scratches on acrylic

[fadel]

hummmmmmmmm
tomorrow i will do new way of removing the scratch of old acrylic tank.......

i will heat the acrylic..........
i am going to give it a try and i will let you know
i will use a a heat gun and tourch.................................


we will see i think it will work and will bring the 7 yrs old tank to life.....
i will post pics.........

[N2REEFS]

Be careful. Heat can make the acrylic wavy and distort the view. The problem will be magnified when water is in it.

[fadel]

Be careful. Heat can make the acrylic wavy and distort the view. The problem will be magnified when water is in it.

you are right i thought about it. but i think its the amount of the heat you apply on thats whats make it magnified.........
we will see

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

why don't you scratch a scrap piece of acrylic, and test it on that? Unless the tank is basically a scratch piece of acrylic. I am guessing it will get wavy, at best though. At least make sure you don't do it while the acrylic is vertical, try and apply the heat downward, while it's laying down.

[alex4angela]

Not just what the others are saying, heat WILL make the Acrylic hard and Stiff loosing the flexibility that acrylic has causing it to brake/shatter under pressure with the water in it. The best solution is to get it buffed out and I recommend by hand as I did to my 30 gallon.

[pointblank]

there is no way of getting scratches out of acrylic even the scratch removers don't work ive tried them all if there was a way to get scratches out some one would of thought of it long time ago thats my 2 cents

[DaveMorris]

Untrue. I have done it and my 75g tank looked great. That is until I scratched it again. That is why my new 300g is glass.

[SuperDragon]

agree with Alex4angela,
Fadel you must be $rich$ or have lots of time on your hands
that's a recipe for disaster and disappointment...
even at low heat the acrylic will bend, that's how you shape it.
I used to own a sign shop for 10 years and that's how we
molded acrylic for customers to make acrylic sign stands.

[fadel]

i am going to try it either way

i just want to see how it will work


i have nothing to lose

[loose-electron]

Hmmm.... Matter of degree actually...

Shallow scrathes can be buffed or compounded out.
Deep scratches, probably not going to buff them out.

I have used "flame smoothing" on the edges of cut acrylic with good success.

Perhaps a "light application of heat" on the surface might get it done, without melting thru the acrylic.

Let us know what happens!
Jerry

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

yeah, i have a feeling that you can technically do this, but it's one of those skills you gotta learn over time, like welding. To get the top to melt, without the rest of the acrylic getting too hot, or anything burning sounds like a highly skilled task. Good luck, i really like that you're trying this even though people are saying it won't work :) Go DIYers!

[sandiegan]

Any update Fadel?

[Redeye]

TV, delete my post if you don't like it, don't change it to some fruity **** you would say

[sandiegan]

lol nice edit :P

[Redeye]

please refrain from letting people make rediculous comments
Does this mean I can insult you, since your not new TV?

[fadel]

whats going on here

i didnt even start buffing ............. i have so much project going on

who is tv .......just asking

[bpatrol]

Hey Fadel. if you heat it with a torch it will warp and thin out creating a bulge.. and it will craze...buffing will work and works well. The deeper the scratch the more the possible distortion. you actually remove material to bring everything to the depth of the scratch. I used to flame polish the edges when making sumps but its safer and better just to buff them.. you can weaken the joint or get crazing with flame polishing.
hope this helps. and if you must do it. ventilation.toxic fumes....bpatrol

[fadel]

Hey Fadel. if you heat it with a torch it will warp and thin out creating a bulge.. and it will craze...buffing will work and works well. The deeper the scratch the more the possible distortion. you actually remove material to bring everything to the depth of the scratch. I used to flame polish the edges when making sumps but its safer and better just to buff them.. you can weaken the joint or get crazing with flame polishing.
hope this helps. and if you must do it. ventilation.toxic fumes....bpatrol
you know what i used hair dryer on it not to much heat it works butits slow process....