Polishing Glass?

[#41]

I'm looking to save a windshield that has wiper scratches in it. I will also try it on a wagon back glass if it goes well. Looking around, it seems like it is possible to polish these out.

I'm wondering if anyone here has done it before, is their is a kit or product you used that did the job? Any feedback of your personal experience appreciated.

 

[gtx6970]

If you can feel the scratch, It aint coming out without lots of specialized sanding . And then it will be wavy

Buy a new windshield

 

[w.Hudson]

I polished a door glass with jeweler's rouge. It had very light scratches.

It wasn't easy.

 

[Davefinan]

As far as I know, no one has come up with a solution for that. I wish they would ….im in the same boat.

 

[#41]

To clarify, these are wiper BLADE scratches. Very light, visible, ... you can't feel them. You really can't even see them from inside the car and don't obstruct vision from the inside but are visible looking at the car from the outside.

 

[qkcuda]

I'll be watching as I have similar scratches on the drivers side of the windshield.

 

[Gripper]

Eastwood makes a kit

 

[Photon440]

This guy used sandpaper on a Superbird window. Great results.

 

[Davefinan]

To clarify, these are wiper BLADE scratches. Very light, visible, ... you can't feel them. You really can't even see them from inside the car and don't obstruct vision from the inside but are visible looking at the car from the outside.

Most of the glass polishes will say on the label…..they won’t work on scratches your fingernail will catch on as you drag it across the scratch

 

[#41]

I can Google search as good as anyone, but as we all know product makers claims cannot usually be taken for their word.

As stated in my question, I'm looking for feedback from somebody who has actually done it and what product was used.

 

[Davefinan]

I can Google search as good as anyone, but as we all know product makers claims cannot usually be taken for their word.

As stated in my question, I'm looking for feedback from somebody who has actually done it and what product was used.

This what I had successful with for very minor scratches

 

[jimbosride]

Saw this on YouTube the other day. Never tried it.

 

[gkent]

Been there, done that. Bought all the right stuff, spent more hours than I care to mention. Personaly wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

 

[GTXDAN]

You've got to compare the time and cost of materials and tools, to just buying a new glass. The guy doing the Superbird glass had 5 hrs. and who no's how much he had in cost for all those sanding pads and the polish. Might be a coin flip as to what to do.

 

[66/440]

Recently restored a pair of headlamp lenses that were cloudy and slightly pitted. Spent 6 to 8 hours with the correct tools and was about 85% successful. Be careful not to overheat the glass!!! If it is under tension in it's frame it is likely to crack from excessive heat. Don't know what you think your time is worth ( probably more than you estimate) but by the time you get the right equipment and spend the better part of a day fritzing with it all with no guarantee, the mobile glass polishing services with the industrial grade equipment seem to be a no brainer. AND they will tell you upfront if they can get the scratches out!

 

[#41]

This what I had successful with for very minor scratches

View attachment 1938804

May I ask... did you do the entire glass surface or just spot polishing? Can you tell at all where you polished and where you did not?

 

[gkent]

If all you're doing g is "polishing" you can do spots. If you do ANY sanding you have to feather it out. The deeper the scratch the bigger the area you have to sand and feather ... and it will still wave back at you!

 

[dadsbee]

Anyone remember the HOURS that I spent trying to polish my back glass for the Bee, as I took it as a challenge??!! It can be done, but your arms are gonna be SORE !!

 

[66/440]

As @gkent pointed out you can wet sand in multiple steps to make the process somewhat faster and you will need to feather the edges. I know 3M makes a sand paper for this purpose but it is not cheap and you need at least 3 grits to get you to the polishing step. Polishing with Cerium Oxide is the usual method for very minor issues. Remember, glass is very hard and you are going to be removing material from the edges to hide the scratches, so expect to spend quite a bit of time on the process. My headlight covers are very expensive to replace ($1k/pr) so I wanted to be conservative and take no chances. Would I do it again? IDK
Results made them better than they were but not to the level I would have liked. In retrospect I would probably spend the $200-$300 to have them professionally done or to be told upfront don't bother.
To answer your question, I polished the entire surface aprox 10" x 15"

 

[Davefinan]

May I ask... did you do the entire glass surface or just spot polishing? Can you tell at all where you polished and where you did not?

I did the whole windshield cuz it was lightly scratched all over. As people are saying here , it’s a lot of work. I personally don’t think you will be able to remove scratches from windshield wipers. Maybe if you are young enough and determined you can?