Buffing acrylic?

ozorowsky · 10/02/2017, 08:30 PM

Hello, im buying a 340 gallon acrylic tank. It is overall pretty darn nice but does have some minor scratching.

I want to polish it up nice before building it into my wall. I have never polished acrylic before so im going to experiment with a sheet from home depot followed by yhe bottom of the tank, then inside, outside.

That said im googling, and reading about meguirs polish, nuvo etc. I just want to aks opinions maybe from someone who does this often of what absolutely works and anyone that is fairly handy can do. Im pretty handy this is just new territory for me.

mcgyvr · 10/03/2017, 04:59 AM

All depends on how bad the scratches are..
Novus works great for "hazy" acrylic..
If you can feel the scratches then no polish is going to be sufficient and its sanding time..

Its easy just lots of elbow grease and time

ozorowsky · 10/03/2017, 05:29 AM

The acrylic isn't hazy. Can't hardly see the scratches through water. Only see them where dry with a little algae. So i was thinking of giving it a nice buff.

On the outside there are one or two scratches you can see. For those, would i have to sand the whole panel or just the area where the scratch is?

Mishri · 10/03/2017, 03:05 PM

Yeah, Novus worked great for me, I only have 1 scratch on the back so i left it alone.. just buffed it with novus and it cleared up nicely. Acrylic should look perfectly clear.. mine looked like it had a film of milk over it.

Zephrant · 10/05/2017, 11:00 AM

Novus is fine for small projects, or if you have a ton of time. I've used a hard buffing compound for many years, but I can't find a current source for it.

This is the closest I could find to it with a quick search:
https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D29.../dp/B0000DD35X

I've not tried that one, but will when I run out of my stock of the classic stuff I bought last decade.

Keeping the acrylic cool as you work it is critical.

I've crawled in the tank and spent hours with a buffer before. Not a lot of fun (hot/loud), but gets the job done.

10/02/2017, 08:30 PM	#1
ozorowsky Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 311	Buffing acrylic? Hello, im buying a 340 gallon acrylic tank. It is overall pretty darn nice but does have some minor scratching. I want to polish it up nice before building it into my wall. I have never polished acrylic before so im going to experiment with a sheet from home depot followed by yhe bottom of the tank, then inside, outside. That said im googling, and reading about meguirs polish, nuvo etc. I just want to aks opinions maybe from someone who does this often of what absolutely works and anyone that is fairly handy can do. Im pretty handy this is just new territory for me.

10/03/2017, 04:59 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	All depends on how bad the scratches are.. Novus works great for "hazy" acrylic.. If you can feel the scratches then no polish is going to be sufficient and its sanding time.. Its easy just lots of elbow grease and time __________________ Who me?

10/03/2017, 03:05 PM	#4
Mishri Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Great Falls, MT Posts: 1,404	Yeah, Novus worked great for me, I only have 1 scratch on the back so i left it alone.. just buffed it with novus and it cleared up nicely. Acrylic should look perfectly clear.. mine looked like it had a film of milk over it. __________________ 300 gallon 8ft long, 2x xf250 gyre, reef octopus 250-int - work in progress Aquarist since 1986

10/03/2017, 05:29 AM	#3
ozorowsky Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 311	The acrylic isn't hazy. Can't hardly see the scratches through water. Only see them where dry with a little algae. So i was thinking of giving it a nice buff. On the outside there are one or two scratches you can see. For those, would i have to sand the whole panel or just the area where the scratch is?

10/05/2017, 11:00 AM	#5
Zephrant Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,234	Novus is fine for small projects, or if you have a ton of time. I've used a hard buffing compound for many years, but I can't find a current source for it. This is the closest I could find to it with a quick search: https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D29.../dp/B0000DD35X I've not tried that one, but will when I run out of my stock of the classic stuff I bought last decade. Keeping the acrylic cool as you work it is critical. I've crawled in the tank and spent hours with a buffer before. Not a lot of fun (hot/loud), but gets the job done.