Help! Acrylic Cleaning Question

Pootspete

AC Members
Jul 26, 2001
231
0
0
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
members.tripod.com
Tough Acrylic Cleaning Question :help:

A friend gave me a brand new 29 gallon acrylic tank. There is some clear shipping tape on the outside of the tank. I have tried everything to get that stuff off, to no avail. I know not to use Windex or anything else ammonia based. I have thought of "Goof Off," but that is petroleum based. Does anyone have any ideas what I can use? Thanks so much in advance!
 
Last edited:
can't guarantee it, but I think almost any oil-vegetable, that is, will cut through the glue, then you can wash the oil off with a regular cleaner.
I've never tried this on acrylic myself-so if anyone has a better idea or needs to shoot this down, feel free! I've just used it on glass, binder notebooks, etc.
 
Dont use goof off. It is zylene based and will melt the plastic. You can try alcahol but try a test area on the bottom of the tank first. Depending on the grade of the plex used will determine the intensity of cleaner that you can safely use to clean.
 
Never used them on acrylic, but those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are amazing for taking glue and such off other surfaces with no damage. Might be worth looking at.
 
I don't see an issue with trying plain ammonia (w/water) to clean the outside of the tank. It is safer than using a cleanser with detergents, soaps or chlorine in it. Don't know if it would remove adhesive though. Definitely wouldn't use any kind of spray (like Windex) near the tank. Trying an edible oil (vegetable, olive, etc), as saltyc suggested, would be worth a shot, and then use ammonia to remove the remaining oil.
 
Last edited:
Can you use something like windex to clean the outside of an acrylic tank? If not, what works best?
 
I don't know about windex, although if ammonia doesn't hurt it, I don't think windex would.
If all else fails, go back to the old standby-vinegar & water. :idea2:
 
AquariaCentral.com