Scratched acrylic

[jesshimom]

Picture this - You get up every morning @ 415am to start your day & the last thing you do at 530am before heading out the door is turning on the light & telling your favorite tank good morning .... but, oh no, there are literally railroad tracks all over your NEW tank because your 11 yr oldcant stand a few bubbles on the front.

Ok, it's early & I didn't kill him but I thought of it. Yes, many times I said keep your hands OFF that magnet.

Soooo.... yes I've read you can buff & polish them out which i didn't have much luck with. Does anyone know of anywhere to take it in to get buffed out? It's a 55 with a black back & new!!

Sorry to ramble...

PS the kid is Counting his money now...

 

[osterman]

I don't know who could buff it out for you, but I know it would probably be expensive, because it's very labor intensive. I just got through restoring the inside and outside of an 8' x 2' pane, and it took many hours. If the scratches are deep (sounds like they are), you may have to go back as far as 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper, sanding the whole pane and not just in the scratch area to avoid distortion. Almost certainly you'll have to do the lower grits by hand, because with a machine it would only take a second to remove too much material from one spot. From there upward through a half dozen or more grits, and then to the liquid buffers. Hours, so even at minimum wage, a new tank might be cheaper. Boy, do I sound negative--the good news is, it can be done.

 

[jesshimom]

I figured as much. Thanks for the info. I had a used 55 a few yrs back I tried it on & it is so time consuming. Well I hope he's still counting his money....

 

[big t]

I don't really know of anywhere that you could get a tank buffed out. I have done it myself and it is not fun. I would rather make myself a new tank rather then ever buff one out again if the scratches are deep. If they are light scratches then it is worth doing.

What thickness is your 55? if it is 1/4" and the scratches are deep I would be a bit worried about making the materiel much thinner

 

[DonW]

If they are not close to the edges/joints they may come out with flame polishing (not difficult). Are they from sand in your mag-float?
FYI for next time a piece of cloth on the inside magnet cleaner really helps prevent scratches and does a better job on acrylic.

Don

 

[Stang69]

Might wanna mail John at IAP he may polish them out for you but on the downside it would have to maybe be emptied. Im not sure


HTH

Jeff

 

[jesshimom]

Hey, good idea, John @ IAP!! Since we have 3 IAP setups maybe he will take pitty on me.

 

[Scooterman]

Post us the results, always good information.

 

[cdeakle]

Hopefully the coraline will help cover up some of those scratches for you...

Thats why I will never have kids, I belive in ass whoopins! LOL

 

[NaH2O]

Colleen, let me know how things go, as I'm very interested in this. I have a 2 year old, and she knows (so far) to keep her hands off the tank. My concern with glass tanks and kids is the potential for a ball to get launched into the tank and break it. At least with acrylic you can buff out scratches. Here is a thread I started on Acrylic Care. Hope it helps those interested!

 

[jesshimom]

funny

Well now cdeakle of Lynnwood, we're very close, wanna borrow one? I'm gonna to refrain from commenting on your second statement .. lol

He's been hand counting his massive jar of coins and is up to $42 & still counting.

The only positive in this is I will order a tank with an overflow this time. Good thing I haven't pd for the overflow box for the sump I just bought... grrrr

 

[mojoreef]

How bad are the scratches??? It can be fixed, might take a bit of elbow grease but it should work.

Mike

 

[jesshimom]

I checked them out when I got home tonight after I had calmed down. Yep, they are as bad as I thought, deep ruts... So..... back to cdeakle's message... lol

Thanks everyone.....

 

[MCSInc]

Scratches - me to!

Our tanks are set up in our place of business and both have several scratches. The only good thing is they both came to us used so perfection was not such an issue.

Everyone finds the Mag-floats irresistable and I have jumped out of my seat more than once when I hear that scratching sound.

The only answer I know of is when you are done take the magnet out and store it untill you need it again.

It is simple enough to teach the few people in one family but the problem is none of us are hermits and inevitably an enthused friend (of yours or the kids) will rip across the front of the tank.

The sad conclusion is to store it or expect it. How sad.

 

[iamjosh]

It took a few times of explaining to get that into peoples heads @ my house, Thankfully I think everyone knows better now.. For the most I store mine un top behind the light keeps it out of reach for small hands, and most people don't play with it up there..

 

[Thefishcouple]

Sorry to here about your tank. I never want to discourage my kids from cleaning anything. Im sure your son has seen you do it and didnt realize the potential for a mishap. You can get a scratch removel kit and go after those one scratch at a time. I think before you know it they will all be gone. Why maybe even your 11 year old could help. Let me know if we can help you out . If it turns out that you want to replace the tank be sure and let us know. We are currently working with the local retailers that are sponsors to the board to offer discounts to local club members. This should help get the locals a price closer to directly buyng from us while still supporting your LFS.
John

 

[Macbeth417]

Colleen,

You didn't scratch your tank. You just made a new sump! : ) Call up John and tell him you will need a new 60" tank to put over that sump of yours, oh and ask him if those local discounts are retroactive. ; )

All kidding aside, best of luck to you. Time to put Scott and the youngen to work.

-Erik

 

[szidls]

Uh Erik.....Ol buddy,
Don't give colleen any more ideas. :lol: I am already remodeling her tank stand to accomodate a sump after she decided to do away with the canister filter. And I still don't have water in my 150 . ..............Scott

 

[jesshimom]

uhhhh Scott? You are going to remodel my stand? How kind of you! Better hold off, I like Erik's idea much better!

 

[CarlaW]

uh oh! looks like you started something
Why don't you guys just join forces, get a 200+ and use the 150 for a sump.