Fix those scratches on your acrylic domes

[Aussie_dave]

After knocking my Inon UFL-165AD into staghorn coral a year ago (oops), I noticed a few gouges in the acrylic dome. I thought all was well (water does fill some scratches) until taking a closer look, and noticed 4 small blurs in the bottom of every photo (circled in example):

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I decided to try to fix the scratches, ordered a Micro-Mesh kit (NC-78-1), watched a YouTube video for courage, and started sanding. I nearly carked it when I saw my beautiful lens converted to rough opaque plastic with the first grit. Sequential sandings with increasingly fine grit, a liquid polish, then a spray of Plexus, and it looked pretty good.

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Next trip was Vanuatu, and I was happy to see that the spots were gone from the photos.

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I knew that I would lose any coatings Inon had put on the acrylic dome (like anti-glare). The UFL-165AD is very prone to flare anyway, so I thought I had not a lot to lose. My backup was to get the dome replaced for a couple hundred bucks by sending the lens to an Inon dealer. Luckily all is well.

DIY.

- Dave