[BMWDAD]

Drove I495 to Richmond and home. (long Island)

The soft BMW windshield got slightly pitted with sand from trucks etc.

Anything I can do?

Thanks in advance.

[Speedschnecke]

no

[Tallest]

windshields are shit on BMW. mine is new from March (replaced as other one was vandalized) and its' full of little dings now (from bugs, sand, etc). It's this Pilkington brand or whatever it's called. They are of horrendous quality. I heard that BMW even dropped them from OEM but that was before I got mine replaced and it was still Pilkington. Someone here had it replaced with better brand and seemingly much sturdier now.

You can do insurance claim i guess...pay the deductable and hope its replaced by better one.

It can also be polished i imagine, but since product is crap, the probelms will come back with more driving...

[MiscExpense]

+1

[335xiGolfer]

Try claying your windshield first, before polishing.

[BMWDAD]

thanks

[JayeJaymes]

unfortunatley, you can't do much with a pitted or chipped windshield, you can really only fix cracks. Polishing it will make it look somewhat better.

[VMRWheels]

Polishing glass.... probably not a good idea on a car, but here's some starter info.

Glass polish is done with cerium oxide, but if you can feel the scratch with your fingernail, you have to grind it down first. In other words, grind down with 2000 grit sandpaper, then polish with a thick cerium oxide/water mix and a stiff felt or leather pad. The problem is that depending on how big the area is and how deep you have to grind to get rid of the scratch, there could be distortion on the glass.

You could always *try* it out, but I wouldn't advise trying it out until you're ready to replace it just in case. I've polished before, but never had to grind down anything...

[lizak187]

What do you think is the best way to make glass look crystal cleer like it was brand new?

[pander5]

I always clay glass when I clay the paint. I also use Stoner's IG and then rub it around with 0000 steel wool. Then dry with MF. Glass looks brand new again minus the pits, wiper scratches/haze and other imperfections that may have been there. At least it's as crystal clear as it can get.

I don't clay the interior of the glass but do use the steel wool/ IG trick on the inside. Crystal clear means both inside and out (obviously). Also, the old detailers trick to go with lateral strokes on one side and vertical strokes on the other. That way if you get any streaks you know what side they're on.

I have heard of the cerium oxide approach that Ty mentioned but have yet to try it. Some windshields I see will never look brand new again but could use a good co polish.