Removing Glass Scratches

[JonT]

Firstly apologies - I am sure this topic has been covered a thousand times!

We have just changed carpets and so have a chance for a complete tank reboot. I have quite a lot of scratches on the inside of the glass.. the ones that you can get your nails caught on when you run them over them. All caused by not changing my algae scraper blade regularly enough I think.

I have purchased some cerium oxide and have rubbed in a bit by hand - but I understand from watching a couple of videos - that you need a buffer and a drill... and even then it can take hours (ensuring that you keep the class cool). And that is for one scratch.. I have a few!

Just wondering if

a) it's worth it given the scratched are deep enough to catch my finger nail? (will it even work)
b) Is it true it will take that long with buffer and drill?

Many thanks for any advice...

[plankton]

Welcome to the forum.
Can you see the scratches much when the tank is full of water? If not so much, why bother to try?
It's very difficult to get the scratches out, and often you can make it worse by trying as the glass can go "cloudy" where you do the work, making it show up more when it's full.
You also have to make sure there's no residue before putting fish back in.
I have tried before and ended up turning the tank around.....

[fr499y]

you'll also end up with a slight concave to the glass, which will annoy you more than the scratch you've removed.

[black ghost]

This is very skilled work that I wouldn’t even attempt myself. If I get a scratched tank I just turn it round. If that’s no good I get another tank.