Anyone try to repair warped acrylic?

[barney619]

The top of my acrylic tank is warped. I'm not sure if it's from being carried by the top, or heat from the light.

I was thinking of heating it up with a hairdryer and using a straight edge to make it lay flat.

Has anyone fixed warped acrylic before? Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[CHOMPERS]

This is going to sound weird but acrylic absorbs water. When one side is in a humid environment and the other side is not, it will bow in the direction of the humid side. By removing the piece of acrylic and allowing it to dry, it will straighten out on its own.

If your lid is warped toward the dry side, take it apart and flip it over. It may be acceptable at the end of a week.

 

[CHOMPERS]

by the way, if flipping it does not work, let me know and I'll give you the steps to straighten it.

 

[barney619]

interesting...didn't know that acrylic was affected by water.

My lid isn't warped, it's the actual top plate around a cut out. I'm thinking of heating it up and trying to flatten it.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Build a box (or find a box big enough for the acrylic part) and cut a hole in the side for the hair dryer. Place the part on something so that air can get around it. Get a meat thermometer and poke it in the box. Now run the hair dryer in it and watch the temp. Off hand, I don't remember the softening temp so you might want to experiment with it (or a scrap piece). If you open the box to check on the softening progress, you will lose the heat out of the box. It will take around 15 - 20 minutes to uniformly soften. When it is pliable, take it out and place it on a flat surface and put several books on it to keep it flat while cooling.

Btw, I have not done this with a hair dryer. I used a heat gun with great success. I do not know if a hair dryer will output enough heat but I think it will.