Glass polishing: Am I ready to go into the abyss?

[phish]

Hey everyone, just wanted to make sure I have everything together for what I'm about to do. That's right, I'm going to polish my windshield (my back hurts just thinking about it!)

My 2007 Volvo S40's windshield has become increasingly worse since I purchased it. I tried to do the insurance glass replacement and they wouldn't budge because of the state I live in. I've tried M105 with an orange pad, the glass laughed in my face.

I'm hoping you guys can critique/answer my questions highlighted in red. Thank you!

This time, I'm planning my attack with the following products/procedure:

1. Clean glass w/ invisible glass and microfiber
2. Clay w/ an aggressive? clay and use either invisible glass or spay detailer as lube
3. Tape off around windshield and use a dropcloth or something to cover up the car.
4. Get out my ceriglass/ rayon pad and PC.
5. Test spot on PASSENGER side corner
6. Assuming all goes well, proceed in small sections using an atomizer mister to keep it "wet". Overlapping passes/ lots of pressure/ highest speed until my arms go numb or I need more beer.
7. Periodically check my progress by wiping off the ceriglass?
8. After I'm done (assuming this will take a few hours), I'll need to seal/protect the glass. What's the best product for this?
9. REPLACE MY WIPERS
10. Wash my car
11. See when I'm driving at night.

I'll be sure to do a little write up when I'm done!

[Mike Phillips]

Everything looks good.

High speed on a PC is the 6 setting and you'll want and need all of this for machine polishing glass.

Looks like read an article or two?


Take your time and remember to divide the windshield into quarters and only tackle one quarter at a time.


:)

[phish]

Everything looks good.

High speed on a PC is the 6 setting and you'll want and need all of this for machine polishing glass.

Looks like read an article or two?


Take your time and remember to divide the windshield into quarters and only tackle one quarter at a time.


:)

Thanks Mike, I didn't want to make a senseless post. I did my homework!

Does clay aggressiveness matter on glass? I don't want to make more work for myself.

When checking my work, can I just wipe the ceriglass right off or should I get it really wet first and then wipe off? I'd like to avoid more scratches.

[phish]

Going to begin this next week. Anyone care for a writeup?

[vanev]

Yes.
I would like to view a detailed write up.
I wish you luck and look forward to your progress.

[AutowerxDetailing]

Aggressive clay will not harm the glass. Best of luck. Sounds like you have a clear plan of attack using proven methodologies and tools.

[roguerobot]

Does clay aggressiveness matter on glass? I don't want to make more work for myself.

When checking my work, can I just wipe the ceriglass right off or should I get it really wet first and then wipe off? I'd like to avoid more scratches.

I doubt clay aggressiveness matters. When I used clay, I found it did not get all the stubborn bits off, so I had to resort to scraping with a razor blade+Invisible Glass. So, given I used a razor blade....

Glass is really tough, and even a razor blade won't scratch it, unless you deliberately try and try hard.

Don't worry about Ceriglass, it won't scratch the glass on wiping. Ceriglass works because it is tough, but what it does is very minor, which is why you must polish for a very, very long time. My entire windshield, which was badly scratched from years of windshield wiper wear, took me a total of 8 hours. And even then, I stopped when it was much better, but 'good enough'.

And yes, keep the area you are polishing wet, as the Ceriglass will dry and presumably stop spreading around. I just used a spray bottle with water.

Also, cover your car: roof, hood, mirrors, etc, as the wet polish slings everywhere. Wiping off won't scratch, its just messy.

[Paul A.]

Yes, cover EVERYTHING you don't want to clean ceri slurry off of! Also, for what its worth, i used ONR to wipe off the ceriglass residue and like previously mentioned...it took me a long time to get the glass where i wanted it.

[phish]

Thanks everyone. I'll do a writeup then! I'm setting my time limit at around 4 hours. If that doesn't finish it I'm going to stop and wait until I can use a rotary.

It's crazy to think that a razor wont scratch glass... but over time a bad wiper will!

[AutowerxDetailing]

It's crazy to think that a razor wont scratch glass... but over time a bad wiper will!

This seems to be a very common misconception. Razor blades can very easily scratch glass. I rarely use them on glass but if I do I use plenty of lubrication and the blade must be held at a precise angle from the glass (roughly 25-35 degree angle). I usually only use a razor to remove stubborn auction stickers from dealer cars.

I assume people just aren't seeing the damage because they do not have adequate lighting... steel wool can leave scratches on glass as well. Glass is very scratch sensitive!