# How can I fix this???



## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

I dont know if this should be in lighting but..

This is how I recieved this fixture. It is a 24" 130w (2x65), with one on/off switch. It looks like there was a protective film over the reflector the first owner didnt take off before using it.

My question is, since this probly isnt as good as a reflector as my coralife (what i replaced with this) fixture should I somehow buy a new reflector (ah supply???) or just try to clean the heck out or trying my hardest not to scratch the reflector surface???

btw the reflector is 4.75" wide, 23" long, and 2: deep. 

Here are some pics so you can see what im dealing with....


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Does the blue stuff peel off? (Without damaging the reflector)
If you start sanding it off you will scratch the reflector. Could you sand it off, and then polish the reflector with the very finest material available? (Maybe Jeweler's rouge?? I do not know how fine that is)
What is the cost of a new reflector?


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Diana K said:


> Does the blue stuff peel off? (Without damaging the reflector)
> If you start sanding it off you will scratch the reflector. Could you sand it off, and then polish the reflector with the very finest material available? (Maybe Jeweler's rouge?? I do not know how fine that is)
> What is the cost of a new reflector?


It does peel off with my finger nail but that would take forever + my finger nails would be blue for weeks.

Im sure sanding would damage the reflector beyond repair.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Check this out!

I wonder if part#36522 wou;d work?
http://ahsupply.com/mcart/index.cgi?code=3&cat=9

It's only .75" to narrow??


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I think I would remove the reflector so I could work on it easier. Then I would buy some high quality paint remover, one made to be effective on all types of finishes, and use it. It should soften that plastic enough so it easily wipes off. But, use those paint removers with a lot of care - they are hazardous to your health if used carelessly.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> I think I would remove the reflector so I could work on it easier. Then I would buy some high quality paint remover, one made to be effective on all types of finishes, and use it. It should soften that plastic enough so it easily wipes off. But, use those paint removers with a lot of care - they are hazardous to your health if used carelessly.


Sounds like I have a good weekend project! :mrgreen:

Thanks for the info!


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

I just took the reflector out, there was nothing holding it in as far as laches, clamps, or anything. It was held in by its own "springyness" if you know what im saying.

Here it is out.









Pic of the ballast and some wiring.









Close up pic of the ballast.









i can scratch off some of the blue plastic with my nail but this is going to be a long and tedious process. I also tried a spot check with a sos pad and thats a no go it swirls up pretty bad.

Im probl going to go to walmart a little later to see what I can find as far a paint remover.

All suggestions are appreciated.


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## tcfish (Nov 4, 2007)

Go to Home-Depot and get some Goof Off 2 ,spray it on and it will take it off ,its good stuff


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

I like to use mineral spirits for stuff like this. It would take it all off in minutes.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

I used someones advise and used a credit card and scraped it almost all off! Now what about polishing? Is that possible?

Here is the finished product.


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Never Dull works great with aluminum.http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/GEO/GEODULL.html


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Good thing I like shiney wheels!!! :-D









Im actually pretty happy with the way yhings turned out after polishing it 4-5 times.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Looks like you did a great job there! Glad you made it work!


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Itsa deffinantly better then it was. The light looks brighter in the tank too.


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

I wouldn't bother polishing it Hoppy had a thread about a 2mil reflective tape in another
thread that I can't remember for the life of me. Hopefully he will chime in again with the
link that's what I would get and just cover up the reflector.

I need to do that as well on a couple of old hoods so I'll hunt for the thread until he responds.

- Brad

EDIT: Opps I'm a bit late  It's "aluminized mylar, the 2 mil thick type" I found it at altgarden.com
in 4' x 25' rolls for $26.00. Now to check local dealers.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

bradac56 said:


> I wouldn't bother polishing it Hoppy had a thread about a 2mil reflective tape in another
> thread that I can't remember for the life of me. Hopefully he will chime in again with the
> link that's what I would get and just cover up the reflector.
> 
> ...


Yes, it is the 2 mil aluminized mylar that works well. I tried looking for the stuff locally too, but the best I could do was a huge roll of it for a huge price. I ended up posting a WTB ad in the for sale forum and found some pieces the size I needed there. If someone wants to do a good deed, buy one of those rolls and offer it for sale on the forum in "bite sized pieces".


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> Yes, it is the 2 mil aluminized mylar that works well. I tried looking for the stuff locally too, but the best I could do was a huge roll of it for a huge price. I ended up posting a WTB ad in the for sale forum and found some pieces the size I needed there. If someone wants to do a good deed, buy one of those rolls and offer it for sale on the forum in "bite sized pieces".


I'm going to buy at least one roll it's only $26.00 and I spend more than that on lunch & snacks at work.
I'll offer it on the forum after I figure out how to install it properly in my reflectors.

- Brad


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

bradac56 said:


> I'm going to buy at least one roll it's only $26.00 and I spend more than that on lunch & snacks at work.
> I'll offer it on the forum after I figure out how to install it properly in my reflectors.
> 
> - Brad


Shoot me a pm when you get it. I would be interested in some.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

3M Super 77 spray adhesive works well for attaching mylar to metal. That is what I used and I haven't had any problems at all with the finished product.


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## helgymatt (Sep 12, 2007)

pm me too if you have any extra. it would be great if you could post some pics of how that stuff looks when its attached.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Funny we should speak of this again.
I just went to my local hydroponics store.
Turns out tomorrow I can by it by the foot.
And this mylar is 5mil with a white plastic backing. The sample looked sweet.
And it felt pretty easy to work with.

Hobbycalif, glad I read this, now I don't have to search the key word 3M.
What is the spray like, outdoors?
Drying time?
I want to do this when the fishies are asleep.
And as you know the weather is very Portalnd like these days.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

newbie314 said:


> Funny we should speak of this again.
> 
> Hobbycalif, glad I read this, now I don't have to search the key word 3M.
> What is the spray like, outdoors?
> ...


That 3M adhesive is sprayed on the metal surface, then almost immediately you can position the mylar on it and smooth it out. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to dry, but the time depends on whether you let it dry in the open, with nothing attached, or let it dry after the mylar is attached. As I recall you are supposed to let the coat of adhesive dry a bit before sticking mylar on it - dry to the tacky stage. But, I didn't try to hit the exact best time. I did my spraying in my garage, with the door open.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

newbie314 said:


> Funny we should speak of this again.
> I just went to my local hydroponics store.
> Turns out tomorrow I can by it by the foot.
> And this mylar is 5mil with a white plastic backing. The sample looked sweet.
> ...


Any possibility of picking up some extra and pm'ing me with a quote on enough to cover this reflector?

I think that I have used that 3m adhesive before, if you spray it and allow it to dry to the "tacky" stage and run your fingers over it you can ball it up like rubber cement.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

I'll have to see if they even get it in.
I might have extra.

If it turns out okay, I can always go back for a few people.
The store is only about 1mile down the highway and 1 mile up the road. (about 3 miles for me).
Wierd hours for Saturday 10-2am
Well it is a hydroponics store..Wonder what their customers grow


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## nokturnalkid (Feb 27, 2007)

Geeeez....I didn't know how much ppl would actually want mylar. I got practically a whole roll of the 2 mil stuff collecting dust in my closet. I bought a whole roll and used maybe like 6 ft. of the stuff.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

nokturnalkid said:


> Geeeez....I didn't know how much ppl would actually want mylar. I got practically a whole roll of the 2 mil stuff collecting dust in my closet. I bought a whole roll and used maybe like 6 ft. of the stuff.


When you say 2 mil, are we talking 2 millimeter. Is that the thickness? Does everyone really think that it would be beneficial to put this over the existing reflector?


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## imeridian (Jan 17, 2007)

No, a "mil" is 1/1000th of an inch, think kitchen trash bags, they're measured that way.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Aluminized mylar, in the thicker, better quality grades, is good for DIY reflectors. I found that I couldn't polish a plain aluminum sheet to nearly the reflectivity of the mylar, so the mylar made a big difference for me. The thinner stuff, with thinner aluminum coating isn't usable for this purpose - it is far less reflective and deteriorates very quickly, in my experience. But, my light fixture, with the 2 mil mylar, has been in use now for several months and still works and looks just like it did when I finished it.

If you have a roll of the stuff, why not offer it for sale in small pieces on the for sale forum? I'm sure you won't get rich, but I'll bet several people will want it.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

HoppyCalif, why type of hood did you modifify with mylar. Custom or bandname.

What's the difference in preceived light level before and after mylar.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

newbie314 said:


> HoppyCalif, why type of hood did you modifify with mylar. Custom or bandname.
> 
> What's the difference in preceived light level before and after mylar.


http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ects/45208-diy-mod-perfecto-10-gal-light.html is the modification I made. The difference is that with the mylar covered reflectors I can see a bright image of the sides and part of the back of the bulb when I look up at the light. It is almost painful to look at. Since then I have reduced the wattage to two 14 watt bulbs instead of the 15 watt bulbs. That seems like a trivial change, but the 15 watt ones were much brighter.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ects/45208-diy-mod-perfecto-10-gal-light.html is the modification I made. The difference is that with the mylar covered reflectors I can see a bright image of the sides and part of the back of the bulb when I look up at the light. It is almost painful to look at. Since then I have reduced the wattage to two 14 watt bulbs instead of the 15 watt bulbs. That seems like a trivial change, but the 15 watt ones were much brighter.


So after the work you put into it and purchasing the mylar (which I need to find out where to get some), would you say it would be worth me doing the same to my reflector?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

bsmith782 said:


> So after the work you put into it and purchasing the mylar (which I need to find out where to get some), would you say it would be worth me doing the same to my reflector?


For me it was worth it. I enjoy doing things like that, and this was a very cheap modification that increased the light from a single 15 watt bulb with no reflector to two 15 watt bulbs with reflectors. I'm satisfied with the result. But, it might or might not be worth it to you - that is just a personal thing.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> For me it was worth it. I enjoy doing things like that, and this was a very cheap modification that increased the light from a single 15 watt bulb with no reflector to two 15 watt bulbs with reflectors. I'm satisfied with the result. But, it might or might not be worth it to you - that is just a personal thing.


Well you see what I did to try and incerase the efficency of what I have now.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Okay I bought the mylar, 4'x4.5'
One side is mylar the other white sheet.

This was more of an adventure than I thought it would be.
Problem was that I cut it the wrong way, meaning I had curl along the whole long edge (long edge wanting to meet long edge). And the inside of the curl was on the shiny side.

I got the 3m spray all over on my first attempt due to trying to reposition and getting glue on my fingers and passing it to the mylar.

My son (9 years old) suggested I cover the mylar with the painters tape I was using for the rest of the hood I didn't want glued up.
I figured this would also take out the curl. Worked pretty well. Taped all the mylar and then cut to size.
In retro spec., if I had cut the other way the curl would have been on the short side (ie. two width ends curling to each other).

Trying to glue and place the mylar over the all-glass aquarium reflector/hood isn't as easy as would say my own reflector because I would have made it with more space and straight edges like ah supply.

Anyway all done and up and running. Didn't notice a whole lot of difference during the day (such as it was here), but I did notice the ends are getting more light (30" hood, but 24" bulbs). So even though the job was imperfect, the slight scattering I'm getting is helping to spread the light more on the ends.

Now at night time it's a different story. I do notice it being brighter. Probably the reason is that at night, the ambient light is the same. I would say I'm probably getting 10% more light, which I feel is reasonalbe considering I'm using the reflector it came with and my work may not be perfect.

So this brings up my tank probably to 44W now, which is 2.2W/gallon.

So I do have plenty of material left, but still trying to manage the whole mailing thing. A letter, a triangular tube??
So to start, if any body wants a small sample, something that can be sent in a normal business envelope, let me know. I'll send 4-5 people samples (not enough to do work, but enough to see if you like it).

As for taking orders, let's just do a sound off here on who would want some and how much.
Don't PM yet, my box will just get too full. Maybe I'll start a poll.
I'm thinking for small orders a 14"x10" envelope with 1-3 sheets of about the same size (maybe folded or seperated).
For the larger orders, maybe 2ft x (your choise within reason). Unfortunately a box for this is about $3 and that doesn't include the shipping.
My estimation for shipping and packaging to be around
<see next message>

If I made my own tubes (with flat sides) with 1' lenght maybe that would reduce shipping. The weight of the tube alone is about 5oz.

Anyway that's all I have now.
Now if I could only post my moe of my hood where I seperated the two ballast to control the two bulbs seperately pn their own timers. (that was last weekend )


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Well, that will teach me to go to one of those mailbox stores. Well at least I got some info on shipping.

Anyways looks like USPS is a lot cheaper.
Maybe $2-4 depending on the package type.


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## owenj (Jan 8, 2008)

Newbie,
I would love to try a sample of the Mylar if you do decide to send out the small sizes. I have a 2.5gal tank that has a so-so reflector that a small size might do well in. Let us know what your plans are!
~Jaime


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Anybody else want some of the mylar I have. One side shiny the other side white.
I have a 1'x3' strip (I can give extra on the strip but some of the shiny material is coming off). I have maybe about 2sqft and these would be in 1'x1'.
I'll be shipping in 10"x15" envelopes so the mylar will be folded.
Price:
Shipping : $2.25
Price/sqft: $0.75
I wouldn't mind trading for some 2mil shiny both side mylar.
I take paypal.
I'm assuming one more order from this lot.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You will reach a lot more "customers" if this is in the for sale forum.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Just giving the people in this chain first dibs


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

Just making sure you know that the USPS will ship you free envelopes and boxes if you get on their website and order them. It saves lots of $ over the course of an ebay career.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Is this for first class mail.

Turns out the post office charged me as a package instead of an envelope. Annoyed me because he didn't even tell me. The price was only $0.3 more, but you know, every little bit helps.


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

newbie314 said:


> Is this for first class mail.


Was this @sksuser?

If so, sorry I forgot to check back at this thread.

No, its for Priority and express as far as I know. If you want to get onto the edge of legality, I know some people will take the priority box and turn it inside out if they run out of the others. Probably not the most fair thing, but its been done.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Im on may way to Lowes (home improvement center in STL) to get some of that 3m super 77. Will update with pics soon!


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## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

bsmith782 said:


> Im on may way to Lowes (home improvement center in STL) to get some of that 3m super 77. Will update with pics soon!


I think that Hoppy mentioned somewhere that the Super77 has worked out for him, so there is probably no need for the following, but...

3M also makes a spray adhesive called 3M Hi-Strength 90 which has a considerably higher temperature rating than the Super 77, according to 3M's written specs. It is available from thenerds.net among other places. Unfortunately, the hardware stores don't seem to stock it, so between it's somewhat higher cost and the shipping, it may not be worth the higher temp tolerance, but for long term use, I think it's worth keeping in mind.

(Update) Heh, I was just at Home Depot last night and it turns out they do stock the HS 90 spray adhesive. They didn't in the past. So I don't know if all Home Depots now stock it, but the one near me in Austin, TX does. It was two or three dollars more for the can, than the Super 77.


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