Restoring Acrylic Tank

[New Guy]

Hello,
I have had the fotunate luck of strolling through my fathers garage to
find a 55 gallon Sea Clear acrylic aquarium. After wiping the drool from my
mouth when I was told I could have it, I began thinking about how to restore
it.

There are numerous fine swirl scratches and some moderate ones on the inside
and outside of the tank. The ones on the inside tend to disappear when I
filled it up with water to see if it would leak but the external ones and
some of the internal ones still show.

I saw in a previous reply Fish Guy mentioned he had 20+ years experience
with acrylic and I wanted to ask you veterans of the group as well.

I would like to get this tank to a "showroom" finish. Can I
polish/restore this tank? If so, how? I want to polish the interior as
well. I am fairly handy and love "elbow grease" jobs so time and effort is
no issue.

Thank you all for your responses in advance!

[skozzy]

Not sure of this idea, but at my work we make hearing aids made from acrylic
and to finish off the aid and to make it showroom shinny we paint it with a
clear laquar, the acrylic can be sanded back rough as guts and then when
covered with the laquar it looks like glass. I also use the same principle
on my pinball machines playfields, I slightly sand the diamond coat back
(like automotive clear coat, or nolathane) then spray the thing. It might
work on the tank, but I am not sure of the type of acrylic it uses.

But the brand of clear coat I use is made from Dupont. Its so hard after
drying that you can throw a ball bearing at it and it won't crack. It might
work for you, not sure.

-Andrew


"New Guy" > wrote in message
...
> Hello,
> I have had the fotunate luck of strolling through my fathers garage to
> find a 55 gallon Sea Clear acrylic aquarium. After wiping the drool from
my
> mouth when I was told I could have it, I began thinking about how to
restore
> it.
>
> There are numerous fine swirl scratches and some moderate ones on the
inside
> and outside of the tank. The ones on the inside tend to disappear when I
> filled it up with water to see if it would leak but the external ones and
> some of the internal ones still show.
>
> I saw in a previous reply Fish Guy mentioned he had 20+ years
experience
> with acrylic and I wanted to ask you veterans of the group as well.
>
> I would like to get this tank to a "showroom" finish. Can I
> polish/restore this tank? If so, how? I want to polish the interior as
> well. I am fairly handy and love "elbow grease" jobs so time and effort
is
> no issue.
>
> Thank you all for your responses in advance!
>
>

[Richard Reynolds]

> There are numerous fine swirl scratches and some moderate ones on the inside
> and outside of the tank. The ones on the inside tend to disappear when I
> filled it up with water to see if it would leak but the external ones and
> some of the internal ones still show.

search groups.google.com in this newsgroup you will find plenty of info on removing
scratches from acrylic tanks

--
Richard Reynolds

[Shane Kennedy]

have a look-see here:
http://www.americanacrylics.com/polish.htm

[Timothy Tom]

Here is a link to a scrath removal kit:
http://marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RB1551

I have used this myself on scratches on my acrylic tank. It is kind
of scary to use since the abrasive pads used initially look like they
are completely ruining the tank. As you gradually use finer and finer
pads, the scratches disappear.

[JellyTank]

Yep , a scaled down version of Micro Mesh. Takes a little time and patience but
works very well.
BTW, if you want the full kit go to www.micro-surface.com

James

>Here is a link to a scrath removal kit:
>http://marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RB1551
>
>I have used this myself on scratches on my acrylic tank. It is kind
>of scary to use since the abrasive pads used initially look like they
>are completely ruining the tank. As you gradually use finer and finer
>pads, the scratches disappear.

[reefkeeper]

This site also sells Micro-Mesh sandpaper. I was told to start at 1500 if
you have large scratches and the finest mesh size you should need is 6000:

http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/showdetl.cfm?offerings_id=9930&objectgroup_id=503&catid=84

I ordered last week, and shipping was prompt. I'll have to try it out on my
tank when I have some time.

"JellyTank" > wrote in message
...
> Yep , a scaled down version of Micro Mesh. Takes a little time and
patience but
> works very well.
> BTW, if you want the full kit go to www.micro-surface.com
>
> James
>
> >Here is a link to a scrath removal kit:
> >http://marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RB1551
> >
> >I have used this myself on scratches on my acrylic tank. It is kind
> >of scary to use since the abrasive pads used initially look like they
> >are completely ruining the tank. As you gradually use finer and finer
> >pads, the scratches disappear.
>