# Best way to sand edges of glass tops?



## chiroken

I'm needing to buy some glass pieces for tops for a 4 and 6 foot tank. Our local shop charges by the linear foot to buff the edges. What is the best way to do this yourself? It can't be rocket science. I've got a palm sander that I'm sure would work. Is there a specific type of sandpaper for sanding glass edges? What grit?

Thanks in advance.


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## oyster dog

220 grit sandpaper or emery cloth on a sanding block should do the trick. Use progressively finer grader for a smoother finish.

Your palm sander may be too aggressive for this task.


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## workharddieproud

When I had my glass piece's cut, 4 in all and 3/16 thick, my local glass shop cut the them to size and sanded the edges all for 54.00, till I found a hinged set exact size I needed on Ebay.


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## chiroken

workharddieproud said:


> When I had my glass piece's cut, 4 in all and 3/16 thick, my local glass shop cut the them to size and sanded the edges all for 54.00, till I found a hinged set exact size I needed on Ebay.


I'll probably be looking at $12-15 after tax to have them do it (sand the edges)


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## workharddieproud

I'd pay that vs. me doing the work, they have the tools and would able to do it smooth and fast.


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## chiroken

workharddieproud said:


> I'd pay that vs. me doing the work, they have the tools and would able to do it smooth and fast.


I was thinking if I already had the sandpaper and could use the palm sander I'd have it all done in 5 minutes. If it's going to take 45 min by hand then it isn't worth it.


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## workharddieproud

My first set of glass pieces I bought came from Lowes and it was thinner glass, and the edges where not ruff but sharp and so I thought about trying to smooth it out as well but to get it EVEN and smooth along all the edges would take a pretty long time. When I had new pieces cut at a Real Glass Shop they smoothed all the edges down, almost to where they was rounded, just look at a glass cup in your home how smooth and rounded the drinking part is, that's about what my glass shop done, well worth it to me to let them do it and at really no extra cost. I paid 45.00 at Lowes for Thinner, un-smoothed glass, Vs. 54.00 for Thicker, smoothed edges. Either way, make sure and get glass at least 3/16 inch thick.


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## dredgesclone

I had glass cut at lowes and just rubbed them down with a piece of sandpaper, the glass is cheap and thin from lowes, paying to get them rounded is madness, just do it yourself, took me 5 minutes to do my 4' x 2' tank top. The goal is to make them not as dangerous so you don't slice yourself by accidentally touching the edge, not to make them completely smooth as silk


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## chiroken

Yes dredges, I want to prevent an accidental slice, I also find the sharp edges are far more likely to bind when sliding them in the end tracks. I will need to go to heavier glass as the 1 4' tank has no centre brace (thick glass for the aquarium walls) and the top will span the full 4'. The 6' tank does have an 18" centre support so the glass won't span as far, I'm actually thinking of not running the glass tops right to the centre, rather, running them to the 1st inch of the centre support and then using a spacer to keep the 2 sides from slipping. Not sure on that though. Just trying to cut down on the amount of glass I'm buying.

Glass is measured in mm's up here and I think 5 or 6 mm is the same price. I have been thinking of 6mm. I think 6mm is 1/4. 3/8 I think is 1cm and that's awefully thick!


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## Deeda

Chiroken, on your 4 foot tank I recommend not using a 4 foot long piece of glass as it will be rather difficult to handle and remove for cleaning purposes. I'm using 36" long ones on my breeder tanks and it is a bit of a pain to maneuver them around when cleaning them in a sink.

Are you using the FRP outside corner trim as the tracks for your sliding tops? I am using that design for my tanks and find that 1/4" thick or D.S. (double side) glass works perfectly. My glass company seamed all the edges which is the technical glass term for sanding the edges.

6mm (.2362) is just a tad thinner than 1/4" (.250) so that would be an ideal thickness.


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## chiroken

Deeda said:


> Chiroken, on your 4 foot tank I recommend not using a 4 foot long piece of glass as it will be rather difficult to handle and remove for cleaning purposes. I'm using 36" long ones on my breeder tanks and it is a bit of a pain to maneuver them around when cleaning them in a sink.
> 
> Are you using the FRP outside corner trim as the tracks for your sliding tops? I am using that design for my tanks and find that 1/4" thick or D.S. (double side) glass works perfectly. My glass company seamed all the edges which is the technical glass term for sanding the edges.
> 
> 6mm (.2362) is just a tad thinner than 1/4" (.250) so that would be an ideal thickness.


There is no centre front to back brace in the 65g 4' tank so what other options are there other than 4' pieces of glass?

Not sure what FRP's are. I use the tracks that look like this "E". They're typically used for sliding doors in small pieces of furnature or cupboards but they are mounted top and bottom of the door. I lay a piece on either end of the tank, front to back, with the open parts of the "E" facing the centre of the tank and they are resting on the inner plastic lip of the top plastic tank trim. Back piece of glass goes in the bottom grooves, front piece goes in the top grooves. slight overlap of each piece in the middle. That make sense?


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## workharddieproud

Have you checked Ebay or Amazon for glass top's that are made for your tank, already cut, hinged set's ?? I found mine on Ebay for 56.00, exact size, 3/16 thick, hinged with "cut out" stripe in back. Website Dr.'s Foster and Smith sell's them as well.


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## chiroken

workharddieproud said:


> Have you checked Ebay or Amazon for glass top's that are made for your tank, already cut, hinged set's ?? I found mine on Ebay for 56.00, exact size, 3/16 thick, hinged with "cut out" stripe in back. Website Dr.'s Foster and Smith sell's them as well.


No, but I will try now


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## zimmy

chiroken said:


> There is no centre front to back brace in the 65g 4' tank so what other options are there other than 4' pieces of glass?


If you can't find one on ebay, a solution to consider is to have the glass top be in three parts. The two outside parts would be the usual hinged pieces and the middle piece would be solid with a a shorter length glass ledge siliconed to the bottom of each side (see diagram below). These ledges are used to have the outside hinged glass pieces rest their inner side on. The middle piece would not be siliconed in place but would just rest in place.



I had a six foot tank that was designed to not have a brace and made a glass top the way I've described above. It worked great and was very stable. You have to determine the necessary width for the middle piece by measuring when the tank is full of water as it may be bowed slightly.

I don't have that tank anymore otherwise I'd post a photo of the glass lid.


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## dredgesclone

my tank has a center brace,

hmm, if you placed your filters on the ends instead of the back you could slide the glass left to right instead of front to back, that way you only need slightly longer than 2 foot panes










just a warning I have cut myself doing this and have broke a pane or two removing them, might be better off buying real tops, but I'm poor so I don't


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## BillD

I have fund, from cutting some glass for some tank braces that if you take a piece of glass, or even a jar, and rub it lengthwise along the edges it will take the sharp edge of in a a couple of swipes. This will not give you a beveled edge like you get from a glass shop, but it will dull it so you don't cut yourself. You can sand it further if you like. The problem with sanding is that most of the papers we use aren't really up to the task. Another option, which works very well is a dremel type tool, with a diamond encrusted cylinder bit in it. It will actually grind a bevel, and very quickly. This is after the edge has been rubbed with the scrap piece of glass. My dremel type tool (knock off) cost less than $15 and the bits were $2 for a 10 pack. You could also put one of those bits in a spin saw/rotozip. Whenever working with glass and power tools, do wear eye protection.


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## Deeda

FRP trim is also referred to as outside corner molding in the stores. Here is a great link explaining how to use it DIY sliding glass tops

In your particular design, you would need to cut 4 pieces of trim, one for each end of the tank and 2 for the center of the tank. This would give you 4 pieces of glass.


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## chiroken

OK, I see the trim you are referring to. What I have used in the past I'm thinking works better than this type of track. With the "E" both pieces of glass are held within the molding and neither can pop off or fall out of the track.

Using the hinge between glass so the front piece lifts up like a lid might be what I go to as well. LFS doesn't carry it and was hard to find online but I found it this morning at Industrial Paints and Plastics. MIght be the route I go. Will have to be thinner glass than ideal as my options are limited on what they carry there.


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## highbl00d

I have a top fin 55 gallon with a center brace. My canopy is a hair to wide to fit in the hood/canopy area. Im wondering how effective would it be to actually sand down part of the center brace to get them to fit? Im not cutting the center brace, just removing a bit of material to accomodate the canopy.

I researched and almost all canopies are 23 1/8" in, and my tank has an opening of 23 1/16"....


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## Deeda

highbl00d said:


> I have a top fin 55 gallon with a center brace. My canopy is a hair to wide to fit in the hood/canopy area. Im wondering how effective would it be to actually sand down part of the center brace to get them to fit? Im not cutting the center brace, just removing a bit of material to accomodate the canopy.
> 
> I researched and almost all canopies are 23 1/8" in, and my tank has an opening of 23 1/16"....


I think you bought the wrong brand glass canopy for your aquarium which is why it doesn't fit properly. I have never tried to sand down the brace so the glass can fit. What concerns me is that removing enough of the center brace plastic trim may expose the hollowed out section underneath and weaken the brace.

Is there any chance you can return the glass canopy and buy the correct brand?


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## highbl00d

At first the pet shop said I could return it. Then they asked if I used the 2 way tape to attach the lift tab and I said yeah.... then they told me non returnable. 

Anyway, yeah... I dont think sanding the tank would be wise. Apparently most of the caopnies I are the same size so Im thinking myabe my tank was made wrong?? In any event, I may be able to make a canopy using my own glass I can buy from the hardware store across the street. They can cut it to my specs. Only thing that sucks is that I lose out on the canopy I bought... or got ripped off on (it cost $50 !!)


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## BillD

A quick and easy way to smooth freshly cut edges is with another piece of glass. You rub it up and down a few times and the sharpness is gone. It doesn't have to be a scrap piece of glass as a jar or bottle will do as well. If you want to do more, you can sand it with emery cloth. Regardless, the edge will be safe.


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## Deeda

See if the hardware store can sand the glass canopy pieces you already bought since they also can cut glass panes for you. They may or may not be able to do it though if the store bought canopy you bought is thicker than what they sell.

Or you can do what Bill D suggested and try and remove that extra 1/16" you have.


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## highbl00d

Deeda, I asked. Every shop on the island is telling me they only cut glass purchased at their shop :-/ The only other option I was told is to sand it down myself which apparently will take forever !! Its worth a try tho...


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## Deeda

Darn! Do you happen to have a cement driveway or patio? My DIY guy suggests trying to use the flat cement surface as a grinding stone, wear heavy gloves and carefully slide the glass back and forth. He says it worked for him but can't say if it actually removed 1/16" worth of glass. If it works, just be sure to use sandpaper to clean up the edges of the glass and don't forget to remove any residue from the cement from the process.

Or you can save the glass canopy for a future tank or sell it to someone else on the island that can use them.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.


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## highbl00d

will do. I have cement all around my house. at this point Im debating on just using it. I have no real other options...lol.


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