Scuff marks after glass polishing

[2011Equus]

In an attempt to remove water spots from my windshield using my PC 7424 XP DA polisher with an LC 5" glass cutting pad and Pinnacle GlassWork Water a Spot Remover, I followed the instructions on the water spot remover and attempted the task. The results were tragic. I now have scuff marks in several sections of my expensive windshield. These marks look like fog on the glass, and methods to remove these spots have failed. I am told the glass on my 2011 Equus will cost approximately $1000 to replace. I have spoken to a reputable auto glass retailer who has refused to deal with the scuffs to eliminate the chance of optical degrading. Short of replacement, can anyone recommend a cheaper solution? Is there a method to polish the glass to remove the foggy looking scuff? Most scuffs are on the passenger side as I cleaned the other side manually with a softer pad.

[swanicyouth]

Stop. Get your LC glass pads and throw them in the garbage. Those things are freakin' TERRIBLE and have screwed up more glass than they have helped. I have no idea what they are good for, but there have been multiple threads of jacked up glass from those pads and polish X.

The good news is there is any easy fix. Get CarPro Rayon glass pads and CeriGlass. There are multiple threads on AG how to correct glass, a few written by me. Just search CeriGlass CarPro. It takes some time and makes a mess, but doesn't take a great deal of skill once you know how.

[2011Equus]

Thanks very much. I will take your advice and investigate.

[Scott@IncrediblyDetailed]

If you use glassworks again use a regular polishing pad, it works great.

[Mike Phillips]

In an attempt to remove water spots from my windshield using my PC 7424 XP DA polisher with an LC 5" glass cutting pad and Pinnacle GlassWork Water a Spot Remover, I followed the instructions on the water spot remover and attempted the task.

Just to note, there are no directions or recommendations for using the Pinnacle Glassworks Water Spot Remover with any type of fiber buffing pads including glass polishing pads, either Lake Country or CarPro glass polishing pads.


There is a recommendation for using a light foam cutting pad. From this page,


Pinnacle GlassWork Water Spot Remover

Machine Application:

Pinnacle GlassWork Water Spot Remover can be applied with any type of machine polisher. Begin by taping-off and covering up any adjacent painted panels to avoid splatter.

Apply about a quarter sized amount of product and work over a section of glass at a medium to high speed setting. We recommend using a Lake Country light-cutting or polishing foam pad.

Use overlapping passes. Work product in until it starts to turn clear. If there are any remaining water spots, add more product and continue to polish.

Wipe residue off immediately with microfiber towel and move to a new section of glass.

From the back of the label it reads for Machine Application,

"Using a foam polishing pad, apply with overlapping passes to a small section of glass on medium speed setting."

Short of replacement, can anyone recommend a cheaper solution? Is there a method to polish the glass to remove the foggy looking scuff?

Most scuffs are on the passenger side as I cleaned the other side manually with a softer pad.

I've had mostly good luck with the CarPro Ceriglass Glass Polish and the CarPro Rayon Glass Polishing Pads.

For example, I let the students in my last Detailing Boot Camp Class use the CarPro System on this Porsche with no problems.

Lady in Red - 1986 Porsche - 4-Step Process



I don't know what it would cost to replace the glass windshield on this 1986 Slope Nose Porsche but we didn't have any problems when using CarPro Ceriglass and CarPro Rayon Pads on Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polishers to polish the glass and remove scratches that were IN the glass.




Also, if you read the information available for the Pinnacle Glasswork Water Spot Remover, it states it's for removing water spots and road film that build up ON the glass.

It does NOT contain Cerium Oxide and it is not stated anywhere that it can be used to remove defects that are IN the glass.


I know from experience there is a lot of confusion over the two very different types of defects, that is defects ON the glass and defects IN the glass.



There's also a lot of confusion over the variety of glass polishes on the market. There are basically two types,

Type 1: These are for removing water spots and road film ON glass surfaces.


Type 2: These contain Cerium Oxide and are for actually abrading the glass to level the surface with the defect that penetrates into the glass.

So if you glass now has scuffs in the glass, then you need to get both the CarPro Rayon Pads and the CarPro Ceriglass.


Be sure to work clean. Glass must be clean, pads must be clean. Also shake the heck out of the Ceriglass before using it to make sure all the ingredients are uniformly dispersed throughout the solution.

I've been able to remove scratches out of glass using the CarPro product and only a Porter Cable 7424XP.

Glass polishing with any Cerium Glass polish is VERY messy so cover and tape-off components around the glass and plan on washing the car afterwards to make sure no abrasives are on the paint.

Read through Nicholas's guide here,

Autowerx Ceriglass Guide




Also, I strongly agree and also use a small water bottle with a sprayer that does a great job of atomizing the water when you spray the glass.

The fine mist keeps the glass polish liquid while DRAMATICALLY reducing the splatter that tends to sling off while polishing.

I would polish glass without the right bottle and we sell them on the AG store.

See post #24

The key to perfect results with ZERO sling is to control the water input onto the surface as you polish. Here I am spritzing the surface with a finely atomized mist of water/ONR solution right in front of where the pad is traveling. This gives the perfect amount of water to reactivate the Ceriglass so it can perform work WITHOUT the sling created by a typical large amount of water from a spray bottle.



It takes a little getting used to this technique because you have to hold the polisher steady with one hand while still applying moderate downward force. Using a DA it isn't so hard because you can control the machine easily with one hand... I use the DA on speed 6 the entire time.

[Mike Phillips]

Glass Polishing Water Spray Bottles at Autogeek



One of our forum members, Nicholas aka Nicholas @ Autowerx discovered the secret to reducing the messy splatter associated with polishing glass and that was instead of using a normal spray bottle to squirt water onto glass to re-wet the glass polish, (it flash dries quickly), was instead to use a water bottle with a sprayer that does a great job of atomizing the water into a fine mist.


It only takes a little water to re-wet and thus re-activate a cerium based glass polish and so a spray bottle with the right sprayer is key to getting the most use out of your cerium oxide glass polish while dramatically reducing the spatter created when machine polishing glass.


There are two bottles on the AG Store that have sprayers that really do a great job of atomizing water into a fine mist and I've below you can see pictures of them plus the links to the store.


The spray bottle in my hand is the 4 ounce bottle and works best for most people.




If you're doing a lot of glass polishing as a part of the services you offer you might like the 12 ounce bottle.





It's the spray head that makes the difference between a little and a lot of spatter mess...








If you're going to do any machine glass polishing with a Cerium Oxide glass polish I highly recommend getting one of these bottles.

On Autogeek.net


4 oz. Bottle with Sprayer

Clear 12 oz. Bottle with Sprayer


You can read Nicholas's article on how to remove scratches and scuffs that are IN glass here,

Autowerx Ceriglass Guide

[DaveT435]

Stop. Get your LC glass pads and throw them in the garbage. Those things are freakin' TERRIBLE and have screwed up more glass than they have helped. I have no idea what they are good for, but there have been multiple threads of jacked up glass from those pads and polish X.

The good news is there is any easy fix. Get CarPro Rayon glass pads and CeriGlass. There are multiple threads on AG how to correct glass, a few written by me. Just search CeriGlass CarPro. It takes some time and makes a mess, but doesn't take a great deal of skill once you know how.

I sure wish I would have read one of these threads before I did my windshield with the LC pads. Needless to say I have the same type of issue. Just to clarify using the CeriGlass with the Car Pro glass polishing pads will remove the scratches left by the LC pads?

[swanicyouth]

I sure wish I would have read one of these threads before I did my windshield with the LC pads. Needless to say I have the same type of issue. Just to clarify using the CeriGlass with the Car Pro glass polishing pads will remove the scratches left by the LC pads?

Yes. Just keep the polish wet. If your using a DA, start slow and work up to running it wide open. Expect to polish until the polish is pretty diluted with water. Expect a huge mess. Lighten up speed and pressure towards the end. I use a Griots 6" for glass, and to remove defects I run it on speed 6 with a lot of downward force. The spraying water constantly will prevent things from getting hot. Just don't let the polish dry and you'll likely be fine.

[DaveT435]

Yes. Just keep the polish wet. If your using a DA, start slow and work up to running it wide open. Expect to polish until the polish is pretty diluted with water. Expect a huge mess. Lighten up speed and pressure towards the end. I use a Griots 6" for glass, and to remove defects I run it on speed 6 with a lot of downward force. The spraying water constantly will prevent things from getting hot. Just don't let the polish dry and you'll likely be fine.

Thank you. I tried everything. Actually got it a little better with 105 and a foam cutting pad. I wasn't sure if it was the LC glass pad pad or the CeriGlass. I ended up ordering the DP glass polish too. Had the LC glass cutting and polishing pads. About a 50.00 lesson lol
I'll look up one of your how to posts before I have at it again. Thanks again!

[The Guz]

I just polished out the glass and glads t-tops ton my 02 camaro. I ended up using a 4 inch white LC polishing foam pad with some mothers water spot remover that I had laying around. I was impressed with the mothers product. It has a long working time and it worked great. I followed up with some Meg's last touch to wipe off the glass and then D156 to seal the glass.