Anyone managed to remove

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
12/18/2014 at 16:57 • Filed to: None

Wind shield scratching in the past. My car has a fair bit of scratching that is distracting in bright sunlight. Some of it is from the previous owner scraping ice and there's an A scratched into it somewhere which seems to have been done by vandals. The car must've lived in a bad neighbourhood since there was some light keying on the paint that the dealer repaired too. I'm bummed I didn't notice when I viewed the car since it's only visible in sunlight and it was an overcast day when I test drove it.

Anyone know a way to fix it?

DISCUSSION (17)

Steve in Manhattan > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:00

The Car Guys always say there's one way to fix this - a brick.

Seriously - some insurance companies will pay for a new windshield, less deductible of course, if they think that your vision is occluded and it's dangerous for you to drive it. Others will not. I'd check with your insurer.

As far as I know there's no way to fix the scratches.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Steve in Manhattan
12/18/2014 at 17:03

I looked it up and the deductible is high enough that I'd rather put up with it. Visibility is still pretty reasonable, the scratching is more an irritant than anything else. If I end up keeping the car a long time my insurance excesses will be better next year and I might try and get it replaced. In the mean time I'd rather try and improve it a little, giving the glass a good clean helped but they're still noticable.

HammerheadFistpunch > Steve in Manhattan
12/18/2014 at 17:05

I know several adjusters for several companies and they all say the same thing: don't replace your windshield on insurance. Its not the value of the claim that makes your rates go up, its the frequency of the claims.

crowmolly > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:14

You might be able to make them a little bit better by using a windshield polishing kit.

jariten1781 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:14

Those look pretty nasty.

I've had luck with Brasso on glass before. Warning though, it leaves lots of little microscratches that give a hologram like effect depending on the angle of light sources. I wouldn't have a problem trying it on side glass, but it's probably not the best idea for a windshield.

If mine looked that bad I'd just pony up for a replacement.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > jariten1781
12/18/2014 at 17:16

That's actually a stock photo because my potatorola couldn't pick up the scratches on mine. You have to look closely to see it on the outside, but when you're inside and the sun catches it they're really visible.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > crowmolly
12/18/2014 at 17:17

I'm considering trying it but I read that they cause lensing which ruins visibility.

davedave1111 > HammerheadFistpunch
12/18/2014 at 17:17

Here in the UK they'll chip-repair your windscreen without it counting as a claim. Not sure about complete replacement, but generally I think it's not held against you.

davedave1111 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:18

Try toothpaste, it's quite a good gentle polishing compound and cheap enough that you won't lose anything except some time if it doesn't work.

Steve in Manhattan > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:26

I would get it done now. If you get blinded one night by oncoming headlights (or whatever) and can't see properly through the windshield, it's a safety issue. Even when I was a broke student, I never fucked around with safety items. I still remember how long it took to pay off new tires for my old Volvo 142 (nearly a year) but I didn't want to end up as an item on page B8 of the Washington Post's Metro section.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Steve in Manhattan
12/18/2014 at 17:28

Like I say it isn't distracting to the point of danger, just irritating, so it's not urgent. Just something I'd like to deal with at some point.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > davedave1111
12/18/2014 at 17:29

I'll give that a try, might get out most of them. 90% arent very deep at all, it's mainly the A scratched into it that'll be hard to get rid of.

HammerheadFistpunch > davedave1111
12/18/2014 at 17:34

This is a US thing I guess, even chip repairs on insurance are claims. do 2 in a year and your rates go up.

davedave1111 > HammerheadFistpunch
12/18/2014 at 17:36

Well, I've never actually done it myself. It might be used as some kind of marketing/advantage for fully-comp insurance, if you see what I mean.

Steve in Manhattan > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 17:43

Still, you can't predict when you'll end up in a situation where visibility is key. I have been described by friends, however, as risk-averse to the point of being silly about it.

My windshield story is somewhat more straightforward. On a drive from DC to Arkansas to visit some friends at Christmas in my 2 month old '97 SHO. Stakebed dump crossing in front of me heaved a baseball-sized rock at the windshield - not a thing I could do. Found out later that stakebeds don't have to have mudflaps in that state. Smart.

Deductible was $250, so I took it to Resort Ford near my friends' house. 24 hours later I had a new windshield. That's the only major thing replaced on the car in near 100K, save 4 new 6CD changers in the trunk.

mattc993 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
12/18/2014 at 18:09

Your choices are either to fill and/or polish (which will cause distortions or lensing....although these may not be very noticeable depending on how much you change the glass surface) or replace.

Personally I'd go with the latter, but the first option may be a good stopgap if you're willing to try it out. It will certainly be a lot cheaper than new glass.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > mattc993
12/18/2014 at 18:27

It's not severe enough that I feel I want to change the glass, so I guess I'll just deal with it for now.