Buffing and resealing acrylic tank?

[mrlang1981]

So I bought a used 140g acrylic tank to upgrade to from a 75g glass and it looks like it's gonna need some work. Has some minor scratches that need to be buffed out and the corners may need to be resealed. If anyone who has had experience with this could share their experiences on how it's done it would be greatly appreciated. This will be my 1st attempt and I wanna get off on the right foot. Thanks in advance!

 

[menace78]

I'm in kinda the same boat as for scratches but if you need some tips on resealing, hit me up in a pm with you'r # and I can talk you threw it. it's actualy easier than working with glass and can be repaired alot easier and usualy cheaper too!

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Is the water in the tanks currently? if not use Novus to bufff them out, I used it on tank that badly scratched and got it looking like new. Buy the kit from Novus themself, Cheaper and I believe I got free shipping. it arrived in 2 days. Just be prepared for massive arm action.

As for resealing a corner I would use a weldon product, others here could give the number on which to use , but the thicker is probably the way you go.

 

[Reefael]

I just did some minor work to an acrylic sump and used a couple of Weld On products that worked well. I used weld on #3 to glue some baffles and to seal a pump hole for relocation. The #3 is a watery glue, which I used to glue the pieces of acrylic and then went over it with #16 to seal a couple of leaks. The #16 has a syrup thickness and would work well for resealing. If you use it just don't put it on to thick, as it will bubble up underneath. You can look for it at any local plastic shop.

By the way, I just signed on as a member today and this is my first post. I'm a newby to reefing and I'm looking forward to setting up my first reef tank, which I've been working on for few weeks now.

 

[windwaterwaves]

I used my orbital sander with 120 for bad scratches, then 200, then 400 a HELL of a lot quicker than hand and it works well, you'll replace pads a lot especially at 400. It leaves a haze, then use a buffing pad with rubbing compound on the orbital (any marine or fiberglass repair shop has the 3m stuff). Final step was acrylic polish for headlights from an auto store by hand... Keep in mind you won't see the smaller scratches when it's full of water!

 

[CRASHFIREJOE]

For polishing acrylic I use sand paper for the deep scratches I wet sand with 400, 800 then 1000 grit until the scratch is gone. I then use Maguire’s three step car polish with a 6" power buffing wheel, starting with rubbing compound working up to a fine polish. Using this method I have brought tanks that were trashed to new show quality without the water hiding the scratches. It does take work and patients though. Have fun!