Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Can buff off winshield scratch???
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 94 08:28:49 GMT

elg9316@ucs.usl.edu (Green Eric L) writes:

>Re: buffing: I'd seriously doubt that you can do a good job, but what
>the hey, it's your windshield. The Eastwood Company has a couple of

Sure you can.  Buffing glass to its normal gloss is trivially
easy.  Anyone who doesn't want to pay Eastwood's prices can simply
get the supplies from any glass company that does beveling.
For the kind of scratches normally dealt with on windshields, it is
a two step process.  The first step is a wet polish with pumice on 
a felt wheel.  Lots of water and low speed.  The pumice is coarse 
enough to remove scratches and yet fine enough to bring the glass
to a hazy finish.  The second step is a wet buff with cerium oxide
on a fine felt wheel.  CeO is fine enough that it feels like a 
thick cream.  It will bring the glass to a full luster.  Again,
low speed and lots of water.  The only other thing that is critically
important is to keep EVERYTHING associated with each stage completely
separate.  One little particle of pumice on the CeO wheel will 
introduce a new scratch.  Absolute cleanliness with the windshield,
the surrounding area, your hands, and your clothes is essential.
For polishing bevels, I keep the two stages in separate parts of my
shop and use separate shop aprons when I move from one to the other.
On the car, proper hygene dictates a thorough washing with soap and
water between stages.

John