I read on the Novus site that its OK to use a power buffer for repairing acrylic scratches, but all the pics I've seen of people using them are using the larger 2 handed buffers. Is it ok to use a 6" 1 handed random orbital power buffer?
Novus with an orbital buffer
- Thread starter haxjester
- Start date
I don't see why not. Any random orbital sander with a very soft pad should work. Just keep it clean and don't get any sand or anything on it or you'll turn it into powered sandpaper.
Or you can get one of those red foam balls that go on a drill. They worked great on my headlights with Novus.
Or you can get one of those red foam balls that go on a drill. They worked great on my headlights with Novus.
Also just make sure it is not to high of a speed. The slower speed two handed ones are nice because if a piece of something does end up in there you are less likely to mess up your hard work with a slower speed.
those random orbit buffers are junk IMO. i dont think it will help much when buffing out a tank. i use the heavy duty ones with adjustable RPMs. for heavy scratches i turn the speed up a lot. its pretty hard to mess up acrylic with one of these buffers. the scratches really begin to come out when the acrylic heats up, thats where a good rotary buffer comes in handy 
i use this bad boy here
i use this bad boy here
Thanks everyone for the advise!
jcardona1: I picked up a 6" random orbit buffer on the cheap from Meijer. I'm going to give that a try first, but if it looks like it won't do the trick, I'll take your advise and pick up something with a little more balls. The other worry was using something as large at the one you have, I might not be able to use it on the inside of the tank I'm doing. It's a 60g hex flatback, so the access holes on the top are not huge, and there wouldn't be much space to work with on the inside using a large buffer.
jcardona1: I picked up a 6" random orbit buffer on the cheap from Meijer. I'm going to give that a try first, but if it looks like it won't do the trick, I'll take your advise and pick up something with a little more balls. The other worry was using something as large at the one you have, I might not be able to use it on the inside of the tank I'm doing. It's a 60g hex flatback, so the access holes on the top are not huge, and there wouldn't be much space to work with on the inside using a large buffer.
yeah the space will make it a challenge. i used one on my 400g so i was able to just jump right in 