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  Dec. 10, 2010 9:56 a.m. slantvaliant Dork

  I need suggestions for polishing glass on an old American classic.

  A friend is restoring a '53 Packard, which spent some time under a tarp. The windshield and backlight, in and around where the tarp touched, have some kind of hazy damage or deposit on the surface. I haven't seen it, so I'm not sure if it's a deposit, etching, stain, or what. There are no deep scratches or grooves. He has tried assorted common glass cleaners, and a light polish with a fine abrasive, to no effect.

  I see the kit Eastwood advertises THIS and THIS . Any experience with these, similar setups, or something completely different?

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  Dec. 10, 2010 1:31 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

  Almost everything I've read has said they are an exercise in futility. Hours of work to partially clear one small area.

  Being a hammer head, I even tried it myself. I used the HarborFreight kit.
  

  After a few hours, darned if I can see that the glass is any clearer. In fact, it's worse, I think. Millions of tiny scratches now, so it's like starwars when I'm driving at night.

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  Dec. 10, 2010 2:41 p.m. rconlon HalfDork

  Delamination of the old glass can cause a smoky appearance. This is the plastic between layers of glass and cannot be polished away. It starts at the corners and along edges. Fine scratches can be polished out using very fine abrasives.

  Ron

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  Dec. 10, 2010 3:25 p.m. BoxheadTim SuperDork

  Not sure if a '53 Packard has a laminated glass windshield, though.

  Oh, and I'm also in the "nobody I know had any luck with the glass polishing kits" camp.

  Sanity is vastly overrated.

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