Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

[J-WS6]

So, last week I picked up a Sea Clear Series II 40 gallon acrylic tank, stand and canopy for dirt cheap. I knew the tank was scratched before purchasing, but it was just too cheap all together to pass up, plus I don't mind a project. Anyway, apparently the previous owner let a friend "borrow" it only to return it back to him scratched to hell. It looks as if someone used the wrong mag-float and managed to scratch up the whole front face with zig zag lines. Other than that there's a few minor scratches here and there. None of them are deep, they are all what appear to be surface scratches. Besides this, the structural stability and overall condition of the tank is great! Nice thick acrylic, but I don't really like the idea of a built in wet dry in the back seeing as I'm using this tank for a reef, but I'm in the process of designing around that.

Anyway, I'm in search of some sort of industrial sized acrylic repair kit, or maybe someone with a similar situation in the past could share with me on how to make this tank look somewhat new again. So far, I came across this from MarineDepot, seemed kinda pricey though...

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=ET1191&productid=ET1191&channelid=FROOG

Please share your experiences!

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Spot86t]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

I got a great deal on a 100 that was scratched horribly.  I think they tried using a razor blade to clean coralline algae off it.  There are some local acrylic places that sell acrylic sheets who also carry scratch polishing kits. Also try the following:  Jehmco.com drsfosterandsmith.com and aquatic-ecosystems.com.

I saw a kit at one of those, but can't remember exactly which one.  A google search may find it for you - along with a retailer.

it took about 10 straight hours ofwork to get mine to the point where I didn't mind having it in the living room.  The guy I got the tank from had ordered the kit - i forget the company name that was on it tho.  The finest grit paper in it is softer than regular white paper.  My arms ached for days afterwards but worth every bit of it.

Shame you don't like the rear sump part - I have a 40G seaclear - probably just like yours and I love it.  I'd trade every glass tank i've got for acrylic any day.

[J-WS6]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

good stuff spot86t, do you happen to have any before and after pictures?

if anyone else comes across any links or names please post up! i can use all the information i can get!

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

Jonathan,

I got a repair kit and am scared as a cat on a boat to use it.

Does anyone have a scratch they would like me to practice on first?

[Mzungu]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

This one's a bit cheaper:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3728+3762+3883&pcatid=3883

[Spot86t]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

Should have done the before/after shots.  I was so excited to have a nice big acrylic tank, that I left it in the back of the truck, put an extra piece of rubber bedliner down and proceeded to start cleaning/polishing it as soon as I got home.  It could still use a bit more work, but I was antsy to get it in and get water in it!  I got home at about 4pm and finished at 6am the following morning.  Probably would have been better had I gone to bed and finished it the next day.

That link that Mzungu posted looks EXACTLY like the one I used.  Would have been much better if the little sanding squares were larger.  

One of my coworkers makes pens/pencils - the fancy wood turned ones, and he showed me a supply place that has polishing sheets that are much like the acrylic polishing kit.  probably because a lot of those pens and stuff are made of acrylic too.  The prices were better, and you could buy sheets in whatever grits you needed - or a multi-pack.  I was shocked that they used the same grits as in the tank kit.

The product is called micro-mesh, and it's still small pieces - 3x6, but I saw it available at 1.99 a sheet at one of the sites.

Try googleing micromesh - it ought to provide enough link that you caon do some price comparison shopping.

[J-WS6]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

hmm...i don't mind spending time to get all the scratches out, but im beginning to have second thoughts on this tank for filtration purposes. at the moment there are too many "what if's". i still plan to keep the stand and canopy and just replace this tank with a reef ready truvu 40 gallon. anyone want to buy this tank? spot86t?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

At work the PDR and detail guys buff headlamps to look like new....I have done my fiance's car and have done a few instrument panel lenses......It might work on the tank if you wanna try a small corner before hitting up the whole tank.

Got the special compound and my buffer in the garage!

[Spot86t]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

i would certainly be interested.  pm me price/dimensions.  may be a few weeks before i can work it into my budget, unless i get some fish sold (watch for future ads...)

[J-WS6]

Re: Help me repair my scratched acrylic tank!

pm sent.