Window scratches in brand new 2009 Silverado

[JC PAINT WORKZ]

I have a 2009 Silverado I recently bought. I had something all over the window and I took a new razor blade with some foaming cleaner like I do all the time and started to clean the window. It was almost dark when I did this the other day and didnt see anything until the next day when I see bunch of scratches on my glass. Scratches enough to feel with a fingernail slightly. I dont understand what or why this would scratch my windows as I have done this to all my vehicles in the past and even some customers vehicles and never EVER had a scratch not a single scratch (least i could see with the eye).

I took it by a buddies shop which is connected to a auto glass place and he said it wouldnt polish out cause there was too many of them. I'm thinking he just didnt want to spend the time fixing it cause it would be so much better to sell me a new set of glass

anyways my question is will the Diamondite products work for my scratches. I dont have any pictures of them but imagine a ton of scratches from a razor blade that was in motion swiping up and down really fast to clean something off

if not is there anything else that would work besides replacing the glass?

 

[Timbob]

If there was contamination on the glass, it may have abraded the glass when you used the razor on it. Whenever I use a razor on glass, I make sure I've cleaned the glass extremely well so as to removed any possible abrasives.

As for repair, it would likely be cheaper to replace the glass than the labor cost for polishing. I could see spending an awful lot of time polishing and still not getting it 100%. A general rule is that if you can feel a glass scratch with your nail, it is too deep to remove. Two reasons:
1. It would take forever to polish the glass down to the depth of the scratch.
2. Polishing out that much glass WILL cause a visual distortion.

Therefore, scratches all over the glass means a tremendous amount of polishing all over the glass, with distortion all over the glass.

The Diamondite will repair minor defects, not scratches you can feel. That being said, if you are prepared to spend several hours on it, you might see some improvement.

Sadly, based on your description, replacement is your only option if you want it defect free.

 

[VR8]

I recently had a customer with mystery scratches on his windshield. It was a lease about to be turned in, so he needed to minimize the scratches if possible. They could be felt with your fingernail, so it sounds like a similar depth to what you're talking about JC. My typical attack on a windshield is a yellow CCS pad with Meguiar's #4 (Heavy Cut Cleaner). It's done wonders for some pretty stubborn water spots. As for the scratches though, it only lessened the look of them about 50%. The fingernail test is almost gone, but in the right light and at the right angle you can still see them. Here's hoping the lease turn-in guy at the dealership has poor eyesight.

I was curious myself about how much heat and pressure a windshield (or any glass for that matter) would take. Part of me wanted to pull out the rotary and see if more improvement could be had ... but I didn't want to experiment on a customers car. Anyone else use a rotary on glass?

 

[Lasthope05]

Use a 1:1 mixture of Cerium Oxide with a rotary and wool. Cerium Oxide is used in the glass industry as a polish. Make sure to tape and cover everything up as it gets really messy and slings everywhere.

A demonstration of what cerium oxide can do.
YouTube - Grinding and Polishing glass with Diamond Disks

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

. I had something all over the window and I took a new razor blade with some foaming cleaner like I do all the time and started to clean the window. It was almost dark when I did this the other day and didnt see anything until the next day when I see bunch of scratches on my glass.

Scratches enough to feel with a fingernail slightly.


will the Diamondite products work for my scratches.

if not is there anything else that would work besides replacing the glass?

I have not used this kit myself to remove scratches from glass but the website copy states it will remove scratches out of glass.


Diamondite® Glass Repair System Kit for Machine Application FREE DVD!


From the above link,

The Diamondite Glass Repair Kit targets more noticeable scratches than the Glasswork Kit. Larger, pyramid-shaped abrasives and specialized applicators give this kit more punch to tackle scratches and etchings that fine grade polishes can’t touch.

Sounds like it would be worth a try versus replacing the glass.

 

[rohnramirez]

I have tried wool on a makita, used 105, followed with orange 205.

I'm not sure if it's because of the type of glass you were used to working on. But there are two types of automotive glasses, tempered glass and laminated glass. I had a conversation with a glass expert a few years back regarding a project car, and he explained the difference, but for the life of me, i can't remember which one is more resistant to scratches. lol.

Automotive glass is way harder than powder coated or even vacuum painted panels. It will take more than a rotary on it's peak speed to heat it enough to get a reaction. But i personally haven't tried it, because i have never needed to. But i assure you it will not break when you work on even if it heats up.

We've also tried 2500 wetsanding then 3000 prior to using the rotary with better results. Just a word of caution, the glass will not react the same way as paint, so you can't get ALL of the scratches out if you sand too hard. It is best to use USED sandpapers. We used the same sandpapers that we used on wetsanding the painted panels.