Window Scratch
- Thread starter WG1
- Start date
David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
WG1 said:
Nope - Nothing you can do. It takes a special machine to *remove scratches* from glass. Check this out:
glass scratch removal
sure there is:
Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating
but be carefull as you will be removing glass
and if you remove too much it can distort the
optical quality of the glass
Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating
but be carefull as you will be removing glass
and if you remove too much it can distort the
optical quality of the glass
LeadingEdgeDetail
New member
Glass polishing head on a drill with Cerum Oxide polishing compound will remove all but the deepest scratches.
A little support for the kit from Eastwood. I got the same kit from JC Whitney a couple of years ago and used it on the wife's Camaro windshield. It had nasty scrapes on the driver's side from wiper damage.
The cerium oxide and a power drill and the included mandrell removed the scratches completely without any apparent distortion. I have enough stuff left over to do windshields for the rest of my life too, so the 30 - 35 bucks for the kit amortises well. Cerium oxide is used in the astronomy field to polish telescope lenses so its made for glass so there are no worries in that department.
The only consideration was that it took quite a while to polish out the scratches but it worked and slow progress was noticed.
Get one of those kits, give it a try. If worse comes to worse, you can always get a new windshield as a second option.
-John C.
The cerium oxide and a power drill and the included mandrell removed the scratches completely without any apparent distortion. I have enough stuff left over to do windshields for the rest of my life too, so the 30 - 35 bucks for the kit amortises well. Cerium oxide is used in the astronomy field to polish telescope lenses so its made for glass so there are no worries in that department.
The only consideration was that it took quite a while to polish out the scratches but it worked and slow progress was noticed.
Get one of those kits, give it a try. If worse comes to worse, you can always get a new windshield as a second option.
-John C.
WG1 said:
Use a corded drill, not a rechargeable, the rechargeables don't last long enough.
Make a slurry with the cerium oxide and water and polish with that. Every 5 - 10 min, or when you get bored silly, clean the mess off with a rag and check your progress. At this point you'll notice slight progress at the ends/edges of your work. Add fresh slurry and have another go. Repeat.
It took 45 min - 1.5 hr to do the large arcs on the Camaro.
Feather the work out a bit as you go along, logic says this'll make any 'distortions' disappear. Frankly, I have eyes like a hawk and I couldn't see any distortions at all whenever I drove the Camaro afterwards and I kept looking for optical aberations and just coudn't find any.
Final tip - don't give up early.
Oops, a real final tip - supposedly the cerium oxide is ever so slightly radioactive, sort of like the glow in the dark watches of years ago, so when you're done, don't store the container in your pocket.
It hasn't hurt any astronomers so far, Carl Sagan is doing just fine.
-John C.
JohnZ3MC said:Final tip - don't give up early.
Oops, a real final tip - supposedly the cerium oxide is ever so slightly radioactive, sort of like the glow in the dark watches of years ago, so when you're done, don't store the container in your pocket.
It hasn't hurt any astronomers so far, Carl Sagan is doing just fine.
-John C.
And dont inhale the dust!! I'm guessing it is alpha or beta radiation so it will be blocked by almost anything but once it enters your body it is toxic in the right amount.
David posted this link before, it looks at least superior to the Eastwood kit... http://www.gtglass.com/scratchremoval.htm . He did say that his friend with the professional kit even took a long time to take out regular marring.
JohnZ3MC said:Use a corded drill, not a rechargeable, the rechargeables don't last long enough.
Make a slurry with the cerium oxide and water and polish with that. Every 5 - 10 min, or when you get bored silly, clean the mess off with a rag and check your progress. At this point you'll notice slight progress at the ends/edges of your work. Add fresh slurry and have another go. Repeat.
It took 45 min - 1.5 hr to do the large arcs on the Camaro.
Feather the work out a bit as you go along, logic says this'll make any 'distortions' disappear. Frankly, I have eyes like a hawk and I couldn't see any distortions at all whenever I drove the Camaro afterwards and I kept looking for optical aberations and just coudn't find any.
Final tip - don't give up early.
Oops, a real final tip - supposedly the cerium oxide is ever so slightly radioactive, sort of like the glow in the dark watches of years ago, so when you're done, don't store the container in your pocket.
It hasn't hurt any astronomers so far, Carl Sagan is doing just fine.
-John C.
That depends on what you mean by "doing just fine"; as Mr. Sagan passed away over a decade ago, he might see it differently.:think:
sixty7mustang22
New member
JohnZ3MC said:Use a corded drill, not a rechargeable, the rechargeables don't last long enough.
Make a slurry with the cerium oxide and water and polish with that. Every 5 - 10 min, or when you get bored silly, clean the mess off with a rag and check your progress. At this point you'll notice slight progress at the ends/edges of your work. Add fresh slurry and have another go. Repeat.
It took 45 min - 1.5 hr to do the large arcs on the Camaro.
Feather the work out a bit as you go along, logic says this'll make any 'distortions' disappear. Frankly, I have eyes like a hawk and I couldn't see any distortions at all whenever I drove the Camaro afterwards and I kept looking for optical aberations and just coudn't find any.
Final tip - don't give up early.
Oops, a real final tip - supposedly the cerium oxide is ever so slightly radioactive, sort of like the glow in the dark watches of years ago, so when you're done, don't store the container in your pocket.
It hasn't hurt any astronomers so far, Carl Sagan is doing just fine.
-John C.
Thanks for the tip.
One thing though. I had a horrible time keeping the pad from jumping across the window instead of gliding. Any tips?
David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
BigJimZ28 said:
I spoke to my friend today about removing scratches on glass. He explained that for actual scratches in glass, an open wheeled polisher (like the one pictured) can remove minor to medium scratches on some glass, but because it is worked by hand(like a rotary), it will leave optical imperfections/marring on glass that won't be removed. If you use a close wheeled buffer (suction type with internally fed serum), it allows you to work out the damage(feathers away) and the marring created in the initial removal step more precisely. He also said that when people use these do-it-yourself kits, they end up screwing up their glass and causing deeper marring that they can't figure out how to remove. Like paint, glass takes many hours/weeks/months to understand the process of repairing it. It's not for the do-it-yourselfer. My friend has been doing it for almost 20 years and travels the country repairing expensive peices of glass and fixing other *professional* glass repairer's work. He's actually builds his own machinery that he claims cuts circles around the Glass Hog in a fraction of the time. Just be careful what ever you do.
percynjpn said:
Sorry Percynjpn, I was indulging in a bit of hyperbole there and I was saddened by his passing. I admired him for his work in popularising astronomy within the lay community and even now, after all these years, I'll use his 'billions and billions of ......' line and give a silent tip of the hat his way. He had a way of explaining complex ideas to simple guys like me and that's a gift few academics have.
Hyperbole, sometimes rampant.
David F. - good counsel from your friend and it's important to keep his words in mind. He's had a ton more experience with glass than I've had and if I've learned anything, I've learned it's wise to listen when a professional speaks.
Thanks again for sharing. I love Autopia.
-John C.