[newuser]

I've had my e90 for about a year now and the windshields seem to be pretty soft. I don't have any dings/chips from rocks, but my front glass looks like it was sandblasted lightly.
I was wondering if there was any issue with trying to polish the windshield with a flex with some type of light compound to give the windshield a sparkling clear appearance again.
I have cleaned the front glass and clayed it, but the results weren't what I was looking for.

Thanks for any help!

[Mr G]

One kit come to my mine is the one from Lake Country. It's a Glass Polish kit and works very well. It's for DA's ( Porter Cable's) and ( Rotary's). Here is a picture of the kit for you. This one is for rotary's.



Hope this get you in the right direction.

[scott@bmwhn]

i've seen polishing pads for glass before but i would also like to hear if anybody has any experience polishing a windshield.+

edit: ^ that looks like a nice package, I think Griots offer pads that will work for RO's though

[Mr G]

I have use the one I posted with a rotary and works great.

[BK]

It's a big, flat panel, so it's easy enough to machine polish. I clay and polish mine. I do it just to take off any haze and remove the "wiper trails" that I tend to get over time. It does make it look better. IMO, no way an amateur could or should polish it deep enough to get out the sandblasting.

I just use 85RD when I'm finishing the rest of the car, and go over the windshield like it was paint. Again, it is really more of a deep cleaning than making any "correction" in the glass. I've also used 1Z Glass Polish by hand, and it works well, too.

[TOGWT]

The kits shown work very well, they use Cerium Oxide and as glass is not a good conductor of heat check the surface temp often and use lots of water for cooling.

Alternative method- Glass Polishing

Modern automotive windshields contain a thin plastic sheet between two layers of glass (interior and exterior). The polishing process itself will transfer heat to the glass. If the windshield becomes too hot the plastic sheeting can warp leading to distortion. When polishing glass use capacious amounts of water and periodically check the surface temperature

Once the glass surface has been washed and cleaned (detailers clay) any minor imperfections can be removed with an abrasive glass polish (Autoglym Car Class Polish or DP High Performance Glass Restorer) This thick citrus-based cream safely pulls contaminants out of the glass, including alkaline mineral deposits, and then smoothes out etched glass

If you can catch your fingernail in the scratch 0.4 Mil (0 .004 –inch deep) you should consult a professional glass repair / replacement company.

Methodology

• Clean glass to remove dirt, dust or road grime from surfaces
• Use masking tape to protect windscreen rubber sealing
Apply clay (Magic Clay®) and lubricant solution (WooliteTM / Water 5:1) onto the glass surface (Do not apply to plastic as dulling may occur.)
• Apply a quarter (coin) size amount of Autoglym Car Glass Polish™ or Iz einzette Glas Polish to a damp cutting / polishing foam pad (LC Orange or White) attached to a Porter Cable HS rotary polisher set at speed 1200 rpm.
• Heat caused by abrasive polishing can soften and damage glass; foam pad and product used must minimize heat build-up. Since glass is a poor heat conductor any friction heat built up from polishing must be kept to a minimum by using sufficient product and regular misting of both the polishing pad and glass surface with water.
• Apply to half of the windshield, polishing first in an up and down motion then in a left-to-right motion and then repeat on the other side, proceed to other glass surfaces.
• Go over the glass several times in each direction, glass will polish virtually residue free.
• Wipe off any residue, and polish with a clean dry 100% cotton Micro fibre cloth.
• Inspect glass for clarity and smoothness. Repeat if necessary.
• If the glass has PPG Industries Optech clear coating a more aggressive polish may be required

An extract from one of a series of unbiased “Detailing Technical Papers” © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2009, all rights reserved

[newuser]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. I guess I'm just stuck with the sandblasted effect for right now. I definitely don't want to do anything that would further inhibit the view.