Has anyone had any luck polishing a glass tail or headlight lens that has fine nicks in it? I'd practice on a scrap lens first, just wonder if it can be done well. Bob
I never have polished glass, and this is just an observation/ opinion. The nicks look deep enough that if you were able to polish them out, it would deform the shape of the lens. You might try using a very small brush, toothpick, etc. to fill the nicks with an acrylic clearcoat. Then spray the lens. Then it could be polished.
Novus plastic polish for plastic lenses can be found on Amazon for about 8 scheckles... Model car builders use that stuff also.... One bottle is a scratch remover #1 And the other a polish... #2 Look it up!
Mucho apprecianado, brudda, but 37's lenses are glass. I started to edit my post to tell him that he could follow the latest thinking about not overthinking. Just appreciate the beauty/age/character of them as is. (as are?)
Slow day, and the lens is on the desk in front of the keyboard. I like the idea of filling the nicks and clear coating. Bob
Go to this thread and work backwards a few pages he is in the process of doing just what you want and the results look great. His are plastic but some of the process could be used on glass. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/mild-custom-51-pontiac-chieftain.1171852/page-20
Ten years ago I had to use this diamond paste at work The best thing for glass polishing https://www.amazon.fr/Akozon-Composé-Polissage-Diamants-Abrasive/dp/B07KQ8VZ7K
They have kits for removing scratches from glass windshields, I would think that would work. But as said if the chips are deep you will deform the lens removing them. Maybe a combination of polishing and chip filling would work. There are products that the auto glass companies use to fix rock chips in windshields. They are clear and make the chip disappear. That should work a glass lens. If you do fix it, please report back with your findings.
My easy fix... leave it. Doesn't look very bad from what I can see. Can you position them so the worst part is on the bottom? But your standards probably aren't quite as low as mine. LOL Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
At the most, I would polish the surface and leave it at that. Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You’ll have to fill the chip first, then smooth the results. Kinda like filling low spots with Bondo before sanding. The windshield chip stuff might work well for this if you can get some. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I was just wondering if the kind of clear plastic that is used to mold stuff would be better. (The resin/hardener that they have at craft stores) Clear coat is so thin that it would take a lot of layers to build it up. Pretty much wasteful to buy a pint for just a few drops though. If you went that route, it could be shaped with maybe 600 grit sandpaper. Then that would be smooth enough to clearcoat. "...on the desk in front of the keyboard." I like your focus. Or determination. PS: I haven't seen Loudbang's link. That may be the solution.
THANKS! That was a very good link, lots of good detailed photos of the rebuild of all the components on the car. I would have missed that if you hadn't posted it since the car is out of my main realm of interest. Bob
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