Fixing scuffs / scratches in glass ?

[stan360]

Can anyone tell me if its possible to buff and clean out scratches in glass ? I got some quarter windows and one has a surprise. I did buy 2 sets , so what to do. One has a slight tint, the clear ones, I would rather use, but the scratch has to go or be lightened for me to not go crazy looking at it.

[Nicholasupton]

not had much success polishing glass, as i have done it on one of my restorations where we used all correctly date coded glass.  my advice if you want perfect glass, install new. 

[stan360]

That  is what I thought may be the case. Plastic is easy, this glass is another thing.

[stan360]

I suppose now too, I can wonder if using tinted quarters is out of place on the car?  The back glass has no tint. I cannot be sure if the 3 were tinted or just the quarters , or what. I just wanna put some windows in it and drive , ha

[MiniDave]

You could always do an aftermarket dark tint later on all the side and back glass.....that would make the scratch almost invisible.

There are a ton of vids on UTube that deal with removing scratches in glass, all of them seem to reqire a power buffer tho....

[Nicholasupton]

we found when polishing that if you can feel the scratch with a fingernail, there is almost nothing you can do to remove it. All the polishing did was remove the surface etching and light imperfections.  This was dun with an electric rotary polisher, Cerium Oxide, and felt polishing pad. Spent 8+ hours polishing both sides of all the glass for a car.

[stan360]

This scratch is light and I cannot feel it with fingernail .  I did buff some novus polish into it and lightened it some, but I am not sure what it will do if I try the cerium oxide, because easier for me to get another rather than spend an afternoon buffing it.  Although a few dollars for the small bottle may be worth a shot considering some slight luck I had  with the novus , to get it to look a bit better and maybe I can live with that.

[John Gervais]

What about filling it with some of the stone-chip repair stuff and then buffing it as if it was a repaired windshield?

[stan360]

I read that using clear nail polish can fill small scuffs and then you buff it off.  So that sort of thing is worth a try.  This scratch is not bad , not deep. Just right in the middle and long enough to make me grumpy

[stan360]

So , I was able to buff out the scuff in the glass almost 90% I would say.  I used some 0000 steel wool and Meguires Scratch X.  Did this a few times and it looks to be almost gone. Maybe I can do it a couple more times and get even better result. But its good and I can live with it.


Edit, did another buff. I can't see it unless I stare at the right angle in just the right light, and barely then . what a mess to worry about. Buy glass, ship from UK, surprise.  Not easy to ship back , and pricey to get here in the first place.

[John Gervais]

Happy to hear that it worked out!

[stan360]

that worked out, but when I tried to install the window, i dropped it on the side of the car and scratched the hell out of it.  I think it needs some pro paint work. Always something.

[MiniDave]

Oh no! A year in your garage and 4 months in my shop without a mark, and now this!   :-[   Maybe you should wait till you're all done with the heavy lifting before you paint it again, just in case?

[stan360]

Dan is gonna get me fixed me up. We are working out details. I feel so stupid . My whole week ugh

[94touring]

Funny thing is I'll remove and reinstall the window to respray that panel. 

[stan360]

I give up after the disaster and so they are off.  Dan, I will let you have the honors of putting these on. Ha