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Buffing scratches out of glass


SeanCallan

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So I gave my JBJ 12 a vinegar bath to clean it up but that exposed the extensive scratching on the glass. Is there a straight forward simple method to remove scratches from glass?

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So I gave my JBJ 12 a vinegar bath to clean it up but that exposed the extensive scratching on the glass. Is there a straight forward simple method to remove scratches from glass?

 

 

I believe this is where the acrylic vs glass debate exists. Acrylic scratches more easily but you can buff them out. Glass is much more difficult to scratch but once scratched, you can't remove them. If someone else has a different answer, I'm definitely interested ...

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I believe this is where the acrylic vs glass debate exists. Acrylic scratches more easily but you can buff them out. Glass is much more difficult to scratch but once scratched, you can't remove them. If someone else has a different answer, I'm definitely interested ...

 

Ah, the ol' acrylic vs glass subject!

 

It is possible to remove some (lighter) scratches from a glass tank using jeweler's polishing techniques. google it and you will find it. here is one example: LINK. Don't know if you consider that straight forward, I do not. That page also has an interesting discussion about just filling the scratches with silicone (carefully).

 

As a side note, as to buffing scratches out of acrylic: I think if you got a scratch in your glass tank, if the same shock had happened to an acrylic tank, you would have ended up with a much deeper scratch. I think deep scratches in acrylic are much more difficult to remove than light ones, and I think even light ones are not trivial to remove. People often talk about removing them, but rarely talk about having removed them (although there have been some).

 

When I had an acrylic tank, I bought a fancy scratch removal kit for it, but never ended up using it because I got so many scratches I could not hope to keep up with it. The scratches were due to many factors, some preventable.

 

tim

Edited by extreme_tooth_decay
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Sounds like it would be easier with a real buffer and a empty tank. Would like to try this out one day to see if it works

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Drag your fingernail across the scratch. If you can feel it catch on the scratch, it's probably too deep to polish out without grinding first (which would lead to significant optical distortion). If it's shallow enough, it can be buffed out using a cerium oxide slurry as the abrasive and a hard felt buffing pad. You cannot do this under water, by the way, but it sounds like your tank is out of the water.

 

Having buffed out a car windshield before, I can tell you that it can take a while and, personally, would very likely consider just getting a new aquarium if I found the scratches that you're talking about too distracting.

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Windshield repair epoxies can fill the scratch in with some success. I have tried this on a section of a tank I have and it helps. Using a syringe, injected the epoxy into the scratch and the epoxy will fill the void. Needs UV curing.

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Wow, thanks for all the information.

 

The scratches are very very shallow. You can only seem them if you look at a certain angle. I think in my early aquarium days I may have used something like a dish sponge to clean the tank and ended up with the little scratches.

 

I guess it's not really worth worrying about. I'll give it up with water and see if they're bad and go from there!

 

Thanks

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If they're really shallow, buffing with cerium oxide (which, by the way, you can get on ebay), may work for you. Just be prepared to work it for an hour or two. :) You can probably find the felt polishing bob on ebay or maybe even at HD or Lowes.

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I had slight scratches on my 210 and after going to del-Ray glass and a auto collision place and trying some of the mentioned soloutions I ended up removing the filler and just lived with it. I now have a new 210 because the one I mentioned leaked.

 

I found after all the time I invested that the scratches were slightly more noticable when I put some filler in it. I forget what I used and am sure others can have success but this was just my experience. I may have some filler lying around and some compound for rubbing out scratches in glass if I do I would be happy to give you what I have.

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I've used cerium oxide before on a 235 with a lot of scratches. After about 2 hours of work to remove scratches on a 6"x6" area (with 7'x30" to go), I gave up and got a new tank. The cerium oxide did work though. I used the hard felt pad on a buffing wheel.

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wow, for some reason I figured getting scratches out of glass would much less hassle. I'm going to go ahead and set the tank up since the whole point behind it was a small cheap tank that could support an anemone.

 

I filled it with water and turned the lights on last night and you can see the scratches, but they aren't HORRIBLE. So it'll do for now :)

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I've used cerium oxide before on a 235 with a lot of scratches. After about 2 hours of work to remove scratches on a 6"x6" area (with 7'x30" to go), I gave up and got a new tank. The cerium oxide did work though. I used the hard felt pad on a buffing wheel.

 

I know what you mean (having been there before). I was using it on a car windshield. It was ineffective against pitting from the "sand blasting" of driving down the road, but could remove some of the glare-producing haze caused by much smaller scratches (that you couldn't feel with your fingernail). Still, I worked 2 hours on that windshield and, while the conditions were improved, I was faced with either getting a new windshield or getting rid of the (old) car. I chose to get rid of the car.

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  • 4 months later...

my company etched some glass once with a chemical (cleaning stone floors). we were able to buy a polishing compound that when used with a buffer removed the etching. It may work on light scratching. PM me if you are interested in the name of the product and I will check into it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Give the guy the benefit of the doubt! :) Maybe is was just chance that he/she decided to make the 1st post advertisement.

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Give the guy the benefit of the doubt! :) Maybe is was just chance that he/she decided to make the 1st post advertisement.

 

Tell ya what, I'll wait to see if he is easily startled (ie, does not post again). If he is easily startled, the preponderance of the evidence is he is a sand person.

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