How to clean and polish glass?

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BlindSight

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 1, 2011
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Searched and searched but couldn't find any good tutorials. I picked up a free 55 gallon tank today...I am planning on pulling it apart and just using the glass panes to build a nice turtle table for my roommates eastern box turtle. I figured id save money over buying the glass new but this stuff isn't in the greatest shape. There aren't any big scratches from what I can tell but it is dirty with something fierce... have tried goo b gone and bleach so far but not getting it all off. Also there are some fine scratches that I would like to polish out if its possible. So whats the best way to go about cleaning and polishing this glass or should I just save my time and effort and just buy some new glass? THANKS!!!
photo0079rm.jpg

(this is it on the left, other free 25gal tank on the right. Trim on the 55 was messed up so just pulled it all off.)
 
You can get glass polish from a hardware store, i forget the name, but its a small tub of white paste.
Id grab some of that + an old rag and put a bit of elbow grease into it. It should be able to remove any kind of staining.
 
As far as I know you cannot polish scratches from glass....Acrylic yes. Elbow grease and maybe some distilled vinegar should remove any deposits. I do now think I would fill the tank without the frame!
 
So CLR and some 0000 Fine grade steel wool took care of most of it but there is still some kind of corrosion around the top section and without water in it the scratches are pretty noticeable so probably just going to scrap the plans and buy a new piece of glass for the turtle table.
 
Scratches on glass aren't gonna come out.

For scum/cacium/gunk buildup, I use a sharp razor blade and generous portions of elbows grease.
 
You could try jeweler's rouge to get the scratches out. Think it's called cerium oxide. But it's probably not going to be worth the effort
 
yeah I also tried a razor last night and it wasn't doing anything on the waterline area so im thinking it really ate into the glass or something, not just buildup on the surface. Will probably just clean it up as much as possible and throw some plants in it or give it away to someone who wants to re-seal it and put fish in it, doesn't look bad with water in it, just without....kind of weird how that works.
 
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