Buffing the glass

[andyman32]

There are two spots on my rear window where it looks like someone tried to scrub stuff off with a Brill-O pad. There are little areas of light scratches that show up like bright blotches when the sun hits 'em. It's a visual blemish, and a bit distracting when driving. And, there are some minor wiper scratches and tiny highway debris chips in the windshield. All around, my car's glass could use some gussying up. So I wonder, do any of you know of a way to buff light scratches out of auto glass? Would I do it the same way as with the paint, but with more elbow grease? Or is there a particular product/method I would have to use?

TIA, Andy

[Mobius]

I've never personally done it - typically I get a serious enough rock chip in my windshield before I have to consider 'polishing' it - but it can be done.

You'll want this: http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2010&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=glass+polish

[SharkmanBMW]

I know a guy who uses steel wool on the windshield... does a great job of removing anything!
It seems crazy but it works!
I freaked when i saw him doing it to my windshield after i got a buff job.... but nice result!

[Rigmaster]

Hey Andy, how's the 540i? Haven't heard much from you since we did the work on her (him?).

Bret

[632 Regal]

I dont think you can do a thing with auto glass, the headlights, plastic covers etc yes.

[Rigmaster]

Well Jeff, I'm sorry to get you excited about that prospect- but I *think* his 540i has a male name..........

:P

Bret

[andyman32]

Hi Jeff & Brett, and yes, Brett's right, it's a he. So no, Jeff, he's not a "prospect"! :-P Though I was driving Millie for a while, and she's one sexy bitch.

The car is actually great, Brett. The thrust arms are nice & tight, the alignment is just tops. The water pump job I did turned out to be great, but I started getting another bad coolant leak. Turns out the plastic neck where you attach the upper radiator hose to the radiator was cracked. Just last Thursday, on our way home from dropping Millie off at the shop, we watched as billows of steam came out of the hood... I said, just keep going, it'll warn us when it gets too low on coolant, then we'll stop. The warning came on just as we pulled in and parked, before the car was off. So I poured some coolant in and called good old radiators.com. $225 including overnight shipping; by 11am, I had my new radiator here. By 2pm, I had it in. It appears to be working like a charm.

I'm really at a loss what to do about these scratches. They are noticeable, and bothersome. But I think they're beneath the envelope of "things that are worth replacing the rear window for". I found some glass-buffing kits online, but they look like normal buffing compound and a wool buffing pad.

[andyman32]

Oh hey, Mobius, I didn't see that at first. It's not even the windshield that bothers me as much as the rear window. But thanks for pointing that out.

Now - my orbital buffer is a dinky-ass little handheld thing. Could I do it by hand instead, or would I need to buy a bigger buffer?

[Mobius]

If it can chuck the polishing pad (http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2011&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=glass+polishing+wheel) and spin it at less than 1,500rpm, then it should be fine.

[KESPO]

A friend of mine had bought an old Chevy pick up that had been sitting for quite awhile. The glass was all hazed over and the windshiel had pitting and a few scratches. He used three Maguires products and they worked very well. He started with the course polish, then the medium, and finished with the swirl remover. (all by hand) It took the scratches and most all of the pitting out of the windshield and completely removed the haze from all the other windows. I tried the same on my 88 E30 M3's headlights and it worked pretty good on them to.. Maguires also makes a product that is meant to be used on plastic, like motorcycle windshields, etc.. I hear that works ok on glass too...

Good luck..