Removing Wiper Abrasions from Windshield Glass

Polish the scratches out with jewelers' rouge and a buffing wheel. This might take a while, if the scratches are deep.

Have you tried something like Rain X? It might fill those scratches enough to improve visibility. Worth a try........easier than buffing.

Yes, I routinely use Rain-X on windshields and that doesn't seem to help in this case. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I see you're in Wake Forest..........from the sounds of things, your scratches might be filled with ice by tomorrow. I'm down in Garner.

If these scratches are fairly deep, I've had limited success playing around with clear fingernail polish, applied and then wiped with acetone while still wet. Maybe check the parts stores, there might be some products out that we haven't heard of.

The only reason I'm steering away from buffing, is because I can completely see myself trying that, and rendering my windshield way worse than when I started.

This company provides supplies for the fenestration and auto industries. You can find the abrasives and tools needed to remove scratches from glass. Generally we use a pad on a drill with an aluminum oxide abrasive to remove the scratches. The abrasive is very fine grit comes as dry power. You just mix it with water.

http://www.crlaurence.com/default.aspx

You need to take care in what you are doing. You could make it worst then it is with these products. One grain of sand on the pad can leave one heck of a swirl on the glass. The abrasive needs to be kept wet or can cause swirls in the glass.

Not knowing how bad the scratches are have you tried some of the glass scratch removal compounds from the local auto parts store?

Good reference and advice! Thanks.

Addendum to that last reply--the local auto parts stores here don't seem to have anything for glass, just paint products.

OK, GA, maybe if it works on the DIY level. hope to hear from someone who tries it. but how much is a new windshield? alwase $1 below the deductable but YMMV, i alwase find a new one is one of the biggest upgrade per $ you can do for driving enjoyment

For anybody that has done this: do you ever get distortion due to uneven buffing / polishing?

How do you avoid that?

How annoying is that? Will state inspection stations reject windshields based on such distortion?

This process is to remove light scratches. If the scratches are that heavy that you would need to polish it down until you cause distortion in the glass. You would be better to replace the glass. As you will be polishing for quite a while. Its a very fine abrasive.

Thanks!

I guess "jeweler's rouge" and "buffer" (presumably powered) worried me. I'd still be cautious--try it on a scrap piece of glass first...

"-try it on a scrap piece of glass first..."

Or the neighbor's windshield, when he's not around.

There was a company advertising on TV for awhile that claimed to be able to repair cracks and I believe scratches. But, I have not seen this on for a long time. I think their name was Safe Auto or something like that.

Over the years the only way I have ever repaired one of these is to but in new.

There is a liquid suspension polish called Glass Wax. I haven't seen it in a while, but it comes in a pink can (like an acetone or mineral spirits can). I've had the same can for years, still works great.

Does your insurance cover it? Or maybe it covers breakage...
Del

We're downwind from a volcano here, get abrasive dust regularly. If you don't gently rinse the dust off your windshield, you get permanent scratches from your wipers. Folks in rental cars will just hit the washer/wiper and ruin the windshield in a few seconds.

I've got a similar problem, but its with my aquarium tank. I'm using bore well water and the water is rather hard and leaves a salt deposit at the water edges. Cleaning the tank, I find abrasions at the water level in the tank. Can anything be done about the abrasions?

I use turtle wax compound and a buffer on motorcycle windshields to remove scratches works well, no distortion in the relatively soft plastic but if I can get a finger nail to catch scratch I would not try to abrade it out-fill it. One idea call a couple of the windshield repair companies ask what they use on scratches. I always wax both sides of glass on my vehicles makes easy to clean without scratching and helps you from using that pesky window defogger inside your car too. Good luck, T

... Sleazy and unethical though that may be. I have no interest in paying for this guy's windshield, which is what you propose. Insurance fraud costs us all more in higher premiums.

You seriously forget the safety point, it will cost "EVERYONE" a lot more if with his damaged screen he runs someone down because he never saw them!!!!

I once saw a program that reckoned every car accident where someone got killed, can eventually cost around $0.5 million, if EVERY single cost was added in.....not just the ones the insurance has to pay for....hospitals, mortuaries, ambulances, cost of holding up the traffic, burial, loss of wages, selling a property, wasted fuel, police's time etc etc etc....sadly I have forgotten the fine details it was sometime ago....but I am sure you get the gist....

Insurance companies are still in the insurance business, if it was so bad, they could pull out. I wonder why they don't?

This was recently posted on CR4, look at the first line of this blog!!

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/15449/Free-PDF-on-Cost-of-Occupational-Fatalities?frmtrk=CR4digest

First line:-

"From 1992–2001, there were 51,684 civilian workers who died from injuries sustained while working in the U.S., generating a total societal cost of just over $43 billion (Table 1)."

Get my point? over US$ 831,000 per death!!!!! And I bet many of these did not involve vehicles at all........thats what dying costs in this day and age!

The cost of a windscreen paid for by the insurance company is a small price to pay ANY way you look at it!!

Even if an accidental death only costed one hundreth of this at US$ 8,310 it would still be VERY cheap to get the insurance to pay for a screen!!!!

Just replace the screen. Less hassle, less chance of turning into afternoon sunlight, or oncoming headlights at dusk, only to find you've rendered the whole screen nearly opaque. Not a situation you want to find yourself in. :(

Try using the metal cleaning product Never Dull. It cleans the grime off really well and may even polish out some of the scratches.

Im sure it is cheaper elsewhere, but Mcmaster has cerium oxide:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#glass-polish/=ajko86

Cerium Oxide works well because it has the same IEP as glass and doesn'

t allow the small particles to redeposit on the freshly removed glass.

Hello all!! I admire the DIY attitude but if it's that bad, check with your insurance. They should cover one free windshield replacement per year. You might have to take it somewhere but alot of times you can find a mobile authorized vendor that will come to you.

So, help me with IEP--the only google suggestion seems to be "Individualized Education Plan"?

I live in New Mexico where road driving results in the same effect one would get if he took his vehicle to a sand-blasting shop and had the windshield lightly blasted. The only difference is that the natural blasting takes a year or two to make the glass difficult to see through in the light of on-coming vehicles or the sun, In addition, the pitted surface eats up wiper blades quickly so they have to be replaced at least yearly.

I have chosen to have new windshields installed about every two years. At $160 each for my two Chevy trucks, I think it is better than trying to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"

Cerium oxide can be bought from manchester minerals, just google the same and find what you want, they will accept pay-pal and post to anywhere on the planet!

You will also need an old felt hat or jewellers buff, mix the cerium oxide with a bit of water,enough to make a sloppy paste and rub it over the scratches for about ten minutes.

Xanasax

An old friend of mine, retired bodyman, polished out some pretty nasty scratches and wiper scratches with a body polishing buffer using a new buffer pad and chrome polish. Did a fantastic job.

Try Bon Ami cleansing powder. The finer grain one you want is good for cleaning mineral scum from glass and reportedly removes fine scratches.

Good Luck

BBRT

I've seen kits for polishing glass advertised in antique auto literature. Never used it though.

NAPA sells a product from Dura Gloss called New Glass-755. It can be used by hand, or with a powered buffer that one would use on painted surfaces. Just make sure to go slow and keep moving. It will heat up very fast, and might crack if you work rust one spot.

Bon-Ami cleanser is made from egg shells I am told, and will not harm glass like most cleansers will.

Try this:

Use a soft felt or foam pad on a drill or buffer, and apply a small amount of toothpaste to the foam.Use this to buff out the scratches.Wipe frequently and check results.When finished, wipe with a damp rag.This method works very well on dull headlights, as well.

It also works well on scratches on CD and DVDs, but use manual buffing instead, with a cotton ball or soft cloth.Rinse and see the difference.

You can buy a commercial product, but toothpaste works just as well.Use the cheapest toothpaste you can find.

Something I have discovered about rainex is it leaves a film that must be removed periodically, because it turns milky when going into the sun in the morning,when the windshield is cold.The heat from the defrost will clear it up,but the best way is to use a citrus cleaner with NO ABRASIVE to remove it.Citrus hand cleaner works well, but you have to search diligently to find it without pumice.

Just thought you'd like to know that the abrasive used in most toothpastes is pumice. (However a much finer grade than found in hand cleaners.)

Cheers !!

Some also use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda),which is very gentle, and only effective in a paste state.Too much liquid and it dissolves.Baking soda alone is also very effective if properly mixed with water and a little alcohol to speed drying.

As an added bonus, it may help prevent decay.