Side glass restoration, scratch and pit removal Options

[bbrock]

I can't find the thread I started about a year ago when I asked about removing scratches, pits, and water damage from side windows so am posting this thread to share my experience salvaging a badly damaged window.

I had a tinted side window that had scratches of various depths on both sides of the glass across the whole surface, along with pits and metal from grinding splatter, and hard water spots etched in over the surface.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583120517_thumb.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583120549_thumb.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583120564_thumb.jpg)

The bottom line is that the method in this video works. It is extremely labor intensive but it did work. I'll describe where I deviated from this, but overall, this is the way to go.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doYlaQlCloQ


This uses GP-Pro abrasives. The vid starts with medium abrasive but I had to start with their coarse to remove the deepest scratches. I also used 5" discs instead of 3" because of the extensive resurfacing needed. I recommend buying a better foam interface pad for a drill than what I was able to source locally. GP-Pro has one that would work better.

Here's how it looked after the first grinding pass.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583122913_thumb.jpg)

I did not use their polish because I had other stuff on hand. After grinding, I used Chemical Guys 32 and 34 polish on their orange hex pad on my drill. I followed that with cerium oxide paste and a 5" felt pad, and finally cerium oxide with a 2" felt pad.

For most common repairs, the 3" kit exactly as used in the video would be the easiest way to go. I improvised with larger discs and coarser abrasive because of the extensive damage I had. I also substituted polishes I had on hand already. Here's the complete kit I used:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583123672_thumb.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583123943_thumb.jpg)

And here is the result:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583123760_thumb.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20845-1583123781_thumb.jpg)

There are more details and pics on my build thread here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=2790699

Maybe somebody will find this useful.