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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Glass polishing
Posted by: bbrock May 15 2018, 09:12 AM
The last thread I found on this topic is almost 10 years old so thought it would be worth revisiting. I bought a set of tinted side glass that looks pretty good but has a patina of minor pits, scratches and scale you might expect from 50 year old glass. They'll need to be polished before I can use them. Anyone done this or have any suggestions or tips? There are lots of YouTube videos and other sources that make it look easy, but it's always nice to get help from people you trust and aren't trying to sell you something.
Thanks 
Posted by: jmitro May 15 2018, 09:17 AM
I bought the glass polishing kit from 914 rubber. Haven't used it yet but I expect it will work well.
Posted by: McMark May 15 2018, 10:53 AM
I bought a few hundred dollars worth of polishing supplies to try and fix some side windows. I didn't have any luck getting the long vertical scratches out. They were just too deep. Hope you have better luck.
Posted by: The Cabinetmaker May 15 2018, 11:13 AM
If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail, it will not polish out!
Posted by: mihai914 May 15 2018, 11:13 AM
I asked a glass shop a few years back and they said that if your nail catches through the scratch, there is nothing to be done.
Posted by: bbrock May 15 2018, 12:02 PM
Well you guys are bumming me out 
I'm guessing mine will be a mixed bag. The windows are covered with permanent water spots that give the whole glass a haze. I assume polishing will remove that and this alone will make the windows a big improvement over my deeply scratched and clear originals. Almost all of the scratches are from glass sliding against gritty or worn seals so will be hidden behind seals when the windows are up. Some are probably deep enough they won't come out, but most don't catch a nail. The passenger side has some pitting from someone grinding metal too close to the unprotected glass. I was able to clean the slag out easily with a razor blade and what is left looks like typical road rash on an old windshield. Hopefully, the majority of those can polish out but I doubt I'll get 100%.
Posted by: McMark May 15 2018, 01:32 PM
Before you get into polishing for water spots, try 00 steel wool and glass cleaner. Takes some pressure, but that's my go-to technique for cleaning glass. It seems counter-intuitive, but the steel wool won't scratch the glass.
Posted by: bbrock May 15 2018, 03:50 PM
Before you get into polishing for water spots, try 00 steel wool and glass cleaner. Takes some pressure, but that's my go-to technique for cleaning glass. It seems counter-intuitive, but the steel wool won't scratch the glass.
Cool! I saw that tip on YouTube but wanted to do a bit more research before trying it. I'll still probably have to polish for the other stuff, but it's worth trying the steel wool first to see how far that gets it.
Posted by: Dougster May 15 2018, 03:55 PM
Before you get into polishing for water spots, try 00 steel wool and glass cleaner. Takes some pressure, but that's my go-to technique for cleaning glass. It seems counter-intuitive, but the steel wool won't scratch the glass.
Before you get into polishing for water spots, try 00 steel wool and glass cleaner. Takes some pressure, but that's my go-to technique for cleaning glass. It seems counter-intuitive, but the steel wool won't scratch the glass.
Cool! I saw that tip on YouTube but wanted to do a bit more research before trying it. I'll still probably have to polish for the other stuff, but it's worth trying the steel wool first to see how far that gets it.
You guys sure that's "00" steel wool and not "0000" steel wool? I saw a video with this subject too some time back and I thought it was "0000". I'll look for it again when I get a chance, but there is going to be some difference in the two and one of them may cause more damage than it fixes.
Posted by: wes May 15 2018, 04:43 PM
I wouldn’t use any steel wool! Try cerium powder mixture w/water and a buffer. You can goggle it you’ll find a number of companies with kits and it works if not badly scratched. Now if deep enough to feel with your finger nail it’s not likely to work without altering the thickness of the glass and distortion would show. Steel wool may lightly scratch to a point that night driving could give you that glaring afect from on coming lights.
Posted by: rgalla9146 May 15 2018, 04:50 PM
Windshields ? no problem.
Side glass...no way. Very different glass properties
I have early tinted side glass with areas of scratches.
I've spent hours attempting to remove these blemishes with a firm polishing head on
a polisher /sander machine.
I used a kit that included rare earth , instructions and a proper polishing wheel.
Maybe it can be done but no luck for me.
Seek professional help.
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Posted by: Big Len May 15 2018, 05:31 PM
Try Colgate toothpaste first.
Posted by: Mike1981 May 15 2018, 05:32 PM
Hello
I have 3 windshield wiper scratches on my windshield
I bought Cerium Oxide Polishing Powder and a small buffing wheel.
I have not been able to try it but was told a slurry of this/paste plus high RPM may help reduce the scratches.
hope this helps
This is a kit I should have bought...
https://www.banggood.com/Glass-Polishing-Kit-Scratch-Removal-Cerium-Oxide-Polishing-Powder-Polishing-Pad-And-Wheel-p-1113636.html?gmcCountry=US¤cy=USD&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_elc&utm_content=frank&utm_campaign=pla-a-m-us-pc-0404& amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwiurXBRAnEiwAk2GFZgpqrXM8R8Wm6PjX4yh6VLDpI9ce81pvVKKJvxN6GF5rVj
UhzOs9-RoCGCMQAvD_BwE&cur_warehouse=CN
Good luck
Posted by: tmc914 May 15 2018, 06:11 PM
Try Colgate toothpaste first.
The Colgate toothpaste works wonders on plastic headlights, not sure how it works on glass.
Posted by: worn May 15 2018, 08:47 PM
The last thread I found on this topic is almost 10 years old so thought it would be worth revisiting. I bought a set of tinted side glass that looks pretty good but has a patina of minor pits, scratches and scale you might expect from 50 year old glass. They'll need to be polished before I can use them. Anyone done this or have any suggestions or tips? There are lots of YouTube videos and other sources that make it look easy, but it's always nice to get help from people you trust and aren't trying to sell you something.
Thanks
They are I think all cerium oxide and a hard felt buff. Given patience they will drill through the glass in a couple decades. Really good for haze or chemical film. Not so good a t scratches. If you started with diamond grit and worked your way through the mesh sizes evenly then even pretty deep scratches would come out. But these are the final step, so material removal is slow. On the plus side, the finish they do produce is pretty nice.
Posted by: McMark May 16 2018, 10:32 AM
Whoa!
That's a strongly emphasized statement for something you obviously haven't tried. I have probably over 100 hours of scrubbing glass with steel wool. And you know why I keep doing it? Cause it f-ing works... 
In fact, I don't even KNOW my steel wool is 00. I have 00, 000, 0000 and I grab whichever one I find first.Ya'll wanna run all over ordering crazy compounds and complicated procedures in order to 'avoid the danger of steel wool', be my guest. I'll stick to what's cheap, easy and works.
Posted by: wes May 16 2018, 11:07 AM
Whoa!
That's a strongly emphasized statement for something you obviously haven't tried. I have probably over 100 hours of scrubbing glass with steel wool. And you know why I keep doing it? Cause it f-ing works... In fact, I don't even KNOW my steel wool is 00. I have 00, 000, 0000 and I grab whichever one I find first.Ya'll wanna run all over ordering crazy compounds and complicated procedures in order to 'avoid the danger of steel wool', be my guest. I'll stick to what's cheap, easy and works.
Sorry Mark surly didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers! My experience years back used steel wool/water to remove a small scrach on a 78 Ford outside rear view mirror and scratches were hunting me on till I finally replaced it. Possibly cheep glass but a Ford mirror. I had used steel wool on house windows to clean light paint over spray and work well though never tried on any automotive glass again.
Posted by: Dougster May 16 2018, 04:54 PM
.. In fact, I don't even KNOW my steel wool is 00. I have 00, 000, 0000 and I grab whichever one I find first.
That's good info, right there.
Posted by: djway May 16 2018, 04:57 PM
Cerium oxide to polish out fine scratches. Deep scratches can be done, I have done it, and it is a TON of work.
I did an early Ghia that had very bad scratches everywhere. I tried all sorts of materials, some made things worse but I did find a working solution.
6 inch pad with wet/dry paper, the starting grit depending on how deep the scratch is. You must have water running over the glass at all times to keep the temp down. As with anything you keep going to finer and finer grits and then you finish off with the cerium oxide.
You must pull the glass and set up a table with the set water supply. It is a lot of work.
My Ghia glass is very rare and expensive so it was worth the hundreds hours invested.
Good luck
Posted by: r_towle May 16 2018, 05:11 PM
Do not use a hammer.
Posted by: bbrock May 16 2018, 06:20 PM
Cerium oxide to polish out fine scratches. Deep scratches can be done, I have done it, and it is a TON of work.
I did an early Ghia that had very bad scratches everywhere. I tried all sorts of materials, some made things worse but I did find a working solution.
6 inch pad with wet/dry paper, the starting grit depending on how deep the scratch is. You must have water running over the glass at all times to keep the temp down. As with anything you keep going to finer and finer grits and then you finish off with the cerium oxide.
You must pull the glass and set up a table with the set water supply. It is a lot of work.
My Ghia glass is very rare and expensive so it was worth the hundreds hours invested.
Good luck
I've watched a few vids on the deep scratch repair. My take away was that in addition to the tools you show, you also need to have a large pair of balls.
So when you say wet/dry paper, you are talking just regular wet/dry abrasive paper? Not some special diamond grit at $80/ pad? Also, what did you mount them on? All the vids show high speed drills or grinders which surprised me, and the pros were grinding dry which also surprised me.
I think I'll try the milder methods of steel wool and cerium first and evaluate. If they need more, I'll see what the local glass shops say about it If need be, I have spare glass with at least one humdinger of a scratch to practice on first. My motto is: "Fail Spectacularly!" Hoka hey!
Posted by: djway May 16 2018, 10:05 PM
Cerium oxide to polish out fine scratches. Deep scratches can be done, I have done it, and it is a TON of work.
I did an early Ghia that had very bad scratches everywhere. I tried all sorts of materials, some made things worse but I did find a working solution.
6 inch pad with wet/dry paper, the starting grit depending on how deep the scratch is. You must have water running over the glass at all times to keep the temp down. As with anything you keep going to finer and finer grits and then you finish off with the cerium oxide.
You must pull the glass and set up a table with the set water supply. It is a lot of work.
My Ghia glass is very rare and expensive so it was worth the hundreds hours invested.
Good luck
I've watched a few vids on the deep scratch repair. My take away was that in addition to the tools you show, you also need to have a large pair of balls.
So when you say wet/dry paper, you are talking just regular wet/dry abrasive paper? Not some special diamond grit at $80/ pad? Also, what did you mount them on? All the vids show high speed drills or grinders which surprised me, and the pros were grinding dry which also surprised me.
I think I'll try the milder methods of steel wool and cerium first and evaluate. If they need more, I'll see what the local glass shops say about it If need be, I have spare glass with at least one humdinger of a scratch to practice on first. My motto is: "Fail Spectacularly!" Hoka hey!
Regular wet/dry on a pad. There is an adhesive that you smear on the pad that holds it and then peals off. You can sometimes get two or three stickys out of one application.
I used a high speed drill with the xtra grip handle screwed on.
I tried some of the stone polishing pads and they would start to wabble and catch an edge which cut in more scratches so don't try that.
When using the cerium use the felt pad or even a short wool pad on a buffer. By hand you will never make a dent although steel wool may cause a haze.
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