# Glass filler (fixing a scratch)



## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

i am sorry to say that i have no useful suggestions.

i had a ton of very small scratches in a tank. in your post, i assume you were considering using cerium oxide? i bought a pound of the stuff from a jewelry repair store, borrowed a friend's car buffing machine (hand held) and went at it. after about 2.5 hours i gave up. no noticable change.

check out this link: http://www.fitchfamily.com/glass.html . i think wasser posted it before. note that the idea of using silicone did not seem to work.

i called around to several auto glass stores; none of them mentioned the possibility of using the resin that you propose to use. doesn't mean that the stuff doesn't exist, though, or that you couldn't consider using it.

fyi i researched this topic quite thoroughly so maybe you can find some useful info in one of these links:

http://www.nicks.ca/sanding.html

http://www.autobuyster.com/?showdetailed=Glass Polishing Compound

http://www.mainseek.com/ps183_0_Glass.html

i seem to recall someone saying there was a machine that could buff glass (none of the local places i called had such a beast) but it was quite large and thus would only fit in a very large aquarium.

obviously, the best option would be to simply turn the tank around so the scratch is in the back, but no doubt you have thought of this. the other option would be to try to have the pane replaced (though might be more expensive than buying a new tank).


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## ZeroChalk (Nov 28, 2003)

Thanks Jart for the links. I'm not too sure what I'll do. Maybe I'll leave it and pretend not to notice it.

But I'm gunna keep researching a solution. hmm...


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

i thought i'd post a follow up to this thread. i have lots of cerium oxide left over. if anyone has difficulty tracking some down, let me know. though if you can find some it might be cheaper to just buy it (than me to ship it) as it's not terribly expensive.


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## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

so did it work for you?


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

no it did not. why? no clue. maybe the custom built tank was made out of very hard glass (although i have no idea if there are differnet hardnesses of glass). i ended up taking the tank to an auto glass dealer to see if they could disassemble it and relace the front pane. in doing so they discovered major structural defects. so all told i think i was better off with it not working. i have a new tank now, and sleep better.

if you check out the finch family link in the earlier part of the thread you will find it has the potential to work though... albeit it is quite a messy process so i would advise draining the tank first if possible.


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## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

i ask because i have an empty 120 gal tank that has some minor scratches accumulated do to age. Its a bit of an eye sore sometimes.


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