Scratch removal from E36's glass

[zckid]

Hi friends

We are dealing with a case where water spots removal from automotive glass using the wrong products (acid based solution and inappropriate pads) has simply made the glass worse, creating marring from the use of aggressive acidic solution along with loads of scratches.

While there are glass restoration kits available online, in most cases it is not possible to remove a scratch on a DIY basis unless you know what you are doing. Else you will put further micro scratches which will make things even worse. You will also have to cope with the heat generated by the process which can crack the glass as well and the greater the chances of lensing in case of uneven material removal.

Automotive glass needs 100% clarity and vision has to be perfect. Period!


Before

This is not the title pic of a scary movie but a the extent of damage the car window's has undergone




It ought to be transparent or highly reflective.
look at the extent of the scratches and marring too





extreme close-up:
OMG. How this has happened?



Trying to remove water spots or calcium deposits, the use of an acid based degreaser which is itself not good for automotive glass, coupled with wrong techniques and grit-stuck abrasive pads

more or









Apart from the scratches, what can you see?




Same glass..... different texture and micro-lensing




Tools and products used:
- Makita rotary with small festool BP, felt pad
- Cerium oxide powder mixed with water to have a paste



Correction underway

After a few hits, the LED lenser being very useful.

Deeper RIDS can be seen now and need a few more passes





Improved
Scratches gone apart from the very few, solitary, isolated deeper ones.




Another window, same story





OMG!

looking closely you could see the lensing effect. same object appearing at different distance, with different levels of clarity from different spots of the same glass, and this is unacceptable for automotive glass and very very risky for drivers as well as pedestrians





Mission clarity continues




fully focussed .... pic sent by owner.... thanks to him




Remember




TA DA

A blessing from Almighty has come













The happy owner





Thanks for viewing. your thoughts and questions are most welcome

Cheers & greetings from Mauritius

Zaid

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful save Zaid!!! What an amazing turnaround!

[Paul A.]

Stunning results from such a damaged condition to start with! I just wish i had a swing in my garage too!

[allenk4]

What brand of pad was used?

[zckid]

Beautiful save Zaid!!! What an amazing turnaround!

Stunning results from such a damaged condition to start with! I just wish i had a swing in my garage too!

Thanks a lot both of you

your encouraging words most cherished

@Puckman I did a Subaru front windscreen recently, will post as soon as I'll get some time. Anytime, i'd prefer working on paint rather than on glass.

thanks a lot again

[zckid]

What brand of pad was used?

For this job I used the 2 70mm felt pads that came with the kit.

but the best pads for glass IMO are the sonax felt pads, much better then the rayon pads. quicker, little mess, and last longer

Caution: remember to double-tape the rubber trims and plastic

[Paul A.]

Yes, i can understand your desire to work on paint over glass but you obviously have the skill to do glass well too! Does the dried cerium oxide paste have any detrimental affects on the paint below the windows? Would it be worthwhile to mask off the paint with paper or plastic or is the paste residue very easy to clean up?

[Dr_Pain]

Double taping the rubber trim/plastic is such a great piece of advise! Thanks for sharing your show and tell.

[Newdetailer1]

I tried doing glass once and it ended up looking like your bad photos. I think Ill just stick with paint. You did an awesome job. How long did it take? I know its a serious process...

[tersplat]

Where is the "like" button????!!!! This is amazing!