Sanding and Buffing Acrylic

[cpr_mike]

Wow.... I really do appreciate this Mike... I have a 180 sitting in my living room collecting dust because I've been worried about what if I do something wrong. Guess I need to get on ebay, order some high grit sand paper and this Novus acrylic cleaner.

What do you mean "electric hand sander"?? A normal shop sander ie... belt? straight line? orbiting? disk? oscillating? or would one of those automobile buffers be better? You said you got wet/dry sand paper, does that mean you put water on it when you were sanding? or did you try it dry (seems dusty)?

Congrats on your tank being done!! thanks for the post.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_296497-353-...t=sander&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=sander

This is the design hand sander I was talking about. You dont want to use any orbital hand sander. You will end up really messing up your tank if you have the orbital.

With the wet dry sand paper it is the type of sand paper. You can do it when the tank is wet but I used it when it was dry. The best place to get it, I found was Advanced Auto Parts or AutoZone. AAP was a little cheaper I believe by 50 cents a pack. Remember when you are sanding though, when it seems like the sand paper is not doing anything even after patting the acrylic dust off, THROW IT AWAY. It is a waste of time to continue to try and use it. Here's a link to the exact paper I used.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...r&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=76365_0_0_

 

[cpr_mike]

Congrats on your now good as new acrylic tank mike

i just bought new but i'll be referring to your directions when it starts inevitably getting scratched

Sounds great. Just remember to stay patient and positive.

 

[KNH]

Nice job Mike and its about time Fill that tank up with your bass.

 

[cpr_mike]

Sounds like you came up with a great method. Do you have any before and after pics? I recently polished my 210g, similar method to yours other then I used sanding blocks, by hand. I did use a buffer to apply the Novus products. Turned out great.

Thank you. I will try and see if I have any good before pictures. I think I deleted them because they were so rough but I may have sent some to my computer. I will check when I get a chance. I would have used sanding blocks but I had to do the WHOLE tank. Thats how rough it was.

Sounds like you did a great job cleaning it up (before and after pics, please!!!). I always laugh a little at the people who refuse acrylic because it scratches. It can all be buffed out, and I think the benefits of acrylic outweigh the scratchability.

Yeah I would not have bought acrylic without the benefits. Yes it scratches and it sucks but you can fix all that and there are a lot less things to worry about compared to glass.

I did my tank with the Novus system. It works great. I still dont like acrylic though because it scratches just by looking at it. The outside you can always polish but when the inside scratches it is not easily repaired

I agree. But it just gives you a reason to buy another big tank so you can have a holding tank while you repair your tank Just kidding. Two big tanks is plenty for me right now.

 

[cpr_mike]

Nice job Mike and its about time Fill that tank up with your bass.

Hahaha I am in the building sump process. If it were not for midterms and having to study I would for sure be done already. I am hoping to have it done by saturday since I have more exams on tuesday. You'll have to stop by and check it out when it gets completely setup and the fish settle down.

 

[DaveB]

Thanks for doing this thread.

I've sanded and buffed a few tanks but I always still end up with the hazy look. Perhaps it is due to not using enough #2. I thought it was a combo of perhaps oversanding and/or using too fast a buffer.

You're the first person I've seen do dry sanding with a power tool. For everyone's benefit, can I ask these extra specific questions....

- how much time would you spend on a spot with the power sander?
- how much pressure did you apply with it? Press hard? Super light? Somewhere in between? Did it get really hot to the touch or no?
- how did you deal with dust during the sanding, since you kept things dry and thus presumably didn't rinse it off? Did you rinse it off before you started in with the Novus?
- what buffer did you use with the Novus? What RPM? (I have a 6 and a 10 inch one and they both spin at 3400+ RPM. The people who have had more success apparently use more like a 1500RPM one.
- Would you say the first layer of #1 before going back to #3 had any value?
- Perhaps a better question would be if you think the #3 had any value once things were sanded down to eliminate the big scratches... the sanding basically made millions of micro scratches, which the #1 and 2 would take out.
- What did you do in the corners? (I assume the buffer was round, leaving kind of a triangle in each corner that wasn't buffed? Just use a towel?)
- Speaking of towel, I assume you wiped it down at the very end with a clean cotton towel?
- Any other technique tips regarding the use of the sander or buffer?

If it really came out as shiny and clear as new, I think I can speak for all of us when I say let's see some photos! And also, this could definitely be filed away in one of the stickies for everyone to reference. I know a lot of us have tried to do this work but have had issues, much like I have. My tank ended up looking great when full of water and with the light on, but without the tank light on, ambient daylight or the kitchen lights would reflect off the haze and look really bad. I have two more tanks to do but that issue with the last one has made me hesitant.

Thanks,

-Dave

 

[cpr_mike]

Thanks for doing this thread.

I've sanded and buffed a few tanks but I always still end up with the hazy look. Perhaps it is due to not using enough #2. I thought it was a combo of perhaps oversanding and/or using too fast a buffer.

You're the first person I've seen do dry sanding with a power tool. For everyone's benefit, can I ask these extra specific questions....

- how much time would you spend on a spot with the power sander?
Sorry I have not answered you sooner Dave. Ive been a little busy with school and I have not had a chance to get back to you. But as far as time per spot, I would not stay in one spot. I was always moving up and down or side to side until I noticed all the scratches in the local area were diminished.
- how much pressure did you apply with it? Press hard? Super light? Somewhere in between? Did it get really hot to the touch or no?
When I was sanding I was was somewhere in between super light and hard. I almost did not push at all but I definitely kept a little pressure on it so the sander would not run off of my line. Also when I was sanding I used the sander like I was mowing the lawn or something. I would go over just the outside edge of my previous line so I did not miss any spots. I never let it get to the point that it was hot to touch. I feared that that may have a last effect on the acrylic that I did not want.

- how did you deal with dust during the sanding, since you kept things dry and thus presumably didn't rinse it off? Did you rinse it off before you started in with the Novus?
First of all I always have something to cover my face. Whether it was a mask or a bandanna you need something. That stuff is not good for your lungs. But I did not rinse it off. I kept a good clean cotton towel (which I went through a ton during this process) to just keep the dust off of the tank otherwise the sand paper would fill too fast. I only wiped the tank down and then sprayed it down with the #1 before going to the #3 Novus.
- what buffer did you use with the Novus? What RPM? (I have a 6 and a 10 inch one and they both spin at 3400+ RPM. The people who have had more success apparently use more like a 1500RPM one.
I have a Craftsman 6 inch hand buffer with a battery back that you can exchange out. I looked at it and I am not sure what the RPM rate is but I think you would be fine with the 3400. Just make sure that you load the tank up. It really will be like a wall of polish that you can not see through if you do it right. You will have to keep wetting the buffer to do it right. I followed the instructions that were on one of the bottles and it did not work. If the Novus does not work for you look for a heavier grit polish from an auto store. They will be in the buffing and paint section.
- Would you say the first layer of #1 before going back to #3 had any value?
No I dont think it did but it made sure that all of the #2 was off of the tank before using the #3.
- Perhaps a better question would be if you think the #3 had any value once things were sanded down to eliminate the big scratches... the sanding basically made millions of micro scratches, which the #1 and 2 would take out.
I did not notice any difference after the #3 (hence, I spent a lot more time with the #2.) I did the number three just in case so I did not have to go back and do it over again.
- What did you do in the corners? (I assume the buffer was round, leaving kind of a triangle in each corner that wasn't buffed? Just use a towel?)
Towel and more towel in the corners. Nothing else that I had worked as well.
- Speaking of towel, I assume you wiped it down at the very end with a clean cotton towel?
I constantly wiped it down with a clean towel. I did it to make sure it was working but I ended with #1. After I used #1 it was as clean as I was going to get it so wiping it down at the end did not serve any purpose but you could do it.
- Any other technique tips regarding the use of the sander or buffer?
Sander only up and down or side to side never mix the two. Buffer is always in a circular formation. Large wide circular formations. Buff the tank with #2 multiple times.

If it really came out as shiny and clear as new, I think I can speak for all of us when I say let's see some photos! And also, this could definitely be filed away in one of the stickies for everyone to reference.
The only reason I dont have any pictures up yet is because I dont think I have any before pictures. I know I sent some to friends but my phone's screen went out. I am waiting for the replacement so I can see what pictures I do have on there. I will put up after pictures sometime this week, when I am done with midterms. School and my new internship has consumed my life the past two months.
I know a lot of us have tried to do this work but have had issues, much like I have. My tank ended up looking great when full of water and with the light on, but without the tank light on, ambient daylight or the kitchen lights would reflect off the haze and look really bad. I have two more tanks to do but that issue with the last one has made me hesitant.

I have heard that to be the issue with a lot of guys. My goal was, was for this post to help everyone out. It is very hard to explain without showing so I might have to make a youtube video when I get a chance.

Thanks,

-Dave

Thanks to all that have spent the time to read through this.

 

[DaveB]

Thanks to all that have spent the time to read through this.

Thanks for spending all the time to type it out!

And it was only 11 hours since I posted that Not too long to wait at all!

(I just sent the PM in case you aren't a regular in this section of the forum.)

I'm going to go put in some time on the acrylic now, given that it's the first sunday without football... might as well fill the hours with this stuff and be productive!

 

[DaveB]

I just went after it again. I pretty much can't tell any difference at all. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. There aren't really any deep scratches left, but the minor ones that I'd sand over would just end up pushing dust into them and turning them white, no matter how much pressure I put on them. I go over 600 with 1000 and still see the 600 strokes below it, then the same with 1500 over that, etc. No matter what there's always that light haze. This time around I was trying it with the 3M rubbing compound (I need to get more of the Novus) and as far as I can tell, it doesn't make any difference at all. My 6" hand buffer is 5000rpm though so maybe it's not any good.

It still looks fine with water in it (I poured some into it) but I guess I want it to be perfect, like you can't see a single sandpaper stroke or anything, if I go to all this effort. Maybe my standards are too high. Or maybe I'm just retarded.

 

[chrismadness]

any before and after pics?