Help! How do you remove frag glue from acrylic?

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bodie

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
98
Location
Sacramento CA
I had to re-attach a frag to a piece of live rock and somehow I accidentally got some glue (cyanoacrylate) on the outside of my acrylic tank. I tried to carefully clean it off, but it ended up smearing and now it looks like bird poop on the outside of my tank. Does anyone know how I can dissolve it or clean it off? I assume I can't use any type of harsh chemicals like acetone to remove it. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Nail polish remover gets it off skin, I imagine it would do the same for acrylic


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Thanks for the reply. I assumed that nail polish remover or acetone would be too harsh to use on the outside of my tank. I also read that acetone would also be a solvent for acrylic so I was kind of hesitant to go that route.
 
Goof off? Followed by a gentle scraping with a plastic scraper used for none stick pans. If not nail polish remover might work I think it would be fine. If all else fails you could get a fine sand paper and when your done buff it out. Hand buffers are like 30 bucks


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Might be able to take a razor blade and scrape it off too? Super careful not to scrape up the acrylic too much though


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Luckily if you do scratch it acrylic isn't that hard to clean up a car buffer is like 30 bucks. You don't need one but it's a lot easier. You can get acrylic scratch remover from amazon, marine depot, eBay, and I'm sure your local hardware store.


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I appreciate everyone's tips. I did some research and was told by several sources not to use nail polish remover or acetate on acrylic. It will soften the acrylic and will most likely cause serious damage.

I read about the razor blade method and then using a buffer to get the scratches out. However, someone mentioned that they had a similar problem and used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to remove the glue. I was skeptical, but after wetting the magic eraser and scrubbing a bit, it removed the majority of the glue without causing any additional scratches. When the lights are off, I can still see a faded marking where the glue was, but I don't see it when my tank lights are on. Thanks again.
 
Sweet! Magic eraser seems like an easier idea than razor and buffing out scratches


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Yes indeed glad to see that you've found a better way.


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