Scratches in glass

[JuliandAaron]

Hi all. Just got a used 125 galling glass tank and now that it’s all cleaned up I’m seeing a lot of tiny scratches. It almost looks like cobwebs or cotton candy. When I run my finger nail across them they are so shallow you can’t feel anything. 
Any suggestions on buffing them out? What’s worked for you in the past?

[CT_]

If no one has experience here, I'd search the wider internet for a good glass polish/process.  A true polish shouldn't leave any residue when its done so it'll be fish safe once washed off.  Deep scratches may be tough to remove though.

 

[JuliandAaron]

Hi there, yes thank you for taking some time to give feedback. ☺️

Yeah, I’ve watched some videos on YouTube and read some articles elsewhere.
Here is the plan so far: use some glass polishing compound with cerium oxide and polishing attachments on our drills. I know we won’t be able to get the deep scratches out but as those are on the sides we’re not worried about those. The tricky thing will be getting all of it the compound out since it’s a 125 gallon. We will rinse it down as we are simultaneously siphon the water out. After that I want to fill the tank up and run our canister filter with carbon for about a week. I think that will ensure all the residue is out. 
If you have an suggestions with that I’d love to hear them. 

[tolstoy21]

I tried to buff out scratches from a used 125 using cerium oxide and a soft brush attachment on a drill.  I had limited success, but only because it takes A LOT of work to get the scratches out.

Cerium oxide will work for scratches that aren’t very deep if you have the patients to work with it. I think the King of DIY has a demonstration on how to work with it on you tube.

Be careful not to buff near the caulk unless you plan on resealing the tank (I resealed mine).

I used a wet/dry shop vac to get the residue out of mine. Basically I flushed and drained the tank, then shop vac’ed out the remaining 1/2   inch  of water. You can use a hose to direct the powder down to one end of the tank to get it all in one area and make it easier.

Also, plan to work outside or in a garage or basement, as your drill is going to sling cerium oxide everywhere. 

Edited February 22, 2021 by tolstoy21

[JuliandAaron]

Hi there, yes thank you for taking some time to give feedback. ☺️

Yeah, I’ve watched some videos on YouTube and read some articles elsewhere.
Here is the plan so far: use some glass polishing compound with cerium oxide and polishing attachments on our drills. I know we won’t be able to get the deep scratches out but as those are on the sides we’re not worried about those. The tricky thing will be getting all of it the compound out since it’s a 125 gallon. We will rinse it down as we are simultaneously siphon the water out. After that I want to fill the tank up and run our canister filter with carbon for about a week. I think that will ensure all the residue is out. 
If you have an suggestions with that I’d love to hear them. 

[JuliandAaron]

Excellent tips thank you! Yes, I have watched the king of diy’s video and he’s pretty candid about the success being marginal, but it’s worth it to try I think. And better to do it now rather the forge ahead only to regret it later. It’s definitely going to take a lot of work but between the two of us each using their own drill I hope it can be accomplished on a Saturday. If we are even able to get out 50% it’s worth it. 🙃

However, it’s in the middle of our living room so I think we’ll have to put down some tarp so we contain the stuff. Thanks for pointing that out!

[Brian]

Not sure if this will help or not,  several years ago I purchased a used tank and the previous owner was always cleaning the front glass and in doing so scratched it along the bottom.   They used a DIY sand and that was hard on the finish.  But the hardly ever cleaned the back glass.  I was able to turn the tank around and hide the scratches with plants and decorations.    I will attach photos, don’t judge I have been cleaning out plants and still need to give away more.   

[Cyndi]

3 hours ago, Brian said:

Not sure if this will help or not,  several years ago I purchased a used tank and the previous owner was always cleaning the front glass and in doing so scratched it along the bottom.   They used a DIY sand and that was hard on the finish.  But the hardly ever cleaned the back glass.  I was able to turn the tank around and hide the scratches with plants and decorations.    I will attach photos, don’t judge I have been cleaning out plants and still need to give away more.   

Hi all!

Following as I am having a similar problem, except for I'M the genius who scratched the glass with a cheap blade from Amazon. I've read about buffing, and I think I like Brian's idea the best - just turn the durn thing around. I'll have to take off the background - but that is easily done compared to buffing! Good luck JulieandAaron! It's fun to have a project to work on together!