need glass deep scratch restoration tips.

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cudaspaz

cudaspaz

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I have some deep scratches I need to attempt to get out of my rear windshield glass.
I saw that stuff that summit racing is selling that whatever oxide stuff.

i watched a couple vid's on youtube and saw that alot of guys were using that oxide stuff and a buffing compound afterwards.
yep, I'm pretty clueless on this and need some advice.

I also understand that I probably won't be able to get the really deep one's out unless I have it professionally done.
 
The problem with doing that is sometimes it distorts the glass.I have scratches on my driver side door window ,but im just going to learn to live with them.
 
I learned the hard way that polishing pitting and scratches from a windshield was a waste of time and money. It can make the glass look great from outside the car.
Polishing scratches from side or rear glass is practical.
 
for the mirrors and windshield of my off road vehicle i use newspaper as the ink in newspaper polishes glass. Problem is that it is only good for minor scratching.

but. It is worth a try as it is a cheap attempt.
 
Yeah it's the rear w/s so not a real problem even if vision is waffly looking.

I just want to be able to see cars out of it.
 
I called my glass shop a couple of weeks ago as I have a few wiper scratches on my windshield. He said they don't polish them any more due to liability issues. He also said many times it distorts the glass. Since yours is the rear window, maybe a glass shop would do it?

I'm also interested in alternative ideas.......
 
Check out some of the vids on youtube for glass restoration.

They sell some "do it all" kits with pretty elaborate contents.

Some guys have two or three part systems.

One guy did some really hideous "poorly restored from someone else" wiper scratches on a 1960 convertible, I think and an aston martin and it turned out really clear inside and out.

One guy had to use a really elaborate water injected polisher to get out a deep scratch on a 70 camaro side glass.

Dunno, maybe someone can chime in that has done this before.
 
Eastwood has a couple of kits. One for major scratches and one for minor scratches.
 
You know I'm skeptical of the distortion issue, all glass has distortion certain angles will show you (like low rolling waves, or in certain areas of the glass... curves and such). But from the glass that I have polished to get scratches and scuffs I've never seen or noticed any issues to doing so, and neither have my customers.
 
J.Roz' said:
You know I'm skeptical of the distortion issue, all glass has distortion certain angles will show you (like low rolling waves, or in certain areas of the glass... curves and such). But from the glass that I have polished to get scratches and scuffs I've never seen or noticed any issues to doing so, and neither have my customers.
Click to expand...

Okay, care to contribute some assistance with advice on what to use?
 
Rear? If it is just dirt;3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup ammonia,2 tbs hydrogen peroxide. Newspaper. The cup will clean vinyl too.
 
Dustermaniac was using the oxide stuff to do his windows.I think he was happy with the results but probably only good for light scratches.Mine is scratched up too,don't know why,it's only 43 years old. :-D
 
Mine served as a workbench in a barn for 15 years.

When I looked at the car it was covered with heavy wood planks, pain cans, ladders and other stuff.

The rear windshield took a beating.

I replaced the front one it was just as bad if not worse.
 
I used a paste made from Cerium Oxide and water I mixed the Cerium Oxide into a paste with a very little bit of water and then cleaned the window before I applied the paste to the glass. I used a small wax applicator pad to slowly buff out the scratches. It turned out really good. i am not sure of how it would work on deep scratches but it's worth a shot. Cerium oxide is a polish used by jewelers to polish fine stones. Link to thread with pictures:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=78749&highlight=scratches+glass
 
I agree with Dustermanic. But the important issues are #1 If the scratches are deep, forget it and just replace the glass . #2 I recommend if you decide to do it, do it by hand, do not use a buffing wheel. Good luck.
 
Great info being added to this thread. Thanks for the link dustermaniac which I was already subscribed to LOL. Sometimes the builds take so long that we forget stuff we've already been told :toothy10:

J.Roz' said:
You know I'm skeptical of the distortion issue, all glass has distortion certain angles will show you (like low rolling waves, or in certain areas of the glass... curves and such). But from the glass that I have polished to get scratches and scuffs I've never seen or noticed any issues to doing so, and neither have my customers.
Click to expand...

I would love to hear more input on this from you as to the methods or products used. The glass guy I called has been in the biz 25+ years, but classic cars are not his specialty....

Thx for any add'l help you can provide and WELCOME to FABO :cheers:
 
We used to call in specialist to our aircraft shop to buff out windshields. Granted, aircraft windshields were either lexan or plexiglass. In either event, they used a diamond paste to buff out the scratches.

The thing they looked at was how much material would be left after buffing. We had minimum thicknesses for each windshield. The company knew how much their process would remove and had the ability to gauge thickness before they began.

My 2¢ worth: I am a fan of Eastwood's buffing products. I would not hesitate to use them on side or rear glass. If I'm going to drive the car on the highway, I want the strongest windshield I can get. I do not think that buffing out deep scratches on a windshield is the way to go.
 
Yeah I mean I should clarify, with laminated glass depending on the depth of the scratch if you were to buff it out, it could cause a spot of distortion (depending on how much and how "deep" you buff and polish, but I'd say it'd have to be deep). With tempered glass I'd say good luck. In my experience it's been very tough to get tempered glass cleaned up. But I know that you could use a glass clay to clean up the glass and pick up a lot of grime and other debris from the surface. I use a soft compound at work to get light scratches and scuffs from glass. SOMACA makes the product its a "rare earth mineral" compound, it looks like a fine pinkish powder. I use a firm buffing wheel on my drill and go to town. Little water for lubrication and it's good to go. Works pretty well. Another place to check out some other products including glass is Griot's Garage. I've got the glass clay and other sprays from them.

With the rubbing compounds I get them through work, but I would imagine that you could find the stuff online or at a local glass shop.

Sorry for the ultra long post, hope it makes sense... worn out from work.
 
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