Salvation for Acrylic Tank?

[greenfish]

Someone I know heard I was getting in to aquariums and gave me a 50 (or 55) gallon Tru-Vu Acrylic Tank for free. It was very dirty at the time I picked it up so it was hard to tell of the condition. After carefully cleaning a small area, I noticed the tank is pretty scratched up. I then looked more closely at the rest of the tank and I noticed a lot more scratches. It is hard to tell if the scratches are on the inside or outside (or both). Is it worth any effort to try and salvage this tank or should I set it out cheap at my next garage sale and hope someone takes it away saving me a trip to the dump?

[TankGirl]

I would definitely try to save the tank. To get your hands on an acrylic tank that large is a coup, [acronym:e77e479c83="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:e77e479c83]. They are not cheap, and so very much lighter than a comparable glass one. Someone will chime in, I hope, but I am sure there is an acrylic scratch remover out there for this kind of tank. I guess if it is too blurry to see the fish then it is a candidate for the dump, but I would certainly spend a little $ on a product to try to save it.

Here is a link to one product, and if you read their [acronym:e77e479c83="Frequently asked questions"]FAQ[/acronym:e77e479c83] section they discuss a bit about acrylic versus glass. http://www.aquariumpros.com/Merchant...roduct_Count=0

[youronlysin]

Some of the guys in my car club have cars with acrylic lens headlights. In the sun, after time, they get yellow and scratched. Mine were very yellowed a year ago on my ten year old car. We use a product called Novus Plastic Polish. It comes in a kit as a three step process and it works beautifully!! I think this stuff would work great on the outside of the tank although a 55 gallon tank is quite large. You can usually find it at motorcycle shops (used for cleaning plastic and plex-glass windshields and stuff) and some automotive supply shops.

The hard way would be to break out the 1000 Grit sandpaper and wetsand that baby, then move up to 2000 and maybe 4000, then polish with a paste plastic polish and an electric orbital waxer if you have one. That would take some serious work and you can let me know when that garage sale will be Good luck!

[got bait?]

make sure the chems are tank safe. They do make an Acrylic scratch kit specifically designed for the inside of the tank. Kit has multiple grades of sandpaper as well. There is a polish called 20/20 or something that works well, the only concern with a buffer, is burning the tank (cloudy). Take it slow and it should be worth your efforts.

[youronlysin]

Oh yes...Dont use a high speed buffer! got bait? has a good point there. I use an orbital waxer. It turns much slower and is a random orbit machine. Youd have to try real hard to haze the plastic using one of those. I can't give any advice on the inside of the tank....sounds like theres stuff out there for that though. Thats good to know.

[sumphead]

the only concern with a buffer, is burning the tank (cloudy).

I have no experience with a buffer, but I flame polish a lot of edges and small scratches with no difficulty at all. Whatever you do always test it on the back in a small area to ensure it will work before jumping on the front with the sandpaper . I would try one of the acrylic scratch remover kits before anything else, well worth trying to save that tank!

[greenfish]

Cool. I will hang on to it and work on it when I get the time. Thanks all.

[chasgood]

There is a German car polish called "Klasse All In One". It can be used on plastics. They say it will cure skipping on scratched CD's and DVD's.

http://www.properautocare.com/index.html

[greenfish]

I cleaned the tank up pretty good tonight. It appears that most of the scratches are on the inside. It was [acronym:45ee00af03="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:45ee00af03] tank with sand on the bottom so I'm willing to bet that the previous owner wasn't real carefull with the cleaning of the inside. The scratches for the most part seem pretty superficial. I can see the scratches but I can't feel them. Hopefully that means that they will buff out easily. There are a lot of scratches so I will have my work cut out for me.

[got bait?]

http://www.northcoastmarines.com/acrylic_const.htm