take it to a shop.. or DIY

D

darkmindzz

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Oct 14, 2008
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so here is my 55 gallon acrylic tank i just got from ebay.. got some pics to show you.. from what i feel with my hand.. all the outside tank is free from scratches.. the insides have all the marks..

here is the main question.. spend up to 150 and have a local shop buff it for me.. or Do it myself..


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there is an incredible amount of work in buffing those scratches out, and gettin good results.
I'd do my own Kidney transplant if i could, but I'd take that tank to a plastic shop..
 
i have done some research and i know exactly what i need to get... i know exactly what to do.. but this thing is will it need more than elbow grease.. or will i need to use a machine.. i mean i dont mind spending a day or so buffing. or even 3 or four days buffing.. but some people are saying it will take months for me to work the scratches out..

can anyone give me a real estimate on how long and what kinda pressure if needed to buff these out
 
Wow, that's a toughy. I'd be inclined to follow the advice already given, and have it done professionally, but at a hundred and fifty bucks...?? I've read a few threads by blokes with small areas to be polished, and they all say that it was a major mission to get good results, but satisfying to know they'd done the work themselves. It'd certainly be a handy skill to aquire.... Why not have a go yourself, and if it all gets too much, you can fall back on having the shop do the work. I'm sure you couldn't make it any worse than it is! :)
 
it's not that big of a deal. really all you are doing is reducing the edges of the scratches. once the water gets in the tank many will become invisible.
I buff acrylic/poly windshields on MC's.
often these can be done with the right compounds.
 
to buff out a few scrqatches is one thing..
this poor tank has more than a few scratches.

In order to acheive favorable results you will have to sand this tank over and over with increasingly finer sand paper, and then finally begin to buff the acrylic to a smooth finish. You cant really cut corners here or you will get imperfections that will appear blurry, or distorted. If the tank is going against a wall I would paint the back, and only polish the sides that you will be looking at.

If you want to try it yourself, then try a small section, and find out how difficult it will be, but IMO do get this job done well, and having not ever done this type of work before, maybe without the right equipment, I think you are looking at at least a week or two worth of labor...
And working on the inside of that tank is just going to make it more difficult.


As a side note, Have you filled it to see how bad it looks as it is?
It may not be as bad as it looks.
 
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