Onsen Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Add this to things I've learned about my hot tub: 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a 3M scratch removal kit from an auto parts place will remove nail polish and restore the original gloss to an acrylic hot tub surface. A couple of months ago, I noticed during a daylight maintenance/filter cleaning session, that there were red lines on my off-white seats and footwell. After some brief anthropometric analysis, I came to the conclusion that they were made by toenails. The ones in the footwell from toes curled under and the ones on the seats & lounge from curling up or sitting on feet. With my suspects narrowed down to female soakers (sorry, no guys I know paint their toenails), I queried and found that pedicures had been done on the soak day. Apparently the polish is not fully cured and can be somewhat soft in a bromine-based tub with 101+ degree water. After trying in vain to rub the marks off with my natural fingernails, I called Jacuzzi for a tech assist. They passed me to the company that does their acrylic shell work. I was instructed to remove the marks with wet/dry sandpaper and then buff the scuffing out with rubbing compound. They also confirmed what I suspected. Nail polish remover (acetone or non-acetone) will damage the surface because it is a solvent to acrylics, including the spa surface. Mechanical removal is the only way to go. I put the above on the To-Do list. Once it came time to drain and fill my tub, I gave it a go. I bought the 3M Scratch Removal System kit (part no. 39071) and some wet/dry sandpaper from my local auto parts store. The kit contains a small 3000 grit pad, a wheel for an electric drill, rubbing compound and drill pad, polish compound and drill pad. Given that I was attempting to remove something from the surface instead of smoothing out a scratch or a gouge, I opted for a multipack of wet/dry sandpaper that ranged from 1000-2500 grit and intended to start with the finer grit and work my way back to the coarser grit, if needed. After draining and drying the interior and putting towels in the footwell and seats (so I didn't add scratches from my shoes or jeans), I used a small bit of the 2000 grit paper on a mark in the footwell to evaluate the "collateral damage" of sandpaper scuffs. The nail polish marks came off easily. The total scuff area is minimized by gently rubbing off the marks with the sandpaper around a fingernail. Also, have some masking or painter's tape handy to mark the scuffs for the rubbing compound step. I had about two dozen marks that I was cleaning up. I put the rubbing compound into a small plastic bowl that was larger than the buffing wheel diameter. My intention was to get the compound on the edge of the wheel and just work the scuff areas. I also dialed back the maximum speed on my drill to minimize splatter and keep the surface from heating up excessively. I worked each scuff with little more than the pressure from the weight of the drill. Working the rubbing compound is a lot like polishing shoes to a military standard: moving the polishing implement (rag or wheel) lightly and quickly over the area to be polished results in a higher shine. Pausing over an area and applying more pressure merely digs out the compound and ruins the work you've done to that point. After I worked the first scuff, I wiped away the remaining material with a paper bowl and could no longer tell where the scuff marks were. The rubbing compound alone restored the gloss to the surface. Since the kit came with the polish compound, I gave that a go on all the seats and footwell areas I had just worked. I wiped the tub down with a weak bleach solution and a sponge to ensure that the rubbing and polishing compounds were removed from the tub surface. My acrylic surface looked just as good as the day my tub was delivered. I imagine the same process could be used for minor scratches. I would recommend starting with fine grit and working toward a coarser paper if you are not seeing immediate results in smoothing out the scratch. Check with your spa manufacturer to ensure that your are not contravening any of their recommended procedures. I've found Jacuzzi tech assist to be quite helpful with the two minor things I've needed to address with my tub. -Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Works for deep scratches as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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