Glass polish?

[kenw]

Well, 162k miles of flying low means the windshield and headlight lenses are like a low grade privacy glass....

any ideas on a specific polish to buff them out? I had used a jewelers' rouge years ago to clear up some plastic headlight lenses, but have no idea what type/grade I used. It worked fine, would like to do the same, but on glass.

TIA

 

[ChrisW]

if the windshield is severly pitted or snadblasted, nothing short of getting a new one put in will aleviate the problem. You'd have to grind/polish a fair amount of glass to take out all the pits and sandblasting; this is not the same as filling it is with some type of polish/was or the like.

as for plastic headlights, you can use an (mild) automotive rubbing compound and then follow with a swirl remover, and then a polish. 3M has a good line of products for this. Or you can do wet sanding with some 2000 grit and then do the above steps if it isn't aggresive enough. Doing it by hand will yeild ok results, but machine would be faster and could produce better results. Make sure to put a layer of wax or a xpel type film on the lense once you got it clean.

 

[loudist]

check your state laws concerning windshield replacement.
In some states, ones insurance company is required to replace a cracked windshield without dinging the policy holder with the deductable.
Just a thought.

also, there is this as well: Glass Polishing

If you go the polishing route, please post a report of your experience.

[ December 21, 2004, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: loudist ]

 

[kenw]

thanx guys, but windshield is not damaged enough to warrant replacement. The pits are very slight and only noticeable when driving into the sun but there are billions of them. it's irritating enough to try some polish, I'll try the link.

and why would i want to put wax on the headlights? that sounds a bit counterproductive....

thanx anyway

 

[ChrisW]

quote:

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Originally posted by kenw:
thanx guys, but windshield is not damaged enough to warrant replacement. The pits are very slight and only noticeable when driving into the sun but there are billions of them. it's irritating enough to try some polish, I'll try the link.

and why would i want to put wax on the headlights? that sounds a bit counterproductive....

thanx anyway

---

when you wet sand or use rubbing compound on the headlights, you are exposing fresh plastic that would otherwise from the factory have had an uv coating on it to prevent yellowing and breakdown from the sun/weather. If its already yellowing then most of the protection is gone. Waxing after doing the compounding/polishing will help to protect the plastic, just like the wax would help protect your paint.

What do you mean by counterproductive?

 

[Mickey_M]

quote:

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Originally posted by loudist:
If you go the polishing route, please post a report of your experience.

---

I've used the materials you provided a url to, although not from that source.

It really doesn't work for a large area. Windshields over time get pitted and the degree and extent of polishing required to do an area more than about 5"x5" renders the project foolhardy. It takes a huge amount of time and often leaves optical distortions.

However, this material (rhodite/cerium oxide)

http://www.universalphotonics.com/ophthalmic/glass/polishing.html

does work pretty well on small scratches and wiper outlines.

 

[kenw]

quote:

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Originally posted by ChrisW:

quote:

---

Originally posted by kenw:
thanx guys, but windshield is not damaged enough to warrant replacement. The pits are very slight and only noticeable when driving into the sun but there are billions of them. it's irritating enough to try some polish, I'll try the link.

and why would i want to put wax on the headlights? that sounds a bit counterproductive....


thanx anyway

---

when you wet sand or use rubbing compound on the headlights, you are exposing fresh plastic that would otherwise from the factory have had an uv coating on it to prevent yellowing and breakdown from the sun/weather. If its already yellowing then most of the protection is gone. Waxing after doing the compounding/polishing will help to protect the plastic, just like the wax would help protect your paint.


What do you mean by counterproductive?

---

these headlight lenses are glass, not plastic. sorry if that was unclear.

thanx for the advice, but waxing a car does not help the paint. I know that sounds like heresy on this board but it's the truth. Wax makes things shine and look nice, but it cannot protect paint. That's what clearcoat does, it is a paint, it is hard and it is airtight. Wax is not hard enough, it's not airtight. It certainly won't hurt, but its benefits are wildly overstated on modern paints.

And waxing the headlights would just darken them by absorbing light and add a layer of defraction and therefore a loss of light output until it wore or melted off. Thanx anyway.

 

[tweeker43]

quote:

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thanx for the advice, but waxing a car does not help the paint. I know that sounds like heresy on this board but it's the truth. Wax makes things shine and look nice, but it cannot protect paint. That's what clearcoat does, it is a paint, it is hard and it is airtight. Wax is not hard enough, it's not airtight. It certainly won't hurt, but its benefits are wildly overstated on modern paints.

---

heretic!

wax is a sacrificial surface, that can prevent etching from bird poop or acid rain. clear coat is simply paint without pigment and can oxidize like any paint. wax can clean and remove the oxidation, and provide a barrier from the elements that promote oxidation. especially in the winter, a good coat(s) of wax can prevent road salt from eating your paint.

in the meantime, wax will fill light scratches and swirls, making the paint look and feel better. if nothing else, regular paint maintenance will improve the resale value of your car, or help you pick up hot chicks who are into that sort of thing.

go to autopia!

 

[DirtyApe]

I've used a porter cable buffer, soft foam pad and a small amount of Mothers Aluminum & Mag polish. Go very slowly, don't get the plastic lenses more than just warm. Maybe 5-10 minutes of working per lens. Buffer setting (PC 7424 = 2/3) Then use a mixture of 50/50 water & alcohol to remove the residue.

I have done this on two Nissans and a Jeep all with plastic lenses and it made a world of improvement. Key is to go slow and in fact using AL polish was recommended to me by a Mother's rep at a show n' shine last year in St. Louis.

[ January 18, 2005, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: mh2800 ]