should I use my drill with drill adapter for buffing? It's not something I plan on doing all the time, so I would rather not spend a lot of money on tool I will use once, and then have it collect dust.

Also, which type of pads should I get, regardless on tool? Wool, foam, microfiber, something else?

Thanks for the help.

 

[albano]

I’ve done many tanks from 120-400g... used small cheap orbital buffer that I also use on my cars... if you want to try the drill, start in the back of the tank till you decide if it works for you

 

[flagg37]

That was going to be my recommendation as well. I don’t think the drill will spin fast enough.

 

[cvrle1]

That was going to be my recommendation as well. I don’t think the drill will spin fast enough.

Reason i thought about drill is because of bunch of videos that I saw so far. I saw dozen of aquarium refinish type of videos and in every one of them they use drill with attachment with Novus. Even non aquarium ones I saw use drill as well for this step. I am just worried that drill may be too powerful, and things can go bad fast. Since I never did this before, having some sort of buffer (no pun intended) from making big mistake would be nice.

 

[flagg37]

I’ve never used the Novus product on a tank, only on my headlights and that was with a drill. I didn’t think it worked that well though. It’s worth a shot before buying more tools.

 

[z28reefer]

I've had good luck with the drill attachment and headlight polish on my tanks. There is no need to spend the money on an orbital buffer unless you plan on using it for your car as well.

 

[lapin]

I have used the sponge on an electric drill method. Not the battery type drill.(too slow)
I also used an orbital buffer like for a car.
Both will work.

 

[cvrle1]

Thanks everyone for your help and feedback. I found a really good deal on a dual action polisher, so ended up getting it. I just dont trust myself using a drill. I'll just have to learn how to use polisher for cars, motorcycles and other things. I'll be polishing anything I can find to make it worth while lol.