# How to fix a scratched acrylic tank



## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

I just bought a 25 Gal flat back hex to set up El Natural. Picked it up on cragislist cheap because it was scratched up a little. I thought a thread on re polishing acrylic might be good so here is the tank.

This is face down on a dark towel with a light at the bottom edge to light the acrylic from the edge.










to get rid of the scratches I you need to sand the surface down until the scratch is gone. Be careful to not sand a dip into the plastic or it will be a distortion in the viewing area.










I started with 220 Grit wet or dry paper cut to fit my DA which is a air powered random orbital sander and put about 1/4" of water in the tank for wet sanding. the sequence of paper is 220, 320, 400, 600, 1200.

This is sanded with 220, can't even see in at all









Dont try to get into the corners because they are very hard to buff out. after graduating to 1200 Grit paper it is much clearer










I use Meguiar's Mirror Glaze buffing compounds starting with #2 fine cut and finishing up with #3 Machine glaze. I use a die grinder with a buffing pad to work inside the tank.


















and then a quick pass on the outside, Didn't sand the outside, it didn't need it










Here is the before picture.










And the After picture.










The whole process took about 2 1/2 Hours. There are several deep scratches that didn't come out but they hardly show up when it is filled up. I didn't want to dig into them for fear of a distorted viewing area.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

Did you consider using micro mesh pads?

Here is a scratch that I got on my 35 gallon acrylic hex during moving.









I used 400 grit paper to smooth the scratch.
I then used micro mesh pads progressively to the finest 12000 grit.
To finish I applied the non-static polish to keep dirt from being attracted to the area.
Periodically, I took photos with a flash to see if any scratches remain.

Here is the after photo.








No power tools required. Equipment cost around 25 dollars do to minimum order required. The area was more localized than your project. Time to finish 20 to 30 minutes.










Distortion not really an issue with this scratch as this is on a bend in the glass which is has distortion by design. But I have removed scatches on flat surface without distortion.

Original post
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/do-it-yourself/1733-acrylic-fabrication-i-can-help-4.html?highlight=Acrylic


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

That looks like a good system for a single or a few scratchhes. the micro mesh pads perform the same function as the buffing compounds.



> No power tools required


Where's the fun in that 

Brian


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

By the way, thanks for sharing your experience.



> That looks like a good system for a single or a few scratchhes.


Yes, that is the primary application for which I have employed the pads.
However, I believe they do sell larger blocks for larger areas.


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