Revisiting scratch removal for acrylic tanks

[Nickeleye]

I've found a couple threads here on this topic, but I did not see a whole lot of feedback regarding how the end results turned out for the folks who were looking to remove the scuffs and scratches.

I too will be making an attempt at removing the scratches in the tank I'm buying so I am curiuos to hear the experience of others. The scratches on the tank are not deep by any means. You actually have to look to see them, BUT they do add a somewhat cloudy appearance to the acrylic. Before I begin actually filling the tank and adding sand, etc. for the first time I'd like to take a crack at removing the scratches.

I was considering using the Rainbow LifeGard Aquarium Scratch Removal Kit. A fellow member of these forums suggested that this in itself may not be quite enough and also went for a 2pc polishing kit in addition to the aforementioned kit.

I'm curious if anyone can share any experiences they've had with the Rainbow Lifeguard kit or anything else. I'd like to order something so I can try to get to buffing the scratches out later in the coming week.

Thanks for any advice!

[gcvt]

Originally posted by Nickeleye
A fellow member of these forums suggested that this in itself may not be quite enough and also went for a 2pc polishing kit in addition to the aforementioned kit.


That was probably me. I don't think the Rainbow kit is good for final polishing and I don't think the TruVu kit was any good at tackling the scratches. But together, they did a very nice job. My 55g came out looking new when I was done, but it took a LOT of time to get it looking good.

Of course, you probably already read that in my other post ;)

[Nickeleye]

Yeah, I did. At the same time how bad were the original scratches? I think that's a big factor in how much effort needs to be put into taking them out again.

[gcvt]

The scratches in my tank sound a lot like what you describe - no really deep scratches...more like a lot of tiny scratches that made the tank look cloudy. Most of them couldn't even be felt by running my finger nail over them.

The Rainbow kit is time consuming to use. Wet sand - change sand paper - sand some more - change paper again, etc. The TruVu kit didn't take as long since it uses liquid instead of sandpaper.

[Nickeleye]

But you said you used the TruVu kit after the Rainbow kit... When you say "time consuming"... in what kind of terms do you mean... a couple hours.... several hours... days?

[gcvt]

Hard to say - I did it all over a period of 4 days I think. If I had to guess, I'd say I put in about 6 hours or more. Not so bad when you consider the cost of a new tank, but it's no picnic either.

[Nickeleye]

Here's what I'm trying to do. I'm picking up my tank on Wednesday and I think I'm going to order the Rainbow scratch removal kit and hopefully have it either Wednesday or Thursday, which should give me a couple days to work before I go to pick up my sand on Friday.

I'm pretty much willing to spend some hours on this. You wouldn't happen to have the instructions for the Rainbow kit still would you? I'm curious as to the method they recommend.

[gcvt]

I don't have my kit at the moment - I loaned it to a friend a few weeks ago so he could remove the scratches from his motorcycle windshield :)

Basically though, you start with a course wet sandpaper (800 grit?), rub in one direction, stop and rub in the other direction, and then move on through the finer grain papers (up to 12,000 grit?). The last step is using their liquid polishing compound...unless you choose to buy another (better) kit for final polishing.

This is definitely not something you want to rush through. If you want to remove the scratches, don't plan on putting the sand in on Friday...at least not this Friday. Take your sweet time with the scratch removal and it'll pay off in the end.

[Nickeleye]

Yeah, I wasn't thinking of necessarily putting sand in on this Friday. Maybe late in the weekend if at all during the weekend... more likely sometime next week, but all that will be determined once I get working on the tank. Like I said, I'm picking up the tank tomorrow and likely will be getting the scratch kit tomorrow along with a bunch of other equipment and supplies. I'll have some time to work on this.

I was also going to ask if you remember where you got that TruVu polish stuff. I can't seem to find it.

[gcvt]

Originally posted by Nickeleye
I was also going to ask if you remember where you got that TruVu polish stuff. I can't seem to find it.

I got lucky and found it at my LFS. I haven't seen another kit anywhere since then though. They have it listed on their web site (http://www.truvuaquariums.com/truvu_site/misc.html) - may want to call them at 510-487-1133 and ask for a dealer list for your area. Hope that helps.

[Nickeleye]

Thanks. I might give that a shot.

[Nickeleye]

Ok, so I finally got the tank yesterday and I also got my scratch removal kit. I did a test run on the left front 1/3 of the tank and I have to say I'm pleased. I didn't do as thorough of a job as I could have, but I definitely did see results. Today after work I spent another 1-1/2 hrs. or so and did the other 2/3's of the front side and once again there was a large improvement. Not all scratches are gone. In fact, there are still some fine scratches all across the front, but I think once water gets in the tank they'll be near invisible unless you're REALLY looking hard.

None the less, tomorrow I am going to try doing the entire front from the coarsest grit to the finest. I'm really going to take my time this time around as I think this should get rid of even more of the scratches.

I did have one question though. The directions say that for aquariums not to use the liquid polishing cream that came with the kit inside the aquarium. However, they fail to mention whether not to use it if the tank is full or empty. My guess is they meant when the tank is full as the polish would mix with your tank water. On the other hand, I'm a little paranoid about using it even though the tank is empty because I don't want to leave any lingering chemicals in the tank that shouldn't be there if I can help it. Anybody know if I'm safe using the polishing cream or if I should just do my best with the sandpaper provided?

Thanks!

[gcvt]

I used the polishing cream on my (empty) tank. I don't have my kit here so I can't look at the instructions...I don't remember it saying not to use the liquid so I'm a little confused. They must mean not to use in a tank with water in it, otherwise why would it be in the kit....right? http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/images/graemlins/graemlin1.gif

After I finished with the sandpapers and the liquid, I still had a haze in the tank - sounds like what you describe with the 'fine scratches' across the front of your tank. That's when I went and bought the TruVu kit for the final polishing. You are correct about the scratches being less noticeable when the tank is full of water, but I figured while I was at it, I'd go all the way and get the best final polishing I could achieve.

[Nickeleye]

So I went through and completely did the front face of the tank (inside) from the coarsest to finest grit. All of the majory cloudy scratched areas are now gone, but the surface is entirely covered by VERY fine scratches. While looking at the tank you don't notice the scratches unless light is hitting the surface from behind. I think what's happened is that I've sanded out all the major scratches and now I can't even get out the fine scratches that have been made.

All that being said, It doesn't look bad (although not crystal clear like new) and my guess is that once the water is in the tank, you won't even see the scratches.

I tried the polish solution from the kit on a tiny 1" x 1" section at the top of the tank and it made absolutely no difference in the fine scratches.

I shouldn't notice anything once water is in right?

One other question, before I put in the R/O saltwater, is it safe enough to just give the tank a good clean with tap water and thoroughly dry?

[gcvt]

I'd definitely wash the tank out a few times with tap water.

There's no way to tell if you'll be satisfied with the sratch removal until you fill the tank with water and have the tank lights on. While you're washing/rinsing the tank, you may want to go ahead and fill it up all the way with tap water, turn on the lights, and see how it looks. The water will 'fill in' the scratches to some extent, but maybe not as much as you'd like.

The last thing you want to do is get it all set up, only to decide later that you're not happy with it, and have to tear the whole thing down again to do more polishing.

[Nickeleye]

Since I don't have my SW lights yet, I'm probably going to have to see if I can borrow my friend's freshwater lights that he used with this tank. That should still give me a good idea, right?

[gcvt]

Depends on the lights. I would think that the brighter they are, the more the scratches would show up.

[Nickeleye]

Well, I put some water in today and turned on the lights. Didn't see any problems what so ever and I had a couple other people take a look as well. Things look good. I'm going to order some lights soon and get moving with the rest of the tank. Finally... time to do something non-maintanence related :D