Effectively repairing scratched glass on your car
Do you have some scratches in your windshield or side windows that you would rather be without? Scratches in the glass are quite common and usually occur from road debris, but they can also come from vandalism, bad windshield wipers and numerous other sources. Regardless of how they occur they can be rather unsightly and in some cases even unsafe as they can block or impede your ability to see through the windshield and even weaken the structure and rigidity of your window or windshield.
If you are like most people you probably have a scratch or two in your windshield. These usually are not deep enough to affect the structural rigidity of the windshield and do not require a replacement (any scratch that compromises the strength of the windshield does require a complete replacement). Rather than replacing your windshield, which can be quite expensive (almost as expensive as replacing headlight lenses), you can use various grades of iron or ceramic powder for polishing and finishing glass. These are applied by wetting a compounding or buffing pad with the water and then applying it with a variable speed buffer to the glass. Depending on the scratch you may want to use the higher speeds to get through to the bottom of the scratch.
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You use a lighter grit after each coarser grit until it looks finely polished. There are kits specifically made for this purpose of repairing windshields and automotive glass. One thing to remember is this method is difficult and can take a long time to do right. Also, you may alter or change your vision and acuity through the windshield and other glass with this method as it actually wears down and removes the outer portion of the glass to get to the bottom of the scratch. Also for deeper automotive glass scratches this may reduce the rigidity or strength of the windshield and other glass (especially with windshield glass as it has outer layers and then an inner layer that makes it shatter proof. If you remove too much of the outer layer you may actually make matters worse and cause the whole windshield to crack everywhere).
Due to the relatively small margin for error with windshield glass the above method is best left to automotive glass repair professionals. There is another method, though that is easier and has results that can look just as good without removing any glass or compromising the structural integrity of your windshield and other automotive glass. Its to use clear nail polish. That’s right. Women’s clear nail polish which can be bought pretty cheap with one bottle giving you enough to easily do all the windows on your car. Basically, what you will do is use a toothpick or the applicator to apply the nail polish directly into the scratch. I prefer to use a toothpick as it gets more into the scratch and less outside of it. The toothpick makes it neater and with less mess.
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It really doesn’t matter too much, though because after it has completely dried you take a clean towel and with some nail polish remover or acetone (which is the main active chemical in most nail polish removers) rub it on top of the scratch area to smoothen and minimize the treated area. This will effectively cause the clear nail polish to only be left in the scratch. It may take a few treatments of the nail polish to completely fill the scratch depending upon how deep the scratch is. Be careful not to rub too hard or use an abrasive cloth as this can actually remove the nail polish from inside the scratch. When you are done the scratch will be completely invisible to the eye. And it only cost you a few dollars and a little time to do this.
I have personally done this method of scratch repair hundreds of times in my years as a car wholesaler and dealer. This does not alter the structural integrity of the windshield and works great. I got this idea from a friend that repairs watches. He used this method for removing scratches from glass watch crystals. It works great, but only works on glass. This is just another automotive safety and money saving tip from MDWholesale.com the world leader in automotive safety tips and products. We want you to save money and be safe. Good luck, drive defensively, plan your vacations and trips ahead, and overall, be safe.
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