Polishing edges - Rimless tank help
 

Does anybody know how to polish the top edges or a rimless aquarium safetly and efficiently?

Any help would be much appreciated.

:biggrin:

Most glass that has polished edges is polished from were its produced using automated machines, usually special order as its expensive varying on glass thickness. The way glass is polised is much like wood using course to super fine grids but with alot more difficulty.
On a already assembled tank this will only increase the level of difficulty as none of the peices can be removed and taken to a water fed belt sander, which is required not only to cut down on dust but reduce heat that can cause cracks, and flares or shells which could later crack after the tank is filled.
Short and sweet, unless you work with glass I would not recomeend attempting to polish the edges of your tank as you are more likely to do more damage then good...
I am a glazier by trade and I personaly would not attempt to polish on a assemebled tank, I have polished many glass edges, it is a very time consuming task that requires special equipment and is very easy to mess up...
Just my .02, hope that helps

Thank you

The reason I asked, is that i am getting a tank made and to get the edges polished will be another 150 dollars or so. I cant imagine the tank will come with sharp uneven glass (especially since polishing would be included in the base price if this was the case). SO would this mean that the edges will just be frosty instead of clear?

polish usually means they will finish the edge with a bevel as well. Its worth the extra money or your tank will look you just de-rimmed a store bought tank. You will not be able to do it on your own by hand. It'll be uneven and you will probably chip parts of it.

^^ agreed
fork out the money

Most of the time when ive seen a rimless or euro-braced it has polished edges as there espensive, high end tank.
A edge doesnt have to be polished to be clear, it depends on how much they arris (sand the sharp, clean cut edge off) the peice will determine what the clear to frosted look of sanded glass will be. It also depends on how thick the glass is and how they cut it will determine how nice the edge will look with a arris vs a polish.
If they can do nice clean cut then a 1-2mm arris with a 400-600 grit, you would have a hard time telling the difference unless you were told...
Altho a polished edge is far stronger and more resistant to damage as its harder to knock a peice out

there was a thread on here a while ago about diy polishing it was a japanese guy doing glass work and tutorials on youtube, it can be done the guy used a grinder to do it going from coarse to fine.prob wouldnt reccomend it but it can be done and i imagine it takes quite a bit of practise so like above i would just pay to have it done alot easier that way and you wont ruin your new glass lol:)

It can for sure be done at home, altho the grinder method usually results in damaged glass from heat and low dip spots...
If you go to any glass shop they should have samples to show the difference between a clean cut edge, arrised edge and various polishes and you can choose.
GET A POLISHED EDGE:lol:

I dont really need it bevelled. But yes, I would like a simple polish. the edge should already be pretty smooth, otherwise I will run my hand along it and boom.... lawsuit. I know these are some ultra low grit solutions out there. will sand paper work?

Spend the $$! :)