Motoring Discussion > Windscreen scratch Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bobby Replies: 14
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 20:43 
 Windscreen scratch - Bobby
I seem to have picked up a horizontal scratch across my windscreen. No idea how it’s happened. Like something has been dragged across it in a horizontal direction so not wipers or anything.

Anyway I remember years ago, maybe even so old it was the other place, that there was something called jewellers rouge or something like that was recommended?

Is that still the case or are there any car specific products to use or anyone has experience of?
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:33 
 Windscreen scratch - bathtub tom
Are you sure it's a scratch and not a crack?
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:38 
 Windscreen scratch - Bobby
90% sure.
Can feel a very very slight lip on the outside but nothing on inside
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:44 
 Windscreen scratch - Bromptonaut
AIUI laminated glass has layers. A scratch would only be on the outside but so would a chip or crack.

If it's a serious worry then probably best to have it looked at.

Otherwise just monitor.
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:45 
 Windscreen scratch - Kevin
Jewellers rouge will polish glass but it's only really practical for very, very light scratches. You can get a range of cutting compounds that need to be used in sequence which will do deeper scratches but it's a long-winded tedious job and you'd need to be careful not to polish an indent in the glass. If it's annoyingly noticeable, after adding up the cost of the compounds, the polishing pads, your time and contributions to the swear box you might want to see if you can polish it out with a hammer.
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:45 
 Windscreen scratch - Lygonos
>>Can feel a very very slight lip on the outside but nothing on inside

Windscreens are two layers of glass with a layer of polymer between them (laminated).

Apparently has been the law for windscreens to be laminated since 1937 - prior to that a shattered windscreen = a face full of glass daggers.

Last edited by: Lygonos on Sun 25 Jun 23 at 22:47
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 22:55 
 Windscreen scratch - CGNorwich
Apparently has been the law for windscreens to be laminated since 1937

That cant be right. they were made of toughened glass up to the 1980's I think They used to break into granular pieces and you had to puch out a hole to see through when they broke. You never quite got all the bits our of the heater vents.
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 23:30 
 Windscreen scratch - Lygonos
Was going from page on t'web www.thewindscreenco.co.uk/help-advice/history-of-windscreens/

- wiki says however:

"In the Road Traffic Act of 1930, the British Parliament required new cars to have safety-glass windshields, but did not specifically require laminated glass."

I think you're right - my mate's old man had a scrappy and I'm pretty sure some of the cars had toughened windscreens (having panned some of them in) and not just side/rear windows.

Problem with a toughened screen is a significant chip = opaque screen until the glass cubes all fall in on you!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_glass#History

Last edited by: Lygonos on Sun 25 Jun 23 at 23:31
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 23:34 
 Windscreen scratch - Bobby
I seem to remember back in the early 80s my cousin having an issue where the headlights for her Chevette came off and came straight through the windscreen landing in the back seat.

There was a massive recall and they all got wee clips attached to them to hold them in place.
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New Sun 25 Jun 23 23:42 
 Windscreen scratch - Bromptonaut
Toughened glass was standard in windscreens until into the eighties or longer.

They'd break with a loud report and shatter into a million pieces. In my Mum's experience in a 1966 Austin Mini, the effect from the driving seat was as though a tablecloth had been thrown over the car. Some people said soaking the screen with the screen wash pump improved it - they'd never driven a car with a pump operated with the driver's foot or left forefinger....

And yes, we were still finding bits of glass in it when cleaning it up to trade it in in 1972.
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New Mon 26 Jun 23 06:13 
 Windscreen scratch - martin aston
It was also in 1972 that England goalkeeper Gordon Banks lost most of the sight in one eye when he hit the windscreen. I seem to remember this awful accident being cited in support of the need for change.
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New Mon 26 Jun 23 06:41 
 Windscreen scratch - Duncan
I wouldn't hang about if I were you.

www.autoglass.co.uk/glass-repair-and-replacement/windscreen-repair/

On my policy it's a maximum of £75 for replacement, £20 for repair. Which reminds me, I must book the MB in for screen repair.
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New Mon 26 Jun 23 11:26 
 Windscreen scratch - Fullchat
Extremely hot weather will exploit a chip. One minute a chip and then a massive crack.
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New Mon 26 Jun 23 11:35 
 Windscreen scratch - Bromptonaut
>> Extremely hot weather will exploit a chip. One minute a chip and then a massive
>> crack.

Yup, been there. Water from the screenwash entered the chip and expanded as it heated.
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New Mon 26 Jun 23 11:44 
 Windscreen scratch - Zero
in the space of three weeks I have picked up three big chips in a perfectly horizontal line across the windscreen - it looks like its been a drive by shooting or the lead car in the Ukrainian advance!

All too big (One has a chunk out of it) to be fixed invisibly. No doubt they will crack and join up.


Its a ore MOT job I think. .
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