removing scratches from window

bracklough · Jan 22, 2013

Hi all, does any one know of a way to remove scratches from the front window screen please?. Thanks bracklough

lhu1281 · Jan 22, 2013

very light scratches will come out but anything that you can feel with your finger nail won`t .Frosts do a polishing kit but i`d just break it and claim on you cars windscreen cover

Honky · Jan 22, 2013

Ask diddymen, he's spent hours polishing his - then replaced it.

dog · Jan 22, 2013

Think diddymen did this, drop him a pm. I'm pretty sure it was more hassle than it was worth

dog · Jan 22, 2013

Beat me to it lol

MorkC68 · Jan 22, 2013

Have you tried jewellers rouge, I think this is used for watch glass etc, may work depending on scratch sizes

Diddymen · Jan 22, 2013

why did this post grab my attention ;D

Ask diddymen, he's spent hours polishing his - then replaced it.

.....and why did it not suprise me you'd pipe up : ;D .....fairly polite compared to what you normally say about my scratched window polishing ;D ;D ;D ;D

on a serious note though, yes I did spend hours attempting to polish out scratches .....its all documented in my resto thread .....some where! including pics

but to give you a brief summary...........

I bought a 3M winscreen scratch repair kit for about £30. it contained 2 pads to fit an electric drill, 2 course, 2 medium, 2 fine polishing disks to fit pads, 1 soft mop and some final liquid polish....and a small spray bottle for water

I tried it on a 1/4 light glass which had quite a few scratches (HorTs would say barely noticable ) some were light scratches, others were deeper which you could feel with your finger nail.

I started off with the course paper disk, the key is to use lots of water through out and keep the glass clean. In fact, clean the glass before you start and remove any weld spatter with may be stuck in the glass which will rip your expensive polishing disks (you can use a razor or stanly knife blade to remove weld spatter)

work the course disk over the scratch going over a larger area than the scratch its self......it will take down the surface of the glass and start to reduce the depth of the scratch........ the glass will become hazey with lots of fine scratches from the course disk. Make sure you completely remove the scratch in this process as the other grades just make the glass clear again after the initial 'polishing'...........this step could take about an hour or 2 for 1 scratch

next move to the medium grade pad and repeat the step above taking time to remove all the fine scratches you have just made, the glass should be evenley opaque now if you have done it right. This step will probably take another hour or so

then repeat above with the fine grade pad and the glass should start to become clear again....but not completely

then move onto the polishing liquid and fine buffing pad and repeat the above process until the glass is clear

when starting each new step go over a slightly bigger area than before, for eample if you start off on an area the size of a 50p you will probably end the last step going over the area of a tea plate

when using the disks, always start the drill off of the glass, and take it off the glass while spinning - dont start and stop the polising directly on the glass. Keep the pads flat on the glass also.

one of each grade pad will be needed per scratch (and they are not that cheap to buy replacement) so, as I found not particullarly cost effective on 1/4 light glass....or even the side windows.........especially if you have more than one scratch....which is why I replaced all mine in the end

if you have an expensive front heated screen then it might be a bit more cost effective - BUT! even if you dont ruin the window in the process, you will end up with a slight distortion/fish eye effect on the repaired area.

I spread the work on one 1/4 light glass over 2 days....it was a messy job and I will never get that time back ;D

It is not impossible though, even with the 'cheap kit' to get deep scratches out.......but if your scratches are only light (winscreen wiper marks) you should be able to improve it a lot by just using the fine disk and polishing liquid

sorry for the long post! hope this helps
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davedub · Jan 22, 2013

^^^^^^ excellent post. very informative.^^^^^^^^^

Zed · Jan 22, 2013

I'm just glad you kept to the brief summary.

brothernumberone · Jan 22, 2013

I'm just glad you kept to the brief summary.

;D
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Owen Snell · Jan 22, 2013

I bought the new seal and then my new screen was supplied and fitted for £120 (Strongy off e a r l y b a y), so hardly seems worth bodging the old one.

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removing scratches from window

bracklough

lhu1281

Honky Administrator

dog Tea Boy

dog Tea Boy

MorkC68 Administrator

Diddymen

davedub

Zed Gradually getting grumpier

brothernumberone

Owen Snell

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removing scratches from window

bracklough

lhu1281

Honky Administrator

dog Tea Boy

dog Tea Boy

MorkC68 Administrator

Diddymen

davedub

Zed Gradually getting grumpier

brothernumberone

Owen Snell

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