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Man, I wish I had pictures to back up this experience, but words will have to suffice.
Problem: 3/4 of my windshield was hazed from using acid as a cleaner (oops!). Thousands upon thousands of micro-scratches were all over the windshield, producing a blue/white haze during the day and lots of swirl marks at night.. almost impossible to see when it rained at night.
Solution: Cerium Oxide mixed with water (1:1 solution) applied to the windshield with a rotary buffer coupled with a lamb's wool pad at 2000RPM. The solution was mixed up in a 2 liter bottle (~3oz. of Cerium Oxide + ~3oz. water) and shaken until it resembled the consistency of chocolate milk. The cap of the 2-liter bottle was pierced with a small nail to act as a spray hole.
This solution was then applied to the rotary buffer pad generously and also to the windshield. The rotary buffer was then turned to 2000RPM and the solution was worked into the glass until it disappeared (approximately 30-60 seconds for a 1'x1' area).
Again, I wish I had pictures because this stuff made my windshield look almost brand new, excluding a few pitted marks from being a 13-year-old windshield. I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THROUGH IT!!
You can buy Cerium Oxide from eBay relatively cheap and rest assured that it will work for very fine scratches or hazing. I would definitely buy this stuff over again and probably will when the time comes.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
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BMW E36 M3 Expert
You can also use this to restore glass headlight lenses. It's a very involved process of sand paper from 600grit to 2000grit, then upwards of an hour of polishing with the Cerium.
Really ironic you posted this; I was calling all the local glass shops today for some too.
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You think this would work if my window looks like it got sandblasted. It looks like really tiny chips all over the window.Originally Posted by Braymond141
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Another question is would the UDM do the job instead of the rotary?
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That's how mine looks - even after I used the Cerium Oxide on it for about 30 minutes. I'm assuming it would take something of stronger cutting material to wheel out those tiny grains. I think this is where to fine-grit sandpaper would come into play.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Stretch Haters Club #1
BMW CCA Member
Remember that removing too much glass will change its refractive properties...
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1997 M3 | 1980 320i | 2007 328it
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Yeah, I know
Okay - here's how much difference it made:
Go to the nearest, clean window. Lick your hand and smear your spit all over the window. Now go grab some Windex and a paper towel and clean it off.
That's how clean it looks compared to a few days ago
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Nahmean?
my windshield has fine scratches all over it and it's hard to see when it rains at night... maybe I should do this...
I've heard that it makes your glass wavy and it makes you get sea sick looking through it.
Nahmean?
ZOMG! I just found out that I have some. From my rock tumbler! I have enough to do it but I don't want to mess up the clarification of the glass...
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From my experience, it's not that easy to mess up. Just make sure you keep the area WET and don't buff over 2000RPM. Keep a spray bottle with you while you're buffing to keep the area and your pad wet. Just buff it until it disappears.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
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any effect on paint (buffer splatter)?
Nahmean?
I tried this and it didn't fix my glass. it splattered all over my paint and stuff but it just rinsed off with some water.
I'm wondering if it made my glass even more scratched. I didn't want to ruin my windshield by making it wavy so I don't think I went slow enough. I also burned up my cheap random orbital... oh well.
When polishing glass do you keep the polisher in one spot for a while (30 secs-1 minute)? or do you always keep it moving because I kept it moving and it didn't fix my glass but it also didn't make it wavy.
Also I found out that the only way to make the stuff disappear when buffing was to let it dry out... as soon as I would re-wet it there would be more pinkish than ever.
Member
You can either choose to keep the polisher in one spot for 30sec.-1min. or you can go very, very slow over a small area (about 1'x1'). The reason you get more of the pink (C.O.) when adding water is because the water is picking the C.O. off of your polisher and re-wetting it, thus creating more of a 'mess'. And yes, this stuff gets MESSY - but no worries, I found absolutely no negative effects when it comes in contact with the paint. Simply wash it off with water and your favorite car soap.
If the area you're polishing gets a little dry, this stuff can get EVERYWHERE so be sure to roll your windows up. The only way to success that I've found with this product is that you have to polish, polish and polish some more. You really can't polish too much because it's only going to smooth out the glass even more - just make sure you give every bit of your windshield the same amount of polishing so that you won't have mismatched clean/dirty spots.
As an extra measure, make sure you do this little project in the shade and after the windshield/glass has cooled off.
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Member
Haha, you have a rock tumber! Loser!
I should check mine; I have a rock tumbler too
Also, cerium oxide is available at most camera shops. It's used to polish expensive lenses. A mom and pop indy camera shop might be more likely to have it than, say, a chain at the mall. I want some to polish my glass foglight lenses, but since I always tell myself I'm going to get an M5 bumper, it's not a priority.
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