Any fixes for pin-holes in glass?

[Emt1581]

After washing my car I noticed that on the windshield there is a tiny pin-hole sized nick in the glass. Can't see it outside but in the garage under a light I saw it. I'm fine with just letting it go as I can't see it at all from the driver's seat. Just curious if there are any fixes for it that make it look like new?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[fightnews]

Idk if it's a total fix but I used mckees glass restorer and it cleared them right up glass looks brand new

[TimD]

Please, what is Ikd ? I also have a couple of tiny nicks smaller than a pin head that I can only really notice from inside the car.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's how I did it...


How to remove tiny pinhole pits in glass windows using a rotary buffer (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/diamondite/40436-how-remove-tiny-pinhole-pits-glass-windows-using-rotary-buffer.html)


Not sure how the tiny pinhole pits got into the glass but using my finger to enable the camera to focus on the glass surface you can see them here...

Tiny tiny tiny pinhole pits in the glass

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/761/MBwithPitsinGlass01.jpg



To find the above article I typed the below into Google


How to remove tiny pin holes in glass Mike Phillips


I have articles on just about every topic you can think of related to car detailing. Simply type a few key words into Google and add my name.



:)

[Mike Phillips]

Just to note...

The glass polish shown in the above article is no longer available.


The good news is, we do carry CarPro Ceriglass at Autogeek.com


This article shows you how to remove scratches out of glass and the same products and steps will remove pin holes. In fact, in the below article I show how you can do this using a Porter Cable or any other similar free spinning polisher for those that don't own a rotary buffer.


Glass polishing - How to remove scratches in glass (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/78934-glass-polishing-how-remove-scratches-glass.html)


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/2360/Cerium_Oxide_Glass_Polishing_Tools.jpg



:)

[Mike Phillips]

Idk if it's a total fix but I used mckees glass restorer and it cleared them right up glass looks brand new




IDK = I don't know


Just to comment... McKee's Glass Restorer is for removing topical defects like road film and mineral water spots OFF of a glass surface.


In order to remove defects that are IN the glass, as in below the surface like pin holes and scratches, then you need a glass polish that contains Cerium Oxide. CarPro Ceriglass contains Cerium Oxide McKee's Heavy Duty Glass Restorer does not contain Cerium Oxide.

Please invest the time to read both article I've linked to and get some knowledge before working on glass.


:)

[Rsurfer]

Idk if it's a total fix but I used mckees glass restorer and it cleared them right up glass looks brand new

A glass cleaner that removes pin holes in glass?

[Dan Tran]

IDK = I don't know


Just to comment... McKee's Glass Restorer is for removing topical defects like road film and mineral water spots OFF of a glass surface.


In order to remove defects that are IN the glass, as in below the surface like pin holes and scratches, then you need a glass polish that contains Cerium Oxide. CarPro Ceriglass contains Cerium Oxide McKee's Heavy Duty Glass Restorer does not contain Cerium Oxide.

Please invest the time to read both article I've linked to and get some knowledge before working on glass.


:)

Memories.

My first phone conversation I ever had with Mike was about this exact matter.

Anyhow,

Like he said, INVEST the time to learn to do things right.

Though it takes time, it was rewarding to see pin holes and scratches free from my windshield for once.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87407)

[ZippinGold612]

Sorry about hijacking a thread, but I figured posting here made more sense than creating a new thread about the same thing.
I have been wanting to try to buff the pits and wiper scratches out of my windshield for a few years. I read a handful of forum posts about what to do and what to use, I also watched a couple videos of guys polishing windshields so I would be comfortable with it. I have a Flex 3401 and Ceriglass polish, I also have the DP Glass Restorer which I know isn't meant to polish glass so much as deep clean it. I had some time this week to try it and figured I would stop putting it off.
I have a 1997 BMW M3 with the original windshield and it is has pretty bad scratches from wiper blades, but the tiny pits are worse. I first cleaned the windshield twice with Sprayway, then clayed the glass then cleaned it 2 more times with Dodo Juice Clearly Menthol. I then took a couple pictures to get a before and after shot. The first two show the pin holes and wiper scratches. The third picture shows my overboard masking of the car so I don't get any polishing dust/splatter on the paint or rubber. I then got to work with the ceriglass using a carpro rayon pad and it seemed to be helping with the wiper marks and I was misting the windshield with water to keep it moist while buffing. I added a little more ceriglass and kept up with the water misting as I was going, but then I decided to use a fresh pad. I believe I grabbed a LC Rayon glass polishing pad as I had originally ordered those before getting the carpro ones. And went about what I was doing before.
Well it seems either they didn't play well with the ceriglass or I messed something up because now the wiper marks are gone, but the pits are still there, and now I have introduced swirl marks into the glass as you can see from the fourth picture. I also made the mistake of starting on the driver side, even though I should know better, (I read the other posts that Mike linked and have been heavily into detailing as a hobby and for small profit for 8 years). I am currently feeling sick about what has happened and don't want to make it worse.
Is there anything I can do short of replacing the windshield, the swirls are not deep enough to feel. I wasn't sure if I went back to the carpro pads and used more pressure if that would help. I don't know how much pressure is too much. When I was buffing the windshield in the first place I wasn't pushing down very hard, mostly using the weight of the Flex to do the job.
Any help on this matter would be hugely appreciated. This car is my baby and it makes me sick that I would hurt her like this.:mad::cry:

[ZippinGold612]

I decided to bite the bullet and try to fix the new swirls. I tossed the lake country glass pads in the trash and cleaned the carpro ones. I had to put a lot of pressure on the 3401 to get any results but the swirls are not as bad as they were before. I haven't gotten rid of them yet and am questioning how much time I want to spend on this now. The overall clarity of the glass is probably better than it was but the glass is still covered in little pits and now very, very fine swirls.
I attached a photo to try to show the improvement, I looks better in the picture than it is. The swirls from the LC pads are now much less noticeable, but they are still visible.
I have found that a new windshield from the Stealership is $800 and one from one of the local glass shops would be about $255. I want my windshield to be as near perfect as possible, but I don't know that I will be able to achieve that without putting in a new one. I like the feeling of accomplishment that doing it yourself gives, but I'm just not sure this juice is worth the squeeze.

Thanks for any tips or thoughts on this.

[ZippinGold612]

I ended up saving it. Got rid of almost all the little swirls from the LC glass pad except on the edge of the windshield. I also got the other side polished out. It got rid of the wiper scratches, but not the tiny pits and chips. This process was not nearly as enjoyable as working on paint. Due to the amount of time it took and pressure I had to put on the pads to get the swirls and scratches out of the glass my Flex 3401 actually got hot enough to melt the 4 3/8" backing pad [emoji37][emoji27]. Not sure if there's a hardness difference to windshield glass on a German car or if it is just due to the glass being 20 years old with 130,000 miles on it, but I ended up spending a total of about 8 hours working the glass not counting the breaks I took to let the flex cool down which it doesn't do very quickly. Counting prep, masking, nearly giving up after the LC pads damaged the glass, and then actually getting the glass to look better this took 2 days. Now I gotta coat it.


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline

[Mike Phillips]

I ended up saving it. Got rid of almost all the little swirls from the LC glass pad except on the edge of the windshield. I also got the other side polished out. It got rid of the wiper scratches, but not the tiny pits and chips.



Thanks for the follow-up.

Sorry I just now found this. :)






This process was not nearly as enjoyable as working on paint.

Due to the amount of time it took and pressure I had to put on the pads to get the swirls and scratches out of the glass my Flex 3401 actually got hot enough to melt the 4 3/8" backing pad.





Yep. It's the TIME FACTOR


After sharing how to polish glass for years now on the forum after a person "tries" what I often read in follow-up posts is that they give up do to hard it is and how much time it takes.


:)