Scratched glass.......what did I do wrong?

[NemesisR6]

OK, I have VERY stubborn water spots on my 2005 Ford F150 that have been on the truck since I drove it new off the lot. I've never been able to fully get rid of them.

After reading on here and ordering the Lake Country 5-inch glass cutting pads (http://www.autogeek.net/glass-polishing-pad-5inch.html) and some Dura-Gloss Nu-Glass, I set out to tackle them.

Using my PC I applied the polish using the pad in a small test area. Now this removed the water spots and etching, it also scratched the absolute heck out of my glass. Lots of circular swirl scratches that just don't want to seem to come out.

Did I use this pad wrong? Did I use the wrong kind of polish? How in the heck can I fix this?

HELP!

http://oi52.tinypic.com/15s8txw.jpg

[BrianJ]

Did you read the bottom part in red on the product description? Looks like you'll need to polish it out with the polishing pad.

Note: These Glass Cutting Discs are designed to level scratches in glass and are therefore abrasive. They are not intended for general polishing. For light glass polishing, use the Lake Country 5.5 inch Glass Polishing Pad. (available below)

[Setec Astronomy]

Wow, compound haze city! I have used those LC glass pads (rotary) but I used the Diamondite cutting cream or whatever it's called. This is a little puzzling since the Duragloss stuff says it won't scratch I presume it doesn't have abrasives hard enough.

Kudo's for doing only a test spot--is it possible that is some kind of residue from the Duragloss? I have some Zaino glass cleaner that may be similar to the Duragloss and I remember it being a real pain, but the windshield I was using it on is a weird one, anyway.

[Setec Astronomy]

Did you read the bottom part in red on the product description? Looks like you'll need to polish it out with the polishing pad.

Note: These Glass Cutting Discs are designed to level scratches in glass and are therefore abrasive. They are not intended for general polishing. For light glass polishing, use the Lake Country 5.5 inch Glass Polishing Pad. (available below)

Yeah but...if the product he's using isn't abrasive enough to remove scratches from glass...then he won't be able to polish them out...this is beginning to sound like when Mike Philips would say not to use the Meg's burgundy pad on a PC.

[NemesisR6]

It's definitely the pad itself that did the damage, as I had also done a small test spot by hand with the Duragloss.

I've tried to polish it out using an orange foam pad and the Duragloss, but it has only marginally improved it.

I have a feeling this my be beyond my capabilities and/or equipment..........though I'd love to hear suggestions otherwise.

[Setec Astronomy]

So you need a finishing step with a pad that won't marr, but a polish aggressive enough to remove that marring. Sounds like you need this:

Diamondite® Glasswork Restorer polishes and restores auto glass windshields and windows. Diamondite glass polish cleans and removes glass scratches. (http://www.autogeek.net/dia-glasswork-restorer.html)

and an orange or yellow pad, probably a 4" so you can get the most work out of your PC.

I do have to say that I used that Diamondite product with the LC glass cutting pads and a rotary and I don't remember the hazing...but I may have followed it up with a foam pad, it was a few years ago. But then again, different windshields are different.

[UCD]

It must be the pad.

I used DG Nu-Glass and an orange LC pad on the PC (speed 6) on all of my exterior and interior windows with no ill effects....

I can only say that the DG Nu-Glass is awesome and easy to wipe off since it does not contain oils.

[jamores23]

i just did some water etched glass the other day with megs d300 and d301 on mf pads, came out great

[NemesisR6]

OK, I've read up a little more and determined that my technique and methods may have been lacking.

Reading the following thread HERE (http://detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95965) states that when using the cutting disks you need to let the material break down fully and continue to lubricate the glass with water until it is fully broken down.

I did not use any water and had likely stopped prematurely (the "grit" in the DG NuGlass was still apparent) once I noticed the marring in the glass.

I am going to refine my technique and test my theory on some scrap glass to make sure before trying to get the remaining damage out of my truck. We'll see how it goes.....

[UCD]

Short answer: It's not gonna work, it's not your technique.

Long answer: I came across the same thread a long time ago, the guy used "cerium oxide" which is radioactive but can be purchased at Sears or something. DG Nu-Glass is not for removing wiper blade tracks/scratches, you use it for removing water spots, fogging, etc.

Good luck! Keep up posted.

[DaVinciAutoSpa]

I never thought the 'glass specific' polish was any different than any other polish, i.e. M205, System 1, or whatever.

Next time, take some 0000 steel wool and CHROME POLISH that you can get at Auto Zone and use that to get out water spots. I've had tremendous luck with it. If you need to after that, take your PC or Flex with some polish and a black or orange pad and hit it.

Be careful of falling into the trap of 'needing' all of these different items. You'll only spend money that you shouldn't have. I see some of these products, and it's laughable.

HTH

[UCD]

^"glass specific" polishes don't contain oils. Oils can abstract your view while driving in rain or you could get some glare......

[pixelmonkey]

staying subscribed to this thread.

hope mike can chime in with some advice or post a tutorial on glass polishing that notes the specific problem in this thread.

going at the windshield again after reading some more from the link posted earlier in this thread with misting water on the windshield to help break down the compound while buffing the glass.

chris<pixelmonkey>:D

[NemesisR6]

Another thing that I'm curious about is the cutting discs themselves. Straight from Lake Country the cutting discs are very firm, even more so than cardboard.....almost like plastic.

Are the discs supposed to be saturated in water prior to use in order to loosen them up a little? It just seems odd that something used to polish any surface would be so firm.....even mounted on the backing plate they still held a convex shape that wouldn't really lie completely flat on the glass.

[pixelmonkey]

Another thing that I'm curious about is the cutting discs themselves. Straight from Lake Country the cutting discs are very firm, even more so than cardboard.....almost like plastic.

Are the discs supposed to be saturated in water prior to use in order to loosen them up a little? It just seems odd that something used to polish any surface would be so firm.....even mounted on the backing plate they still held a convex shape that wouldn't really lie completely flat on the glass.
not sure about the lake country.

i used the Griot's Garage 6 Inch Glass Polishing Pads, Griots Garage Glass Polish Pads, Glass Polishing Discs (http://www.autogeek.net/griots-glass-polishing-pads.html) and have the same results as you have shown in the first photo, but then again, i'm working with glass thats over 20 years old.

i'll post up results over the weekend.
chris<pixelmonkey>:D