How to polish glass
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
Polishing glass is not the same as polishing paint. Using the right technique will help to get easier results. Glass can be polished when it suffers from wiper marks and small imperfections.
The difference
Glass is more sensitive then most may think. Glass is actually damaged quite easily. However, correction on glass is not very easy, the surface is hard enough to make polishing very ineffective, however minor improvements can be made.
Paint is much softer then glass, and is also much easier to correct. Glass is harder and also much more fragile.
What you need to know about glass
There are several things to keep in mind when working with glass.
- The windscreen is made of 2 pieces of normal glass with a sticky layer between them. This prevents it from falling apart when breaking
- The glass on the sides are strengthened glass and is more stronger but will also break down in millions of tiny pieces when it breaks
- Most glass will break when there is a temperature difference of over 60 degrees celsius between 2 areas
- Applying to much pressure can break the glass
- Glass heats up really quickly and really easily
- To polish glass you need patience, time and practise
- Special glass polish gives much more result then automotive polish
- Special glass polishing pads will make much more result then normal polishing pads
- A DA is not very suitable for polishing glass, a rotary is more effective
- It is not only a matter of speed or pressure, it’s the right combo of these both
- Cleaning is still very important before starting to polish glass
Realistic results
Don’t expect to turn worn glass into perfection. It won’t happen. But you can make those wiper streaks less visible and perhaps hides a few other marks. As soon as you can feel it with your fingernail, you will have little effect on it. If it is just barely noticeable with your fingernail, then you have a chance to make it less visible.
Different related articles
Ceramic coatings are very strong forms of protection, but they are not eternal. Eventually they need to be removed in order to prepare the surface for a brand new application of protection. This means the entire layer of ceramic coatings need to be removed....-
DetailingWiki is a non-profit collection of writers and editors who aim to spread their knowledge and insight of the world of detailing. These articles are written by several different detailers and are added to the database. The main inspiration of the concept came from WikiPedia, the largest online encyclopedia in the world....
-
Auto Finesse is an UK based brand of detailing products, although their aim lies mainly with automotive detailing, they also sells several items that can be used for marine detailing, motorbike detailing and/or aircraft detailing....
-
IPA stands for IsoPropyl Alcohol, and is a chemical compound often used in the world of detailing to remove polish residue. The liquid is colorless with a strong odor. Caution is required for this liquid is very highly flammable!...
-
A pre-wash can be done to loosen up dirt and grime before you start washing the car. This means that your washmitt (or similar) will have much less dirt to remove. This results in cleaner rinse water, less often the need to rinse your mitt and less mechanical cleaning needed....
-
Crankalicious is a brand of detailing products specifically aimed at the world of bicycles. The products they offer are designed with the materials and maintenance for a bike. The is located in Essex, United Kingdom and is a part of Dodo Juice....
[…] Dat kan ook, tijdens het polijsten schuur je natuurlijk niet alleen een laagje glas weg, maar ook de oxidatie die daar op zit, aangekoekte viezigheid en andere ongewenste stoffen. Na een rondje polijsten is je glas dus wel brandschoon, afgezien van wat polijstmiddel dat er nog op zit. Om alles daarna goed schoon te krijgen kun je met IPA de polijstresten verwijderen. Even een veeg met een glasreiniger zorgt voor een streeploos resultaat. Je ruit is nu brandschoon en helder, perfect om een glassealant aan te brengen! Je kunt er nog wat meer over leren op DetailingWiki. […]