Maybe you just pulled your side glass to make the paint work you're doing easier, but now that it's out of the car, you're starting to think it might be worth it to get some new glass. Well, before you place your order, you might consider polishing your original pieces yourself. It's not difficult or costly to do, but it does take a lot of patience. So if you have more time than money, or if you would really like to keep your original date coded glass, this might be time well spent.
<STRONG>01</STRONG> As you locate each scratch, using a black Sharpie or other suitable marker to place a line along the entire length of each scratch on the backside of the glass helps you know where they are during the polishing. This makes it easy to find your scratches, and you won't polish off your marks once you begin.
There are two parts to this process; one is to restore the glass' surface by polishing the entire piece of glass. This is what will give your window that like-new appearance. You could liken this part to buffing out a new paint job, except with the glass, you are using a much stronger abrasive on a much harder surface.
The second part is dealing with the scratches you initially wanted to fix. Most windows will have fine scratches that are caused by debris in the door channels and window fuzzies. This light scratching generally polishes out very nicely, but there are times when your window might have a blatantly obvious, nasty looking scratch. In this case, removal of the scratch might not be possible, and the glass will need replaced. But, what have you got to lose if you try?
04 After an area has been polished, squeegee off the surface so you can check the progress of each scratch with a fingertip or fingernail. Notice how the marks that were made under the glass make it easy to find all of the problem areas. You might find it useful do begin by doing a general polish on the entire glass before focusing on the scratches. Some of the lighter scratches may disappear with minimal effort, and then, go back and focus your attention on the more stubborn scratches. Resist the temptation to focus your efforts on just the scratch. The farther out you ">
<STRONG>04</STRONG> After an area has been polished, squeegee off the surface so you can check the progress of each scratch with a fingertip or fingernail. Notice how the marks that were made under the glass make it easy to find all of the problem areas. You might find it useful do begin by doing a general polish on the entire glass before focusing on the scratches. Some of the lighter scratches may disappear with minimal effort, and then, go back and focus your attention on the more stubborn scratches. Resist the temptation to focus your efforts on just the scratch. The farther out you
