+Hydro Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I got a 250 gallon aquarium with a busted bottom. Even though I'm just going to use it as a QT I didn't like that the glass was scratched really bad. I thought about replacing the front panel but the best price I got was $450 but most quotes came in around $850, just wasn't worth it. I looked on google to see if there was anyone that polished glass scratches and I found a company, accent resurfacing right here in Austin. This glass was scratched like you wouldn't believe, every sq in had a scratch. Some of them were 4-5" long and you could catch your finger nail in them if you rubbed it across. Its big piece of glass too 7' long x 28" tall, 3/4" and heavy as hell. I warned him over the phone that it was bad and he quoted me $100 to resurface it if I brought it to him, which when he saw it I think he regretted such a low bid. He did it anyway for that price and it looks perfect now. I didn't even know it was possible to take out scratches that deep. Anyways here is the website in case anyone needs anything like that. http://www.accentglassresurfacing.com/index.php After Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Wow! That's incredible, what a difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Do you know if he just does glass panels or can he work on an aquarium? ....sorry, just read this on their site: "Aquariums - $150 minimum for empty, movable tanks. Stationary tanks require a custom bid" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 "Aquariums - $150 minimum for empty, movable tanks. Stationary tanks require a custom bid" I bet if you took it to him, and it was easy to work on, he might do it for less but I don't know for sure. He told me that almost all the time they go to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Outstanding work. What is his method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 He uses a large grinder and and several stages of polishing discs. He said that the trick is feathering the edges of the grinding so there isn't distortion and not heating up the glass which can break it. What's cool is if someone wanted some scratches removed you can empty the tank in to some tubs, have him polish it on site, and put everything back in the same day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 So much for the people arguing for acrylic over glass because they can always polish-out the scratches with acrylic. Good to know...thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 He did a fabulous job! Looks brand new. Wish I had thought about it before I set up my 125, it has some bad scratches on it. How does glass get so scratched up anyhow? I never scratch my tanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 It happens when you use the magnet cleaner. Sand or coraline algae gets stuck underneath the cleaning pad and then you scrub your glass with it. You have to be really careful when you get near the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 So much for the people arguing for acrylic over glass because they can always polish-out the scratches with acrylic. Good point! I have an idea that I'm going to discuss with him that would allow for polishing a tank with water in it. I'lll see if he thinks its possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Patent the idea first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Dang, I would have taken my bowfront to him for this....great find though Stephen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 It happens when you use the magnet cleaner. Sand or coraline algae gets stuck underneath the cleaning pad and then you scrub your glass with it. You have to be really careful when you get near the sand. And iron, there's a lot of iron in sand. I always replace the pad on my floating magnets with velcro. Leaving about a 1/4" around the sides catches a lot of stuff before it gets under the bad and as it's thicker and looser it takes a larger particle to get pushed up against the glass to scratch it. I also change the color, I like green as it shows both white sand and black rust particles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 What if they were freshwater tanks before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 And iron, there's a lot of iron in sand. I always replace the pad on my floating magnets with velcro. Leaving about a 1/4" around the sides catches a lot of stuff before it gets under the bad and as it's thicker and looser it takes a larger particle to get pushed up against the glass to scratch it. I also change the color, I like green as it shows both white sand and black rust particles. Good idea and good to know. I'm going to try that, I cringe everytime I use mine because I have scratched my glass a couple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 What if they were freshwater tanks before? I'm sure that freshwater haze is easy to remove, my scratches were deep and he got them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Patent the idea first. Unfortunately I've learned the hard way that patents are usually worthless, its sad actually. I could go on and on about that..... I told him about my idea and thinks it might work! I think I can make the tool fairly easy, there will just be a couple of things to figure out. I've got to get a few other projects before I can even look at this. Hopefully I can get something to work and post some results. I really hope to use it to fix a few scracthes in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hmmm....if you can do the polishing while the tank is still set up definitely let me know! ill pay ya to come up here and do all my tanks. With the exception of one, all my tanks were used and have scratches, and one has a crappy haze to it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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