Scratches on glass??

93fox

93fox

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Can it be fixed?? I read a thread a while ago about peoplr buffing out the scratches on their windshield. Is it possible? Because my car has millions on tiny little scratches that make it really hard to see at night when the light shines on them! Any products for fixing this?
 
I have the same problem on the windshield of my 2005 Acura TL. It is really a PITA at night with the oncoming headlights.

I was wondering if this kit would fix our problem:

Diamondite® Glasswork System Kit cleans, restores, and protects auto glass windshields and windows. Restore car glass with Diamondite glass polish.

I am VERY hesitant to use a buffer to polish my windshield because I tried once with the flex, and I ended up marring the heck out of it and made it sooo much worse. I ended up having to replace the glass. I learned from that costly mistake! But, I would like to try this kit (which is the hand application) and see if it would help any. I've been reading the product info, and the Diamondite shield states:

"Protect your glass now and in the future with Diamondite Glasswork Shield. This polymer glass sealant is designed specifically to fill the microscopic ridges and valleys of glass."

I hope others that have used this kit will chime in, but will the shield fill in all those scratches (can't feel them at all with my fingernail) and restore clarity to the windshield?

And to the OP...not trying to hijack your thread by any means...but we both have the same question...:hungry:
 
I have read a lot on polishing glass using cerium oxide. It appears to be a glass cutting powder available from Amazon.com for a reasonably cheap price that is mixed with water to create a slurry of sorts that can then be used in conjunction with a rotary polishing tool like a rotary polisher or a drill and backing plate/pad combo.

My sister has a 96 Mustang and when in the body shop, somehow the body repairman must have got the edge of his sander against her windshield because there were little pigtail scratches in the glass right in her line of vision. Her boyfriend (not the sharpest tool in the shed) told her he could fix it. Right away in my mind I had a vision of him out there with various grits of sand paper.:doh: I tried to encourage him to hold off.

Well call me clairvoyant... My sister and I had already discussed the cerium oxide method and she would make the purchase and I would do the work. Well thanks to her now ex-boyfriend it is ten times the mess that it was to start with so there is no real risk in me trying the cerium oxide method with a rotary as the windshield will need replacing anyway if it doesn't work out.

My research shows that the biggest risk involved is heat buildup in the glass that could cause a warping effect in the glass that could cause a distorted view while looking through the glass. Compared to her view with the current mess on her windshield a little distortion may not be as bad. My own sense of common problems says that there may be some negative effects concerning the tempering of the glass as well.

Most of us here know how to run a rotary without creating too much heat in one area of the paint that we polish. So why would glass be any different? I think it has to do with not holding the rotary's spinning pad in one location until meltdown occurs.:confused:

Anyways.....Hopefully within the next month or so she or I will order up a box of the cerium oxide powder and I'll mix up a slurry and give it a whirl and post my success or failure here at AGO. It seems to me that this subject of glass polishing comes up rather frequently and I only ever hear of the fears involved with such an idea as removing scratches with cerium oxide, so I'll be the guinea pig on this matter and post pics and possibly a video of the job.
 
Couple tips on machine polishing glass,

First it's messy. I've used 3 different brands and homemade slurry and they are all messy, by this I mean when using a rotary buffer you can't help but sling a little spatter, so tape-off and cover up anything you don't what to wipe down or detail splatter off of, or out of, after the job.

The glass buffing pads are thin and hard but work well, my personal opinion is to use a backing plate that offers a foam rubber interface for some cushion and ability to flex, like one of these,

Heavy Duty 5 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

The above fits the 5" Glass Cutting Pads.

You can remove light scuffs and scratches but you can't remove deep scratches or chips because to do so would mean buffing and removing enough glass to level the upper surface with the lowest depths of the defects you're trying to remove.

Also, do keep the buffing moving, don't hold it in one place and you won't have a heat problem.


:)
 
My windshield was not real bad (unlike the one on my previous M3 which I wish I had know about this) and I tried a test spot (sunroof who cares if it ended up with scratchs) with a PC and CCS orange pad and Griots glass polish.

It turned out awesome. I agree you won't be able to remove deep scratches but its worth a try to see if it makes it better.
 
It seems like there is a way to fix it! I sure will be looking into all the tips you guys have said! Ill be posting pics once i start on this!
 
I tried to use griots glass polish, and while it started to remove the scratches in my girlfriend's volvos front windshield they didn't fully come out. Reading what griots glass polish is designed for ( removing water spots and calcium deposits) I didn't have high expectations. Maybe however, a glass restoration system like diamondite's or the professional system that AG sells would yield better results.
 
Just gonna toss this out...'Eastwood' has/had glass polishing stuff in their inventory. I haven't looked at their site for quite awhile, so this may be mute at best.

Good luck!

Bill
 
After everything I've read I've pretty much decided not to try to correct my SL windshield. I can just get a new windshield for 170$. I bet thats cheaper than the time it takes to fix it. That being said I'm looking forward to Tuscadora Daves post.
 
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