Removing scratches from starphire glass!

FishinBob

Active Member
Well I figured I would share some of my results from removing scratches from a used tank I recently purchased.
Tank is an elos 160xl couldn't pass it up, looked fairly good but the tank was dirty. And coraline covered one panel as it as setup as a peninsula. Here's what it looked like. Looks like a snail crawled around the power head and it's shell scratched the glass. Some of the scratches I could barely feel with my fingernail so grabbed an orbital buffer a felt pad and some optical grade cerium oxide.
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FishinBob

Active Member
Right? This is about 4-5 hrs worth of work but i also have hit some other scratches as well almost an entire panel 24x28. Here is another before and after... have about 3 more groups I've been working on in this time frame, absolutely no distortion on the glass either. Time consuming yes,very much so. But getting a tank I could never afford but having to invest some time.. worth it!
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FishinBob

Active Member
Well another couple hrs and a different technique has proven to work very well.
I turned the cerium oxide into a light paste (slightly thinner than tooth paste) I started out of fear on the settings 2-3.5 I've now bumped speed up to 4-5 applying steady pressure but constantly moving while applying water every 10 seconds or so. I proceed until the glass warms to the touch(outside of glass) then move to another location and repeat,adding a small spoonful on each new area. I could probably push more and ramp up the speed but it's working faster as is.. here are the beginning and current pictures it's even getting harder to focus with the camera.
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FishinBob

Active Member
I'm impressed and saddened at the same time... it's working great but taking some time. I was going to get the sandpaper kit and go at it for time frame but this is working so Well and is actually improving the glass (removing water stains and spots) the tank actually looks clearer/cleaner then I started on that panel. I have 4 groups of small scratches on the larger panel I started today. Probably will take another 2 passes on the ones pictured to nearly remove all of the scratches. So if anyone tells you it's not possible tell them anything is possible with.... time.

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FishinBob

Active Member
Here's another set I've worked on for about 2 hrs 80 percent removed. Going back over the original set I started think I can get those 90% removed. I have changed my technique I've increased speed more and thickened the cerium. Oxide to a paste spraying every 10 seconds or so. High speed high pressure and consistant movement working am area in an outward motion to reduce the chance of distortion. As of now not one bit and I've almost removed scratches you can catch your nail on (greatly reduced) all in all if you have a tank that's worth restoring it's great. I'm going to try the sand paper technique on a different tank to see if I can actually blend in deeper scratches quicker!
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FishinBob

Active Member
What i don't understand is everyone online people say it's not possible, in guessing they never actually tried or gave up after 20 minutes or so. Going to polish every panel when done for consistancy and just remove any hard water stains

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FishinBob

Active Member
Well another couple hours and the process is showing excellent results. The worst of he scratches are 90% removed have a half dozen scuffs yet to remove. Only 2 or 3 scratches I couldn't completely remove. I am astounded at how well it works lots of work but beautiful results with zero distortion.
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Squatch XXL

Well-Known Member
What i don't understand is everyone online people say it's not possible, in guessing they never actually tried or gave up after 20 minutes or so. Going to polish every panel when done for consistancy and just remove any hard water stains

ANYONE who DIY in this hobby seems to be a lightening rod for "Negative-Nancys" There are lots of reasons to declare something impossible, but it really only means that it has not successfully been implemented. They told me I was insane more then a few times. My floor is still dry.

That is really astounding how good that works. I just became "aware" of something I Never considered. I always assumed that every scratch in my glass was my fault. Not once had I considered a shell doing it. I would sit and complain that I didn't know how the scratches happened, because I am very very careful about never touching glass with rocks. Now I know that I can stop blaming myself for most of them.

They came out great.

I have my 90g in storage, and may yet get some C.Oxide and polish it up....I may just skip it and get a 4' tank. Either way this is a great before/after DIY post.

Thank you!
 

FishinBob

Active Member
ANYONE who DIY in this hobby seems to be a lightening rod for "Negative-Nancys" There are lots of reasons to declare something impossible, but it really only means that it has not successfully been implemented. They told me I was insane more then a few times. My floor is still dry.

That is really astounding how good that works. I just became "aware" of something I Never considered. I always assumed that every scratch in my glass was my fault. Not once had I considered a shell doing it. I would sit and complain that I didn't know how the scratches happened, because I am very very careful about never touching glass with rocks. Now I know that I can stop blaming myself for most of them.

They came out great.

I have my 90g in storage, and may yet get some C.Oxide and polish it up....I may just skip it and get a 4' tank. Either way this is a great before/after DIY post.

Thank you!
Thank you much appreciated, I will say I am a avid diyer... not many people get the concept of spending countless hours on projects for no other purpose then learning something new.
I was intrigued by the lack of actual results in the reefing community with statements like "it's not possible", with so many techlogical advances throughout the years. This was actually the simplest diy project I've done. Yet it took lots of time... in most cases it wouldn't be worth it time ratio wise. In this case I found nearly the dream tank at a great cost.
If you have light scratches in a tank it's well worth it.. also if you have any hard water stains that acid won't remove it will also remove those.
Appreciate the kind words squatch!

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