Removing Deep Scratches From Classic Car Glass

Deep Glass Scratch Repair - Classic Car Windshield Resurfacing

Whether restoration of classic cars is your hobby or your business, your objective is to bring this automobile back to its former state, as close to its “like new” days. Rarely, does car glass escape, at least some surface scratches, but probably deeper scratches as well. If you’re restoring a car that had high production numbers, the chances are good that there are aftermarket reproduction parts available for your car. Some examples are, 65-72 Ford Mustang and 67-77 Chevrolet Camaro. Now, there are companies that make reproduction glass for these classic cars and are even able to reproduce the date code or “bug” etched into the glass!

1960 Alfa Romeo Windshield Removing Wiper Blade Scratches

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1960 Alfa Romeo Windshield Resurfacing Wiper Scratches

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Can You Restore Original Car Glass With Deep Scratches?

If you’re restoring a 1967 Chevy Camaro, chances are good that you can find original glass somewhere since they produced 842,731 of these cars. But there are aftermarket glass reproductions for this car as well. What about a 1965 Ford Mustang, an American classic? There were 559,451 of these cars made so chances are good you can find junkyard glass or aftermarket reproduction glass. Some aficionados are not willing to accept any glass that isn’t original. But their original glass is badly scratched, then what? The problem with classic car glass restoration mounts when production numbers are low. Then, it’s not cost effective to reproduce glass for these cars.

Remove Deep Scratches and Save Original Car Glass

What if you’re the proud owner of, and planning to restore, one of my personal favorites, a 1958 BMW 507? There were only 253 produced. Chances of finding any restoration glass for that car are slim. Or maybe you are preparing to restore a 1967 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and you need some glass because the original has significant scratches from years of wear and tear? Low production numbers can cause problems when trying to find glass for classic car restoration. Here are a few more notables : 1991 Jaguar XJR-15, Only 50 produced. 1964-1966 Lamborghini 350GT, Only 135 built. 1952-1953 Ferrari 250 MM, Only 31 produced. or a 1991-1995 Bugatti EB110, Only 139 ever made.

Deep Scratched Glass Repair - 1967 Lamborghini

Can Deep Glass Scratches Be "Polished" Out?

Glass “polishing” or glass “buffing” are somewhat deceptive expressions. When you are polishing something, you are attempting to smooth the surface or to bring to a glossy condition. Polishing alone is not actually the correct process to remove glass scratches from automotive glass. Attempting to polish any type of significant scratch from a glass surface will almost guarantee noticeable distortion.

Steps to restore classic car glass

First, you need to assess the damage. If the glass scratch is extremely light, it may be possible to polish it out with felt and high quality cerium oxide polish or paste. But realistically, the only damage to polish out would be classified more as a scuff and not necessarily a scratch. Next, the glass scratch needs to be removed by grinding, or abrading the damaged area with a very high quality silicon carbide wet/dry abrasive.

The trick is to remove glass evenly around the scratch and feather it out into the surrounding area of glass. If the scratch is deep, then a suitable grit silicon carbide would be used. The trick is actually to remove the damage as quickly and evenly as possible. This goes against human nature. We tend to think the opposite would be true and to not be too aggressive. Regardless of how aggressive the grit of silicon carbide that is used, it can still be polished back to flawless clarity in 2-3 steps, total, including the polishing step!

Scratched Windshield Glass Scratch Removal - 1960 Alfa Romeo

Why Unscratch The Surface, For Deep Glass Scratch Repair in Car Windows?

What have we learned regarding removing deep scratches and restoring classic car glass? In our experience over 14 years in removing glass scratch, we have seen severely deep scratches, even gouges, in some of the glass that has been brought to us. For example, we restored some tempered glass side windows for a 1967 Lamborghini 400GT. The glass for this car is extremely curved and could create some problems when attempting to remove the glass evenly.

To make matters worse, the scratches were on both side of the glass. On the exterior (convex side) the weather stripping felt had completely disintegrated, exposing the rivets. In time, the regulator wore out and, for years, the glass would grind against the rivets, working actual gouges into the glass. The gouges were so deep, a nickel could rest on its edge in the curved gouge! I believe we started with 80 grit silicon carbide to remove the damage. We actually resurfaced the entire side glass, both sides! The cost to re-manufacture two side windows for this car was around $10,000 US.

We were able to save both side windows for a fraction of that price. Classic car scratched glass is almost always salvageable. Is this type of glass restoration for beginners? Probably not. The good news is, there are a few companies that we know of that have been able to successfully restore classic car glass. Unscratch the Surface Inc is one of those companies. Feel free to contact us if you are in need of our classic car glass restoration service!

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Deep Scratch Glass Repair

We have always had practice glass panels to develop our skills in trying unique glass restoration situations. Distortion in the glass is a nasty problem to deal with. Once it’s there, you’re never going to get it perfect again. Once the glass is distorted, it’s ruined. It’s important to understand cause and effect when it comes to glass restoration. What causes distortion, swirls, haze, hard edges, etc.

Then develop habits to counteract those causes. Work at the basics and become excellent at those. Excel at simpler glass repairs before jumping into harder and more demanding repairs. Then focus on one area of glass restoration and get exceedingly good at it. Whatever you do, don’t become a “jack of all glass restoration trades and master of none!” If you have any questions regarding scratched glass repair or have a need for glass restoration services, don’t hesitate to contact info@UnscratchTheSurface.com or call 888-986-7272 or text project details to: 805-295-9020

Fastest Glass Resurfacing – In The News

Saving The Day Since 2005 By Resurfacing Your Scratched or Damaged Glass! No Distortion Guarantee! Visit Our Website 🌐 https://www.unscratchthesurface.com/ 📞Want to Call or Text us? ☎️ +1 805-295-9020 🔔Subscribe to stay with us and regular Scratch Glass Repair Projects Updates 👉https://www.youtube.com/user/unscratc... _________________________________________________________________________ 1967 Lamborghini 400GT - Severely Scratched side glass Restoration ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 15, 2013 - Classic car deep scratched glass restoration. Only a handful of the 67 Lamborghini 400GT's were ever made so replacement glass is virtually impossible to find. The weatherstripping in these cars was felt and a metal track with screws or rivets. When the felt wore away, it was glass against metal and the metal wins! This was a test for deep scratch glass repair, to be sure! This car was restored but no solution was found by the restoration guy in San Diego. Then the owner of the car found us and we took our best shot at heavy grinding and polishing of the 2 side windows. Would deep scratches in glass be removed? The results were very good, to say the least. Everyone was pleased. If you ever can't find a good quality replacement glass for your rare, classic or vintage car, just ship it to us and we can make it look about 98% new! This was the 4th Lamborghini we've worked on, plus a few rare Alfa Romeo's, a few Porsche's along with a handful of classic American muscle cars as well. #deepglassscratchremoval #deepglassscratches #deepscratchglassrepair #ScratchGlassRepair #GlassScratchRemove #ScratchGlass #Unscratchthesurface #removedeepscratchesfromglass #removingdeepscratchesfromglass Music by Chopin -------------------------------------------------------------------- 👆 Follow Us On Social Media👆 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Facebook ➝ https://www.facebook.com/ScratchedGla... Twitter ➝ https://twitter.com/unscratch (@Unscratch) Instagram ➝ https://www.instagram.com/unscratch.t... Pinterest ➝ https://www.pinterest.com/unscratchth... Linkedin ➝ https://www.linkedin.com/in/unscratch...

Removing Deep Scratches From Classic Car Glass - Thousand Oaks, CA