Glass Polish

[Dodgepu360]

Does anyone have any experience polishing automotive glass?

I recently bought a used truck and the drivers window is pretty scratched not bad enough to feel it but you can see it. I'm guessing it was rolled up and down dirty a lot previously.

Any recommendations on which polish to get?

 

[lyonkster]

I've been very happy with Griot's Fine Glass Polish 11017.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

I tried to polish a windshield that had wiper scathes, more of a cloudy that you couldn't catch a fingernail on.
I spent about 4 hours using a cerium oxide kit, I was disappointed with the result, it didn't look any different.
It could have been the loose nut behind the wheel.

https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Polishing-Windshield-Scratch-Gordon/dp/B083778RJX/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Doing what I do, I've used a lot of 3M 61009. That is an industrial size though so likely too much and too expensive for the average home user. Anything with cerium oxide will work. Keep in mind if you can catch your fingernail on a scratch, you can't buff that out, but for swirls and micro scratches, cerium oxide based polishes work decent. If your glass is gnarly, really hazed, it takes a bit of time to get the haze out. And again, if a scratch is deep enough to catch with your nail it's not going to come out.

For it to be effective and for it not to take days, you need to use a machine, i.e. a DA or rotary polisher to apply it. Doing it by hand is a lost cause IMO. Rotary will get you there quicker and will cut better.


I have saved a few pieces of glass by sanding on the DA with progressively finer grits finishing with 3M 8000 grit Trizac then using the cerium oxide, but that is not something I'd recommend the average guy do. This was for glass that was NLA or thousands of dollars and no other real option to replace.

​

 

[jshillin]

I've used several and the only thing I've had good luck with is Ceriglass and the pads from CarPro. It works a lot better with a rotary, a DA takes forever.

Automotive Glass Cleaners | Car Glass Cleaning Products

Keep your windows and windshield crystal clear with our automotive glass cleaners. We have polish, erasers, windshield coatings, and more. Browse today!

www.carpro-us.com

 

[BurtEggley]

going to sound strange but we recently had some hazy glass in the shower I wanted to clean up. It gets wiped down after each use so it was not something that wanted to come off. I used all purpose 409 on it, with a microfiber towel, followed by a good rinse, and a dry down with a terry cloth towel. It cut the haze right off. I then hit it with some glass cleaner and a fresh towel and it was really clear again. I only tried it because it was the only thing that worked safely on the acrylic shower pan to remove surface contaminates . Do not let it dry in the sun. If the windshield is sand pitted, then the best solution is a new windshield. Just don't do like I did once and get a rock into the windshield less than 24 hours after replacing it.

 

[larry4406]

I have saved the following bookmarks regarding glass polishing over the years for my one day car project. The poster's experience was positive. Maybe there are some useful tidbits for you.

Glass Restoration

I don't see much on this forum about glass restoration, so though I'd post up my experience to provide others with hope . . . or dismay, depending on your personality.So we've all seen or spoken to someone who has used cerium oxide, likely in an Eastwood kit. I was warned by many that if I...

board.moparts.org

Olsen Spec Projects

Not boring for us, we would like to see the diagnostic stuff as much as the cool restoration jobs 😉 I will see what I can do! Hard to do pictures and tell a story! Thank you, and I completely understand and agree with having the right stuff to do the job. Fortunately, I have a very...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[CJ7VFR]

When I was younger we always used a small amount of regular toothpaste on a wet rag to buff off the scratches you could not get your fingernail stuck in on glass.

Buff in a circular motion until the toothpaste is gone and then wipe off any residue with a clean cloth and Windex.

I don't know if this method would work on new glass or not, but maybe try it in a small spot and see.

Jim

 

[Fav Onefour]

Do these scratches pass the fingernail test?
I've dealt with window scratches from grit on the gaskets. They were usually deep enough to catch with fingernail tests.

Buffing out deeper scratches is not an easy task even if it's doable.
How common is this vehicle? It would probably be less work to get windows from a salvage yard and replace the units.

One of my early jobs was a peon in a glass factory. I spent days at a buffer when they ran out of other work. We're talking about a big industrial floor mounted buffer and gobs of buffing compound. It didn't take me long to know which pieces were not worth the effort.
Glass scratches glass easily and those are typically light surface rubs. Metal rub scratches are often residue on the glass. If it's grit scratches, they can be much deeper. After awhile, they even start to cause microfractures in the glass.

@Dodgepu360 , Can you post closeup pictures of the scratches? It would work best to clean the area and do 40-60 degree side angle shots. I also recommend doing a fingernail test. It's a good tool to verify if they are truly not deep. I'm guessing they are deeper than you realize.

 

[Dodgepu360]

Here's a couple pictures of want I am going to try to fix. I can't catch my finger nail on anything. It was raining here this morning and I noticed that when wet I don't see the scratches. I'm not shooting for a perfect crystal clear window but I want to be able to better see out of it.

 

[BurtEggley]

if the window has a metallic low-e coating on it, it is possible some of it has worn away from debris on the scrapers.

 

[PinkyP22]

Have you got the right answer, or are you still looking for the answer?

 

[Fav Onefour]

if the window has a metallic low-e coating on it, it is possible some of it has worn away from debris on the scrapers.

It is discolored like low E coatings look when damaged. I was not aware those coatings were applied to the outside of glass. They are not that durable.

@Dodgepu360 , The pictures help and again they do not help. Those do not look like typical scratches. It would be rare to have them go across with so many lines. There is considerable coloring in the areas with the most obvious marks. Is it possible the glass is coated?

 

[no704]

Just replace the glass. Look on rock auto etc. you will spend more on the polishing compound than a new glass.
Get new wipers too!

 

[M.Brane]

I have a similar issue. Looks like some fine silica sand got into the lower window seal, and scratched the glass. Barkeeper's Friend got a lot of it. Next step is to try some Bon Ami. I figure it's worth a bit of time vs finding a good replacement.