Commercial glazing job where someone got a little carried away with a welder. Slag hit the glass and made some pitting. The slag comes off nice with a blade but still leaves a pit.

Anyone tried cerium oxide to shine the pits? I know this happens from time to time on vehicles. Normally those parts just get replaced. These windows are very pricey and won't be able to be reglazed.

Any luck with anything else maybe? TIA.

Agreed.

Liquid Resins has a new "dry" method of removing pits and scratches that may work . It will remove graffitti.

expensive but Novus or Shatrproof glass restoration equipment will work very well...

Normal technique is if you can feel it with your fingernail, it is too big / deep to polish out without distortion. Replace, or if the pit is really big try using a pit filler for windshield repair. Dunno if that will work for you but I would imagine it is your last resort.

What glazing is not replaceable?

Rick,

You ever seen the glass with pictures in the middle of it? I would immagine that is pricey glass...

Larry :)

Tried what we had available. Nothing worked well at all. A couple were just from abuse pre-glaze. Some of the dirtiest units I've seen in quite a while.

It's not that they can't be reglazed, just the time out and labor made it a very last resort. Looks like they hit it.

Thanks to all for the responses.

Years ago, I was a NOVUS franchisee. I worked with the polishing system from Novus extensively. I put more hours on that system than anyone I know of. I had what was called the FINER and the polisher.

The finer had a metal disk that would remove an entire layer of glass, and I could get very deep scratches out. The key was to spread it out. The more you spread it out the less distortion. The finer left the glass fogged, then you had to take the polisher, and polish out the fogged area. Deep graffiti, welding slag, yes it can be done and done with minimal distortion. It takes time, to get good at it, and spread out the polished area.

Polishing alone will not do the job. You need the right system with the right tech.

We have had this subject come up on a lot of dissection boards over the years. In order to remove the imperfection one has to grind/polish the glass to the lowest part of the imperfection. After the attempt to GRIND/POLISH this the results are not OPTICALLY PERFECT. There will always be DISTORTION no matter how you spread it out.

In a storefront situation there is a different level of perfect required compared to scratch removal in autoglass. In the storefront application, close might be good enough, nobody looks that close at storefront.

More distortion than some of the after-market windshields installed today?
LOL

Just out of curiosity, in that it's rather obvious that this condition has literally melted itself into the surface of the glass in multiple locations, how does this effect the tempering of the glass, if tempered, or heat strengthened? (architectural, not automotive specs in play here)

If one were to polish down to the depth to remove them, which I agree would be a monumental effort and not worth it, how does this effect the "surface tension" acheived through tempering, and therefore, the liability incurred once the "polishing" technician has "touched" the glass.

The liability for damage and breakage lies with the person who damaged the glass by spattering it in the first place. How deep is the liability for the tech that tries to polish? A sharp legal mind keeps repeating to me in these types of discussions "When the liability boat sinks, everyone sinks with it, there are no lifeboats. One can only hope to have a life preserver vest to be picked from the flotsam later, IF a rescue ship arrives, and IF you survive the sharks for that long."

Honest questions, in that this string has gone on more than I ever expected it would, but also to compare, and generate thought to, "liability" issues we have discussed in the automotive side. In this day and age, it's a real concern, but recognizing those places of exposure, despite our best efforts to help a customer save money, should be considered, in case those best-intentioned efforts could come back to haunt us.

Just some thoughts, and JMHNLO.

I use Inovative Polishing systems (IPS). It's a dry system until you get to the final polish. It can take deep pits and scratches out but you also can distort the glass if you don't know what your doing. It also is a system that would cost you probably $1000 to get set up with equipment and supplies and as I said you would have to practice for a while to get good results. IPS is out of Florida. Google Inovative Polishing Systems. Ask for Miles. He might have a customer in your area who can help.