A wise man **JUST** told me. Lol. **ACRYLIC HELP NEEDED** read the whole post**

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Use a 1500 grit on the deeper areas but make sure you blend in the area. If you have a deep scratch go 6"-8" around the scratch so it blends in real nice. The Novus polish is the best bet with getting it supper clear but you have to have the rite tools for it to come out rite. When I have done Acrylic with No bus I have used a car buffer with a 6-8" black foam pad. For closer to corners I used a pneumatic drill with a automotive detail foam pad that I think was 3". The Novus comes in a 3 stage system. Use the heavy scratch remover first it cuts faster but only need to be used in more damaged areas. The light scratch remover will be used on the whole front but you only want to do about a 2-3 square foot area at a time. When you use this stuff apply about a quarter sized amount on the applicator then put the pad against the acrylic and rub it around with out No power at first it will help so it don't sling all over. When first starting off run a a lower speed about 6-800 rpm and don't sit in one spot to long it will start to melt the acrylic. Also as you rub this in it will be wet but as it dries you want to keep going on the section till the dried product is gone. Going over the dried product is what will buff it to be super clear. You need to do that with both the heavy and light remover. The last part of the kit is just to help wipe away the residue that is left over. It also helps to have a spray bottle near by cause if it start to dry to fast while you buffing give it a light mist so you can keep working the area. Als forgot you need to lightly mist the foam buff pad with water also. Sorry this is so long and I may have forgotten some stuff it's been about 6 years since I last did it. 1 kit should be more than enough to do your job. I bought 2 kits for my 180 and only used about 1/2 of 1 kit to do the whole tank in and out. If done right it will be smoother and clearer than glass.

Sorry I typed all this on my phone. If you need any help or any questions shoot me a pm and I will give you my cell # and try and help you threw. Good luck
 
Silent Bob said:
When stepping up to a finer grit paper (higher number) did you make sure that you removed ALL of the scratches from the previous (lower number) grit paper?

I don't remember but did you say you used a palm sander or a random orbital sander?

Also what did you buff the tank with? What compound and what buffing pad?

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Sanded with a palm sander. Not an orbital sander. I used meguiars plastics to buff. I used a headlight buffing ball drill attachment and a buffing wheel made for cars. Today I'm going to buy a sanding block and do it all over by hand.

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I did 600, 1000, 1500, and then 2000 and used 3m brand headlight restorer kit. Pretty much what I did is I went and used the headlight restorer kit with the sandpaper they supple (you put it onto a drill) but it just didn't work, it's designed for headlights, not huge surface areas, so I used a palm sander with those 4 sand papers (also made for cars). So the only thing I used from the 3m kit was the actual restoration cream and the little foam pad that attaches onto a dril to work the cream into the buffed acrylic. I'm not sure if that made sense but let me know if you don't understand anything. My acrylic came out crystal clear (besides deep scratches that we're impossible to buff out)
 
GreenTerror7 said:
I did 600, 1000, 1500, and then 2000 and used 3m brand headlight restorer kit. Pretty much what I did is I went and used the headlight restorer kit with the sandpaper they supple (you put it onto a drill) but it just didn't work, it's designed for headlights, not huge surface areas, so I used a palm sander with those 4 sand papers (also made for cars). So the only thing I used from the 3m kit was the actual restoration cream and the little foam pad that attaches onto a dril to work the cream into the buffed acrylic. I'm not sure if that made sense but let me know if you don't understand anything. My acrylic came out crystal clear (besides deep scratches that we're impossible to buff out)
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Going to lowes or home depot shortly. I'm going to get the sand paper, a sanding block, and more headlight buffing cream. I may see what I can do about getting the novus stuff as well

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In my opinion if you have removed all the scratches from sanding and the tank is just hazy get a different buffing compound and spend a little more time buffing. As others have said don't sit in one area to long so the acrylic does not heat up. Keep the buffing wheel moving. Check the automotive store as they usually carry some 3m compounds and polishes. Also check around for a cloth buffing wheel that can be mounted in a drill.

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Silent Bob said:
In my opinion if you have removed all the scratches from sanding and the tank is just hazy get a different buffing compound and spend a little more time buffing. As others have said don't sit in one area to long so the acrylic does not heat up. Keep the buffing wheel moving. Check the automotive store as they usually carry some 3m compounds and polishes. Also check around for a cloth buffing wheel that can be mounted in a drill.

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Click to expand...

I have bought something this past week for a drill called a power ball. It's for polishing car headlights. Should this be fine?

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Honestly, I would fill it with water and see how it looks.
Lots of small scratches disappear (or are barely noticable) when the tank is full.
If you are really a perfectionist, I would pay the pros 75/hour.
Since it's a 2 hour minimum, ask them to do the front viewing panel first, and then if time allows, do the sides and back.
If you are up front with them and tell them you can only afford to pay them for 2 hours (and is 2 hours enough to do the front), they aren't going to screw you.
Think about it.. Do you really think they want to do 5 hours of work and then have you only be able to pay for 2?
They aren't going to want to impound your tank and have it take up their shop space.

If you must have perfection, seems like $150 or even 250 is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.. Tanks like that are expensive to equip, fill and run..
I know fish keepers are cheapskates, but look at the amount of time and money you've already invested and you are not happy with it.
 
^^^ I would go this route strictly because I have more confidence with someone that does it for a living. And I would be overly critical of my own work. Funning thing is I machine polish/buff my own cars no problem, LOL. I can understand why one would want to do it themselves and it may be more rewarding in the end.

In terms of a lid(s) for the tank, I'd first ask if you really want or need lids? Unless you're trying to keep something in, I actually think it looks "cool" without it. Although, water evaporates much more quickly without lids. I have (glass) lids on my glass tank with an acrylic latches to keep the Aro from jumping.

If you still want it, I would suggest you go online or visit a local plastics shop. I know that TAPS plastic is all over Cali. I was just there buying a piece of King Starboard, and was asking them about lids and warping. They suggested avoid acrylic lids and use polycarbonate. They have white solid and clear. I'd go with clear of course. You may want two single pieces for each of your openings, or you may want to add a mechanism to hold four smaller pieces. This may be more convenient / easy in the long run to remove when you're doing tank cleaning, etc. You can also have some 2-3" holes put in each to feed fish.

Good luck.
 
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