Windscreen polishing?

[200Plus Club]

Is there any way you can get minor scratches or marks polished out of an older windscreen or is it a case of replacing it?
Looks like wiper blades parted company at some point and the metal blades scraped a nice semi circle into the screen. Can feel it with a fingernail just.

[RichB]

Yes, just google it. There's lots of advice and kits available with stuff like jewellers rouge.

[200Plus Club]

Ok cool I had rather presumed it might be a lost cause which would be a shame.

[RichB]

I've never done it but contemplated it for the same reason. There are various threads about it but some make it sound like hard work. I guess it depends on how deep the marks are.

Look up "removing scratches from windscreen"

[tortop45]

It can t be done successful. If you try one of thous polishes that claim to do it .it might look as if its gone but the first time you drive you car at night as soon as a car comes towards you with its light on where youve been polishing it will star .a bit like looking throu the bottom of a milk bottle.

[200Plus Club]

tortop45 said:

It can t be done successful. If you try one of thous polishes that claim to do it .it might look as if its gone but the first time you drive you car at night as soon as a car comes towards you with its light on where youve been polishing it will star .a bit like looking throu the bottom of a milk bottle.

Just read some similar comments from older threads

[200Plus Club]

In for a penny..having watched you tube I thought nowt to lose. Home made pumice of swarfega and poor boys medium compound polish. It's definitely reduced the scratches and marks using a rotary buffer. Left it for now until I can actually drive the thing at night !

[tapkaJohnD]

If you can feel the scratch with you fingernail, it's too deep to polish out.

And it's very hard work, even with the polishing mop in a powerful drill!

John

[aeropilot]

200Plus Club said:

tortop45 said:

It can t be done successful. If you try one of thous polishes that claim to do it .it might look as if its gone but the first time you drive you car at night as soon as a car comes towards you with its light on where youve been polishing it will star .a bit like looking throu the bottom of a milk bottle.

Just read some similar comments from older threads

Exactly.

I was told by a guy in the windscreen trade a few years back not to do it, as it creates more problems than it solves.

[200Plus Club]

tapkaJohnD said:

If you can feel the scratch with you fingernail, it's too deep to polish out.

And it's very hard work, even with the polishing mop in a powerful drill!

John

yes it was hard work even woith a proper rotary and a hard pad/medium compound. I've nothing to loose if the screen is hazy at night i will get a new screen anyway as the scratches are bugging my ocd part.

[9xxNick]

I have had success with polishing side windows which have been scratched by the up/down movement of the glass in the frame. As others have said though, it takes time and care to do the job properly.

[200Plus Club]

9xxNick said:

I have had success with polishing side windows which have been scratched by the up/down movement of the glass in the frame. As others have said though, it takes time and care to do the job properly.

What sort of paste / compound were you using out of interest?

[9xxNick]

The kit was from a company called Cetem Polishing Supplies and contained powdered pumice and cerium oxide powders. I'm not sure that the company is still trading but do an online search and you should be able to find suppliers of similar stuff. My kit was bought in about 1999 so a while ago now.

The kit came with pads and an arbor for use in a drill and required some care to get good results, but you could gradually work out scratches and restore a clear finish over an hour or three. The main thing to avoid was overworking a small area and creating a depression in the glass which would result in an optical distortion.

[200Plus Club]

Thanks for that. When I've time I'll probably revisit that Job!