Sparkles

May 17, 2011 11:44 AM

Old car windshield has lots of tiny pits and scratches. Can they be polished out? (And could they have been prevented, e.g., with rain repellent or something?)
posted by coffeefilter to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

The only way I know of to prevent them is to go slower and leave more following distance. They're coming from little bits of sand & such, windblown or kicked up by other vehicles and hitting your windshield at highway speed. And no, I don't believe there's anything that could protect the glass without destroying the optics of the windshield. You can get clear vinyl adhesive sheets for your headlight lenses, which prevent the same problem from dimming your headlights, but I doubt you'd want something like that on your windshield.

I've never heard of refinishing an entire windshield, but who knows? Also, check your auto insurance - some companies recognize that hazy windshields are dangerous, and have rather generous glass policies.
posted by richyoung at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2011

I just got mine replaced for the same problems, it was affecting my ability to drive at night. Check your auto insurance, you may be able to get a new one for free, just ask if you have 100% glass coverage. I didn't but it only ended up costing me $200. to get a new one and they came ot my house and installed it.
posted by mareli at 11:53 AM on May 17, 2011

Small rocks, sand, and other debris pit windshields and no, there is basically no way to keep a pebble impacting your windshield at 60 mph from damaging your windshield, short of putting a second windshield in front of it.

As far as polishing them out goes, it's possible but expensive. I found this thread where a detailer offers to do it for $75 an hour.
posted by kindall at 11:54 AM on May 17, 2011

Unless you have a classic car with a special window shape that can't be easily replaced, the thing to do is replace the window. The pitting just happens over time and it does affect visability.
posted by amanda at 12:05 PM on May 17, 2011

Yesterday morning I discovered some minor chips in my windshield. I called some car windshield guys who came highly recommended on Yelp, and they were able to fix them both immediately to the point that I can't even see them anymore. They actually even came to the parking lot where my car was!

I happened to call my car insurance a few minutes before they arrived, and they took care of the costs (roughly $40). I didn't have to fill out any paperwork or pay a dime because the windshield company was one of their approved vendors. I was impressed at how smoothly it went.

The windshield guys told me that what they do to fill in the chips with resin will prolong the life of the windshield, but it may eventually crack at some point. They quoted me about $200 to replace it, of which my car insurance policy would pay half.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:05 PM on May 17, 2011

As others have said, the only way to prevent them is to not tailgate so much (I am not trying to be a smart alec; I am completely serious).
posted by TinWhistle at 12:36 PM on May 17, 2011

And don't park at the beach or anywhere sandy, especially if there is any wind!
posted by mareli at 2:29 PM on May 17, 2011

Unlike the other posters, I've known this to happen to people that worked in highly industrial settings (power plants, paper mills, etc) due to the contaminants in the air. I often heard it attributed to the fly-ash at power plants and the chemicals at paper mills.

Either way, washing the car often definitely made my car's 'overall paint/windshield' look better than a companion's same-model/similar mileage vehicle after 3 years of working ever other semester at a paper mill. And I have been known to draft a bit to save gas from time to time so chips/dings happened and were obviously recognizable for what they were. Pretty obvious how to avoid those...
posted by RolandOfEld at 4:58 PM on May 17, 2011