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Unread 10/18/2019, 04:06 PM   #1
cvrle1
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Buffing acrylic with Novus 3, 2, 1. Orbital polisher/buffer or drill?

Hello everyone, I am in the process of refinishing acrylic tank and have a question about what tool to use for buffing/polishing step. I have wet sanded whole tank, inside and outside with sandpaper, going from 400-2000 grit. I have Novus kit (Novus 3, 2 and 1) ready to go for buffing. Since it is 110 gallon, I wont do it by hand, but not sure which tool to use for this. Should I get a orbital polisher like WEN 6010 or should I use my drill with drill adapter for buffing? It's not something I plan on doing all the time, so I would rather not spend a lot of money on tool I will use once, and then have it collect dust.

Also, which type of pads should I get, regardless on tool? Wool, foam, microfiber, something else?

Thanks for the help.


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Unread 10/19/2019, 05:56 AM   #2
mcgyvr
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Either will work..
Novus recommends a power buffer with a cotton bonnet but also sells a drill mount polishing kit..

Some tips here..
https://www.novuspolish.com/tips.html


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Unread 10/19/2019, 12:43 PM   #3
cvrle1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
Either will work..
Novus recommends a power buffer with a cotton bonnet but also sells a drill mount polishing kit..

Some tips here..
https://www.novuspolish.com/tips.html
Thanks for the info and link. Juts dont feel comfortable using a drill for something like this, as I never did anything like this before.


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Unread 10/23/2019, 07:23 AM   #4
DrakeFrst
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Hello. The polisher is used to polish wooden, metal, stone and varnished car bodies. An innovative orbital polisher, unlike a rotary polisher, an orbital polisher not only rotates, but also oscillates.


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Unread 10/26/2019, 05:59 PM   #5
sfsuphysics
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I used a drill attachment when I did a 375 gallon tank (almost 34 square feet of viewable window! bleh!)

I think it was called the Mother powerball, or Mother is the brand, either way, if you already went through the grits you don't need to go crazy with a specialty buffer.

That said, if you wet sand it and it looks good no need to use the Novus kit, I typically will only wet sand extreme scratches/gouges, minor stuff I simply used Novus with the power ball, got as comfortable as I could inside the tank, and went to work doing a little bit at a time until the entire pane was done, rinse well, then go to the next pane, etc. Repeat with Novus 2 after washing the power ball thoroughly and after a few weeks I was happy with the result


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Unread 10/27/2019, 10:51 PM   #6
cvrle1
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Thanks for the info everyone. I actually ended up getting a really good deal on dual action orbital polisher. I ordered some pads that should be here tomorrow, so we'll see how things go in a day or 2.


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