Thousands of scratches...

slylittlefox · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:27

I made a stupid mistake. My windows had been perpetually dirty, and I'm a bit of an obsessive when it comes to clean windows. So after washing my car and the windows, and seeing that the windows were still dirty... I decided to get out the scouring sponge

"It doesn't scratch non-stick pans" I thought, and as I set about cleaning the windows I could feel resistance where the dirt was, and presuming that it was the dirt in question, scrubbed harder

After washing the soap off, the windows were crystal clean. Get in the car, and it is then I notice the thousands of tiny scratches across my entire windscreen and side windows

I thought I could live with it, but as soon as any light hits the windscreen, it becomes virtually opaque. Is there anything I can do other than pay the £100's to replace them all?

And just for good measure,

shauncr91 · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:32

Seriously...what were you thinking ?

uber soldat · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:32

ROFL ah man congrats that was funnier than most joke threads on here

Fr0dders · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:33

you could try some jewellers rouge and a machine polisher

assuming you dont have any of these, brick your windows to hide the embarassement and get them replaced

Cr0fty · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:33

Can I ask what posessed you to compare car windows to non stick pans?!

shauncr91 · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:33

I sense a potentially epic thread here tbh

uber soldat · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:34

shauncr91 said:
I sense a potentially epic thread here tbh

Have already given it 5 stars

slylittlefox · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:43

shauncr91 said:
Seriously...what were you thinking ?

I know, the look of shame my pa gave me when he came out said it all. I think he's disowned me, haven't spoke to him since

MrLOL said:
you could try some jewellers rouge and a machine polisher

assuming you dont have any of these, brick your windows to hide the embarassement and get them replaced

Anyone else clarify this might work? Not that I don't trust you!

Cr0fty said:
Can I ask what posessed you to compare car windows to non stick pans?!

My logic was: scourer doesn't scratch the teflon on the pans, and glass is harder than teflon, and if I (gently) rubbed a metal spatula across a teflon pan, that'd scratch it, whereas it wouldn't scratch glass. Flawed. In so many ways.

It was one of those, clean first, think later situations.

Thanks for the sympathy!

Sukh · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:52

Set the car on fire and get a replacement?

Or is that a bit extreme....

Malt_Vinegar · 4 Mar 2009 at 09:55

Facepalm?

You could try some toothpaste in a small section to see if you can buff them out, but i would imagine they would be a bit too deep for that sort of polish.

*EDIT* - Found this link too:
http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/diyhowtorepai_sggt.htm

DarthBallz · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:00

shoot some go faster holes in the car bonnet.

No one will even notice the windows then.

Mat · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:01

I feel for you there, I really do...

A friend of mine let his daughter and her friend (about 9 years old) wash his FTO a few years ago and they decided to use the scouring side of the first sponge they found...
When I initially saw it I casually mentioned to him that he had forgotten to polish the swirls of wax off the body work as that is exactly what it looked like. He then told me the story

L0rdMike · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:06

Oh my :\

slylittlefox · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:10

Malt_Vinegar said:
Facepalm?

You could try some toothpaste in a small section to see if you can buff them out, but i would imagine they would be a bit too deep for that sort of polish.

*EDIT* - Found this link too:
http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/diyhowtorepai_sggt.htm

That's great - thanks for the link

(And thanks to MrLOL aswell!)

Out of interest - has anyone any guesstimates for how much it'd cost to replace them?

slylittlefox · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:11

Mat said:
I feel for you there, I really do...

A friend of mine let his daughter and her friend (about 9 years old) wash his FTO a few years ago and they decided to use the scouring side of the first sponge they found...
When I initially saw it I casually mentioned to him that he had forgotten to polish the swirls of wax off the body work as that is exactly what it looked like. He then told me the story

Thankfully - I know a scourer beats paintwork in a game of rock, paper, scissors so steered clear

Malt_Vinegar · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:11

No worries,

If you smash your windscreen, your insurance company will usually take care of that with just paying the excess (50-60 quid) usually.

As for the side windows, no idea

numnutz · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:14

I remebered seeing an article on DW about a scratched windscreen so dug the bookmark out.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=95965

Whilst it might not be practical for you to correct it, It may be possible to find someone on DW willing to do the work for a cheaper price then getting your glass replaced.

HEADRAT · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:17

Priceless

Totality · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:21

Didnt think you were meant to use a scouring brush on teflon pans either?! Back in the olden days living with my parents my mum used to go mental at me so it's burned in never to use a scourer on a Teflon pan. I think she used to love her frying pan more than me

slylittlefox · 4 Mar 2009 at 10:24

Malt_Vinegar said:
No worries,

If you smash your windscreen, your insurance company will usually take care of that with just paying the excess (50-60 quid) usually.

As for the side windows, no idea

That'd be fraud though wouldn't it...

numnutz said:
I remebered seeing an article on DW about a scratched windscreen so dug the bookmark out.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=95965

Whilst it might not be practical for you to correct it, It may be possible to find someone on DW willing to do the work for a cheaper price then getting your glass replaced.

Again, big thanks for that - going to see if my dad's speaking to me and whether he's got a rotary polisher (right term?)