View Full Version : Acrylic Troubles
Aquarius0015
11-20-2003, 3:41 PM
Last night I wanted to apply a thermometer to my 2.5 MiniBow divided tank. Without thinking, I reached for a cotton pad and isopropyl alcohol and began wiping down the surface.
But oh, silly me. Alcohol cleans glass, but it does not get along well with my acrylic tank. From what I could determine online, alcohol actually has the ability to dissolve some types of acrylic.
Now, one side of my tank is covered in hazy swirls. Although the tank is still quite functional, it looks much less attractive. Does anyone have any ideas how to return my tank to its former glory?
Sigh. It may be my purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.
Aquarius0015
3 Male Bettas + 1 College Dorm = Hallmates begging for Betta deathmatches. Oy.
tomm10
11-20-2003, 3:52 PM
Ouch. I'v emade the same mistake but with the displays we make at work rather than an aquarium.
First, try buffing it out. You can use some toothpaste but make sure its the old school paste and not mentadent or something with sparkles or the like. The toothpaste is a mild abrasive so if you apply it to the glass like you would apply wax to a car and let it dry, you can then buff it out.
If the haze is bad this may not work. At work we use a product called Novus. They have polishes in a couple of steps designed to buff out acrylic. You could try to find these at a boating shop. My experience has been that they only work for minor hazing.
The only other way I know of to remove hazing like you've talked about is with heat. You can use a benzomatic type torch and flame the acrylic. Its not something I would try unless I was going to ditch the tank and I would certainly not do it with fish in the tank.
Hopefully sometone with chime in with a bullet proof idea but those are my $.02
Good luck.
Aquarius0015
11-20-2003, 4:47 PM
Wow! That toothpaste idea really did the trick! The tank looks good as new. My roommate might be wondering why I covered my aquarium with dental product, but I'm sure he will enjoy our room's new minty fresh smell.
On a serious note, however, I still would like to hear from anyone else who has had a similar problem or knows an alternate solution. Just because I am curious like that.
Aquarius0015
Because every Aquarius should have an aquarium!
tomm10
11-21-2003, 7:26 AM
Great! I rarely hold out much hope for the toothpaste trick since it really only works on slight hazing but I'm glad to hear it worked!
They do make acrylic polishing compounds/kits. Do a search on the internet and you should find a few companies selling them.
Alex
tricksterpup
11-21-2003, 5:09 PM
Seaclear makes a kit that runs under $9 at petsmart.com.
SeaClear Scratch Kit for Acrylic Aquariums
A soft cloth and the contents of this kit are all you need to restore the exterior of your acrylic aquarium to its sparkling, scratch-free look. Includes 2 varieties of polish and a small square of very fine grain sandpaper; as well as complete instructions for removing hairline scratches, mild scratches and deep scratches.
jim
SnakeIce
11-22-2003, 11:16 PM
great tip that useing toothpast idea I have a tank that is acrylic that has some spots that are very finely hazy or etched like someone used sandpaper to try to clean it...
I will have to try that