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    Thread: Well it was inevitable, a big scratch.

    1. #1
      rudy's Avatar
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      Well it was inevitable, a big scratch.

      And how to get it out.
      Mag-float
      Well I put a few giant scratches on the inside of the my tank today
      Not paying attention to what I was doing, I didn't notice until I heard tha screaching
      The tape shows the extent of the damage.
      DSC00048.JPGDSC00057.JPG

      Here are some tips that I've learned from polishing scratches out of the inside of my tanks over the years. While set up.
      I've done this many times without any adverse effect on the inhabitants. If you have a small tank with many scratches, you may want to do a water change after polishing.YMMV.

      1) Make sure you have the proper materials. You'll need wet and dry sanding cloths in grits from 1000 to 6000.
      You may also want to use a rubber or foam sanding block, but I use my thumb and fingers.
      2) Clean the area around the scratch, inside and out.
      3) Use painters masking tape on the outside to highlight the scratch area, it gets difficult to see after you've started polishing.
      4) It's impossible for me to say which grit to start sanding with, but the typical "grain of sand under the mag-float" scratch will probably need 2400 grit.
      5) Start sanding along the scratch in a small circular motion, try not to sand any more than the scratch and a very small area around it. Avoid sanding in straight lines.
      If the scratch doesn't come out right away, use the next courser grit.
      6) Once the scratch is completely 100% gone, you can move on to the next step.(You'll be wasting your time if you think you'll finish getting the scratch out with the next grit, you won't, get it now)
      7) Be sure to wipe the area with your hand, before moving on to the next finer grit.
      8) Use the same small circular sanding motion, but just a little bigger to make sure to get all of the sanding marks from the last grit.
      9) Repeat steps 6-8 until clear.


      Polishing the outside is basically the same, except you have to keep the area wet and clean. Heat and grit are your enemy.
      It's also best to have the Novus 3 step kit for the outside.
      HTH, GL.
      Last edited by rudy; 03-22-2008 at 01:53 PM.

    2. #2
      rudy's Avatar
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      I've outlined an area(square tape area) to fix.
      DSC00047.JPG
      DSC00055.JPG
      DSC00056.JPG

    3. #3
      rudy's Avatar
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      I started with 2000
      2000.JPG
      then 2400
      2400.JPG
      Then 3200
      3200.JPG

      Then 3600, 4000. No pix.

    4. #4
      rudy's Avatar
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      Then 6000
      6000.JPG
      Then 8000
      8000.JPG
      And finally 12000
      12000.JPG
      Looks good as new.
      I haven't finished all of the scratches yet, but hope to have them done tonight.
      I probably could have stopped at 6000, it looked good, but since I had 8000 and 12000, I used it, and it looked better.

    5. #5
      Fish n' Frags is offline Registered User
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      So this was on the dry side? If wet side how did you sand?

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      JAHGYDI is offline Registered User
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      Where Did You Get Such Fine Sand Paper (3200 4000 6000 8000 12000) I Bet 12000 Is Smoother That Regular Paper

    7. #7
      rudy's Avatar
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      It's the wet side, I modified a long handled scraper to hold the cloth.
      I used this kit, works great.

    8. #8
      SuperDragon is offline Member
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      All plastics stores carry sandpaper that fine, used for acrylic.
      SD plastics and Ridout

      this is also a kit
      http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...s~vendor~.html

    9. #9
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      Rudy,

      I ordered the sand paper you recommend but still have not got around to fixing my tank. I am planning on sanding this weekend. I will start with same grit as you have above and work my way up.

      I hope mine comes out as well.

      Shells
      Shelly
      180g Reef
      150g FO
      55G FWP
      5g FWP (office tank)
      SDMAS BOD MEMBER


    10. #10
      rudy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Shells
      Rudy,

      I ordered the sand paper you recommend but still have not got around to fixing my tank. I am planning on sanding this weekend. I will start with same grit as you have above and work my way up.

      I hope mine comes out as well.

      Shells
      I'm sure it will.
      I'll have a proper How-to/DIY in the top post later.

    11. #11
      Shells's Avatar
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      I wait for the DIY before I start - thanks a lot
      Shelly
      180g Reef
      150g FO
      55G FWP
      5g FWP (office tank)
      SDMAS BOD MEMBER


    12. #12
      rudy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Shells
      I wait for the DIY before I start - thanks a lot
      It's up.

    13. #13
      mj1333 is offline Registered User
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      Rudy, How long did the process take for that one square?

    14. #14
      rudy's Avatar
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      That square is about 2.5". It would have taken less than 5 minutes, if I hadn't taken pix.

    15. #15
      davocean is offline Registered User
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      Sorry to hear about scratch, but you did a great job repairing it.
      I don't even use a mag float anymore for this reason.
      I've had friends come over and run it into the sand b4 not knowing it scratches.

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