I was doing a quick welding fix inside my '39 Ford coupe. Unfortunately I didn't think to cover the back window. The glass looks OK, clear and all, but if you run your hand over it it feels "rough". Is there a way to polish the roughness out. I can see through it OK, it's just when you run you hand over it you can feel roughness.
Tried Eastwoods glass polishing kit for deep scratches on my 53. save your money on that. Worse now than before use.
Take a razor blade to it first in a small area and see what you can scrape off of the surface, I've had to do this a few times.
not sure what you can do . i'm sure that there is some polishing kit that will help , but i think you will still have pits isn't it amazing that weld spatter will bounce off finished paint....but immediately mess up glass and chrome?
I've got the same problem on a lot of my cars.when you find a way to fix it let me know.I still don't think it can be fixed
Did that once with a used windshield from a car that had a cage installed. Use fresh blades and lots of soapy water.
At the body shop it has happened a few times. Take a razor blade scraper with a new blade in it and it will remove all the roughness that you feel. It will leave the pits but they are hard to see.
What Model A Hooligan said. Haven't had any real success. You might be able to break the raised specks off with a razor blade or sharpened putty knife. I think the pits are there to stay though.
I heard of this happening and ordered a welding blanket a few weeks ago to lay over glass and moldings. But yes I'd say try a razor blade too.
I did the same thing to my windshield, to the point that I have to replace it. Oh well, it was delaminating in the corners anyway. Lesson learned. Now I cover my glass with a welding blanket.
Really no hope to make it completely go away. Anyone with good eyes and good light will see all the little pits. I have seen it many times in the body shops. Sometimes glass had to be replaced and sometimes shop manager hoped customers never seen the damage. 3M actually makes a sticky one side film just for this kind of protection, places where a blanket just won't work. If its not too bad the razor will get most of it. In my 40 years doing collision work I have never seen anyone make the damage completely go away. Steve
I ruined a real nice watch doing a quick repair one evening. Big old splatter of steel stuck right into the glass. That was $500 I will never spend on a watch again. This can also happen from grinding sparks.
I did the same to the windshield in my early bronco welding a rollcage in. I used some razor scrapers to knock the spatter down and then came back with a buffer with some fine compound . It still has craters and I'll probably replace it down the road, it's flat glass but still it is an expensive lesson.
At least you had a choice...I had an power companies electric transformer blow near my car and pitted the windows...Beware of angle grinders throwing sparks at glass, also...
Replace the glass and take this as a lesson. There is really nothing you can do to restore the smoothness to the glass. As far as paint goes, do not trust the sparks to "bounce off" invariably some will stick and melt holes or roll and leave heat tracks in the paint.
You won't polish a weld splatter out. I've replaced a lot of glass over the years due to grinder or weld splatter. A blade will take the edge of it but you'll still see and feel it. Polishing them out will only create distortion in the glass and make the whole thing worse and possibly adding more scratches. Light scuffs can be buffed out but the moment you start to attack the glass for a deep scratch your going to create distortion unless you cut the whole glass surface down, which isn't possible. Some people notice it, others don't, i do and it gives me a headache. Personally I'd rather live with a scratch or mark on the glass than be looking through a distorted front screen. Save you money and get a new one and a new gasket/rubber whilst your at it.
When using a razor blade. Use a new blade and use a window cleaner or soapy water or the blade can scratch the glass. Neal
Another vote for the razor scraping method, but I've used the blade from a utility knife. They're just as effective at removing the splatter, but seem to hold up better, ..... and they don't 'shatter' as easily as a single edge razor blade might. Safety First: use gloves & eye protection.
Ive had happen to headlights from grinding sparks on an OT vehicle. Now all the spatter has rusted and it looks like complete shit. Yea i know cheap fix. But it hasnt moved in over a year.
A razor blade might take the ones off that are barely imbedded, but it wont get the tough ones off. I've used a sharp wood chisel and just bump it with your hand to knock them off. As mentioned the small hole made will always be there, but if you leave the metal it will rust and darken, so you'll really see it later.
I have the same porblem with my eye glasses. The weld splatter will stick to them also. I have found that you should not try to remove them from your glasses. You will see a black spot if you look at the glasses closely,but if you remove them with a razor blade, the small pits will refract light and make it worse than the black pits that you can ignore. The same goes with the windshield.
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