Remove Scratches from Acrylic Tank

[JGT]

Have some light surface scratches on an acrylic tank I’m in the process of setting up. But it’s on the upper left hand side of the front pane. Looks like where a magnet may have been kept. Anyone have any tried and true methods of buffing them out. If so, what products/tools did you use?

Thanks.

 

[driftin]

Novus three-part - works awesome, do it now while it's empty!


Get a buffer pad that you can use with a drill, unless you are doing a very small part by hand.

 

[JGT]

Cool, you’ve used this product?

 

[driftin]

Yes, sure did. Had an acrylic tank running for about 12 years, did a complete tear down and rebuild and during that process I buffed out the 12 years of scratches and crazing. It's labor intensive but it really works well.

 

[JGT]

OK, reason I ask is that I read reviews on AMZ and most were positive but a fair amount were not. But it seems like the negative ones were people who used it on things they shouldn’t, ie eyeglasses and plastics. I actually found a smaller version of the Novus 3 pack for $11 on AMZ which should be all I need as it’s just in a couple of spots.

Thanks.

 

[lapin]

If its a few small scratches you might be better going with sand paper first before the final polish. This way you are not using # 3 and scratching more than you have to. I would fold up a piece of #800 and get the scratch smooth. Sand in the direction of the scratch. Then move to wet/dry1200, then 1500, then 2000. Sand wet. Then novis #1 for the final polish.
Very fine swirl marks will disappear when under water.

 

[Supurderek]

I can vouch for this product as well. Just prepare to put in some elbow grease.

 

[JGT]

If its a few small scratches you might be better going with sand paper first before the final polish. This way you are not using # 3 and scratching more than you have to. I would fold up a piece of #800 and get the scratch smooth. Sand in the direction of the scratch. Then move to wet/dry1200, then 1500, then 2000. Sand wet. Then novis #1 for the final polish.
Very fine swirl marks will disappear when under water.

Yes, may start with #2 to see if it does the trick. If not then will go the sandpaper route.

 

[lapin]

Good luck. Acrylic is easy to fix, so no need to worry.
I polished out a 250g that was home to turtles. Talk about sharp claws and soft acrylic.