Sheet sander for buffing out scratches in acrylic tank?

cvrle1 · 09/20/2019, 02:51 PM

I picked up a 5 foot acrylic tank about a month or so ago. I did leak test and cleaned it all up (it was quite nasty, full of baked on algae and so on) Now that I can see what I am actually working with, I decided that i would like to buff the whole tank out before I start setting it up. Rear of the tank is hazy, so it looks like someone took low grit sandpaper to it, and it is now all scratched up. When it was filled with water, scratches werent visible, but since I have empty tank I figured I would buff the whole thing out.

This leads me to my question. I have a run of the mill 1/4 sheet sander that I was thinking about using for this. I am not however sure if that is the best idea, as it could leave swirl marks and so on. I read that using random orbital sander is perfect for job like this, but wanted to see if same results could be had with sheet sander as well.

Front and sides are in much better shape. There are some surface scratches, but nothing like rear seen above.

Any help, tips, pointers, etc would be much welcome, as I never did something like this with acrylic before
Thanks

Vinny Kreyling · 09/20/2019, 04:59 PM

Scott did a series on LA Fish Guy about this on his 450.
I did a quick search here but NG, so try the LA address.

mcgyvr · 09/20/2019, 05:20 PM

Yes you can use a sheet sander... High grit/wet sand

bblumberg · 09/22/2019, 10:21 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8eTWZSNLWM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXthrMx7sq4

I did mine manually as in these videos. Worked well, but took forever.

Vinny Kreyling · 09/22/2019, 10:48 AM

Found it--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=talTCHREkFA

cvrle1 · 09/22/2019, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bblumberg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8eTWZSNLWM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXthrMx7sq4

I did mine manually as in these videos. Worked well, but took forever.

That 2nd video is the one that got me thinking about doing it. There was a big thread on it as well that I read up, and thats where I read about using a sander on an empty tank.

Thanks

09/20/2019, 02:51 PM	#1
cvrle1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Surrey, BC Posts: 454	Sheet sander for buffing out scratches in acrylic tank? I picked up a 5 foot acrylic tank about a month or so ago. I did leak test and cleaned it all up (it was quite nasty, full of baked on algae and so on) Now that I can see what I am actually working with, I decided that i would like to buff the whole tank out before I start setting it up. Rear of the tank is hazy, so it looks like someone took low grit sandpaper to it, and it is now all scratched up. When it was filled with water, scratches werent visible, but since I have empty tank I figured I would buff the whole thing out. This leads me to my question. I have a run of the mill 1/4 sheet sander that I was thinking about using for this. I am not however sure if that is the best idea, as it could leave swirl marks and so on. I read that using random orbital sander is perfect for job like this, but wanted to see if same results could be had with sheet sander as well. Front and sides are in much better shape. There are some surface scratches, but nothing like rear seen above. Any help, tips, pointers, etc would be much welcome, as I never did something like this with acrylic before Thanks

09/20/2019, 04:59 PM	#2
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Scott did a series on LA Fish Guy about this on his 450. I did a quick search here but NG, so try the LA address. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

09/20/2019, 05:20 PM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Yes you can use a sheet sander... High grit/wet sand __________________ Who me?

09/22/2019, 10:21 AM	#4
bblumberg Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 606	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8eTWZSNLWM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXthrMx7sq4 I did mine manually as in these videos. Worked well, but took forever. __________________ Bruce Current Tank Info: 150G mixed reef (6x Blue Acro 20K Pro COB LEDs, 4x 80W T5 supplement), 150g fw discus (T5 lighting), 110G fw Angelfish (DIY LED lighting), 4 x 40 g frag tanks (DIY LED).

09/22/2019, 10:48 AM	#5
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Found it-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=talTCHREkFA __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.