windscreen scratch removal

[chrisw99]

I have noticed a hairline scratch on my windscreen in an arc, obviously caused by a wiper blade. It is just above my eyeline and I don't see it when driving and focusing ahead anyway, but now I know it's there.... quite annoying on sunny days if it catches it right, although then I've lowered the visor and it's behind that.

I can't feel it at all with a fingernail, so I believe it can be buffed out with lots of hard work. I've also read if you paint some clear nail varnish to fill it in then wipe the excess with nail polish remover it can mask it.

Has anyone ever tried removing/masking/lessening visibility of a surface scratch?

[Gel]

See;

[chosan]

I have noticed a hairline scratch on my windscreen in an arc, obviously caused by a wiper blade. It is just above my eyeline and I don't see it when driving and focusing ahead anyway, but now I know it's there.... quite annoying on sunny days if it catches it right, although then I've lowered the visor and it's behind that.

I can't feel it at all with a fingernail, so I believe it can be buffed out with lots of hard work. I've also read if you paint some clear nail varnish to fill it in then wipe the excess with nail polish remover it can mask it.

Has anyone ever tried removing/masking/lessening visibility of a surface scratch?

Are you sure it's a scratch and not a part of your heated windshield?

[chrisw99]

Are you sure it's a scratch and not a part of your heated windshield?

I haven't got a heated windshield, and its a definite arc in the same path as the wiper.

I've read cerium oxide solution and a lot of buffing (probably requiring an electric tool) will do the job nicely. Lots of reviews and videos suggest so, but would be nice to hear from someone who has actually done it as a lot of the reviews could be fake to sell the product.

[Paul L]

cereum oxide on a soft dremel buffing disc ought to do the trick.
working it by hand would take a month of Sundays.

[switchback]

I had a new screen fitted that had a small scratch in it. The screen company buffed it out with jewelers rouge to remove it but it created a lens effect that distorted the view of road signs. In the end I got them to replace the screen again.

[chrisw99]

I had a new screen fitted that had a small scratch in it. The screen company buffed it out with jewelers rouge to remove it but it created a lens effect that distorted the view of road signs. In the end I got them to replace the screen again.

Was it a scratch that could be felt with a fingernail? I think for deeper scratches they have to buff out enough material to risk the lensing effect. If it's a surface scratch you only need to remove a single layer.

I had some Halfords "glass cutter" liquid from years ago, which I'd got to remove scratches from playstation disks. Don't think they sell it any more. I tried buffing a small inch of my scratch until my arm felt like it was going to drop off. It is definitely less visible for that inch, but still there, so I'm sure it would go completely eventually but the manual effort could be too much. As it's out of my eyeline and I'm getting used to it, may just make it a project and do a bit every now and again.

Or I could get one of the buffing pad attachments for a drill, but feel slightly nervous about using a power tool on the windscreen!

[gvmdaddy]

Whatever you use, you will never get rid of a scratch on glass. You may lessen its appearance to be more acceptable. Proprietary fillers will never fully match the original refractive properties of the windscreen but they will help with appearance and strength.

[chrisw99]

Got some cerium oxide solution from Amazon, and the scratches are now gone. It says it won't remove scratches you can feel with your fingernail but it will get rid of surface scratches - and it did. I used my electric sander with a big thick polishing pad and just pressed hard against the glass and moved it along slowly. You can't even see a trace of them now. Was nervous as hell using a power tool on the windscreen

I read up on the tech behind it... glass is a fluid not a solid, just an incredibly dense one - which is why ancient medieval windows are sagging and thicker at the bottom as it flows down. If you can feel a scratch with your fingernail, it means material is lost and the only way to remove is to grind away enough glass to get level, hence the lensing effect. If you can't feel with your fingernail, it means the glass has just displaced a little enough to refract light and by polishing hard you fill in the gaps.

[gvmdaddy]

"I read up on the tech behind it... glass is a fluid not a solid, just an incredibly dense one - which is why ancient medieval windows are sagging and thicker at the bottom as it flows down. If you can feel a scratch with your fingernail, it means material is lost and the only way to remove is to grind away enough glass to get level, hence the lensing effect. If you can't feel with your fingernail, it means the glass has just displaced a little enough to refract light and by polishing hard you fill in the gaps."

I presume this 'tech' was part of the sales blurb for the product you bought. Honestly, if you believe that you're a little naive.
The act of grinding always removes material even if it is only on a microscopic level of thousandths of a milimetre.