I took the louvers off the rear hatch after 24years. The clips that held them on gouged and scratched the glass along the edges. Are there any heavy duty glass polishes or other products that would buff out glass. I don't want to replace the hatch. The metal clips actually wore the glass down. Should I take it to a glass shop? Thanks for your help.

 

Why don't you want to replace the hatch? They should pretty cheap, and you can get one at a scrap yard (they are the same from 79 to 85, but you probably need one without the rear wiper)

I've never heard of a glass polish that wil remove scratches on glass.

 

I thought mine was scratched up and it ended up that they were calcium deposits. Some very mild steel wool might clean it up.

 

There's lots of glass polishing kits out there. I know that Eastwood sells one [or two really] for outrageously inflated prices. Shop around.

 

But really just about anything will work. If you can find a fine glass polishing kit, it may not have enough cutting power, but, believe it or not, turtle wax rubbing compound eats right through glass. =]

Edit: but it'll leave fine scratches (kinda like swirl marks), so don't use it unless you have a fine polishing kit to remove them.

Around here we have really nasty water that leaves hideous spots on glass that can't be removed through any other method so I have some experience with this

 

Ordinary polishing compound from the auto store might do it. That's what's in those all-purpose cleaner-polisher bottles, like turtle wax. Just polishing compound and carnauba, which is tree sap.

B

 

You need Cerium Oxide and a felt buff to polish glass properly. If the scratches are deep enough to hang up on a fingernail, there is nothing you can do. I have an extra hatch in good condition I'd sell pretty cheap if you want to drive down to the Eugene area and pick it up.
-Mike

 

Wankelguy you're wrong. I believe that rubbing compound can do it, but if it can't, Eastwood sells this kit:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/itemdy00.a...0030&Dep_Key1=

that can.

 

I have 2 spare hatches, a side window and a windshield.

the hatches are damned near perfect. FREE

the side window is perfect- $5.00

windshield is perfect - $20.00

 

I have extensive experience polishing gemstones and similar materials using both silicon carbide and diamond abrasives and I can tell you that removing deep scratches from glass is difficult at best, even for someone with experience, and may well prove impossible for a neophyte.
Eastwood makes it sound pretty easy, but note their conspicuous use of the term "optical distortion".

Polishing out light surface imperfections like water marking and wiper streaking with cerium oxide and a felt buff (like the ones in the Eastwood kit pictured) is much more do-able, so I am more comfortable making that recommendation.

By the way, have you used this kit?

 

I saw a show where they used a multistep process and finished with a Cerium oxide slury. When looking for the article I found this website: http://www.faceters.com/equipment/polishes.shtml that sells the stuff. I do not know anything about the site but hey it might help.

 

I'd be interested in those louvers if you're getting rid of them.

 

I found a product called "glass scrub" by glass science. It is a cream cleanser you apply by hand, use a lot of eg and most water spots,rust,dulling and small scratches will polish out. If your windows have water spots,etching ect this product really makes them smooth and shiny, it almost looks like new glass.