Glass polishing

Mike Hoekstra

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The detail I had this weekend had etching on the rear window glass from the wiper and whatever debris that was on it long-term. For those inquiring minds, this is how I polished the glass. This is not the gospel, but the method I use to get the results. This will not remove deep scratching but very minor sub-surface damage as seen in the picture. This stuff slings everywhere, so if you do this, I recommend doing it before the wash process. If you do it after, make sure you cover the entire rear half of the vehicle. No joke.

Here is the affected area. The damage was a full arc where the wiper operated.

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Products and tools used - Flex Kompact 3 rotary, with a 5" and 3" backing pad/plate, and rayon pads, CeriGlass compound, and water.

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I use a lot of CeriGlass product. Or use it "wet".

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I then spread the CeriGlass across the affected area manually with the polisher/pad not running

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There is a lot of heat generation during the polishing process, so once the product begins to dry out, I apply water with a spray bottle or pressure bottle. This serves two purposes - it cools the window and acts as a lubricant to keep the abrasives moving and working. I set my Komakt 3 on a 2 setting and applied firm pressure making sure to hold the pad level to the surface.

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Repeat the above steps as necessary. The key to glass polishing is patience. It's a very hard surface and does not correct like paint. This was approximately 30 minutes of work and I wiped clean, and reloaded a total of 3 times. I hope this lends some benefit to my fellow detailers, and if there is anything others do differently, please share and chime in.

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The detail I had this weekend had etching on the rear window glass from the wiper and whatever debris that was on it long-term. For those inquiring minds, this is how I polished the glass. This is not the gospel, but the method I use to get the results. This will not remove deep scratching but very minor sub-surface damage as seen in the picture. This stuff slings everywhere, so if you do this, I recommend doing it before the wash process. If you do it after, make sure you cover the entire rear half of the vehicle. No joke.


Good job..there are no short cuts in polishing glass. This is worse than cleaning glass.
 
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