How Easy Glass Can be Scratched?

[zey]

I would like to know how easy glass can be scratched. I found out one mild scratch on my windscreen which is 1 inch long. I was thinking could it be due to my clay bar. However, my clay bar is very clean and doesn`t carry any rough dirt in it. Another suspect is the wiper. How do I reduce the visibility of that scratch on the glass? Thanks!

[togwt]

~One mans opinion / observations~



Polishing Glass Surfaces (See note 1)-

·Apply a quarter size amount of Autoglym Car Glass Polish™ to a dry cutting / polishing foam pad (LC Orange or White) attached to a Porter Cable random orbital buffer set at speed # 4.

·Apply to half of the windshield, polishing first in an up and down motion then in a left-to-right motion and then repeat on the other side, proceed to other glass surfaces.

·Go over the glass several times in each direction, glass will polish virtually residue free.

·Wipe off any residue, and polish with a clean dry 100% cotton Microfiber cloth.

Inspect glass for clarity and smoothness. Repeat if necessary.





Note:

1.Do not use abrasive cleaner; glass polish or any grade synthetic steel wool on after market-tinted glass or you will probably scratch the surface.

2.The only constant is; always use the least aggressive product first, evaluate the surface, then only if necessary, ‘step-up’ to more abrasive products.

3.For deeply etched water spots` or pits (caused by sand or road stones) in the glass surface, do not attempt to polish them out, consult an automotive glass vendor as glass used on later model cars is soft and thin (this may vary by manufacturer) due to weight / cost savings by vehicle manufactures and polishing could cause glass to crack. Some windshields and mirrors have a tinted plastic coating or a blue tint that will scratch or be damaged, only polish or use synthetic wool on uncoated glass.



~Hope this helps~



Knowledge unshared is experience wasted

justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon

[meGrimlock]

I think scratch resistance really depends on the glass manufacturer. I know the glass on my GTI scractches very easily; it seems to scratch if I even look at it funny.



I like the method TOGWT described above, and I will try it soon. I do have the Autoglym glass polish, but have yet to use it with my PC.