As the title suggests; is there any easy way to remove surface scratches from a windshield or should I just spend the $$ and get a new one?
Check with your insurance if you have full glass coverage and the surface scratch is in the viewing area or deemed to weaken the windshield you may get it replaced for free.
I’m interested in this question too.
I have a little nick in my windshield. It’s not in a bothersome location. But last time I had one of these, the little nick spawned a crack that slowly spread across the entire window, over a period of several months. After driving around like this for a few years, I finally got a fix-it ticket and had to spring $400 to get the whole windshield replaced.
There are any number of auto glass shops around town that advertise they can repair nicks like this, so the whole window won’t ever need replacing like that.
I’m wondering how one repairs a nick in a windshield.
There is a flash presentation here that shows the process used by an aussie company Windscreen Repair and Replacement | O'Brien® AutoGlass
Google divot repair your city. Wife had one done last week. Cost $20. She paid cash rather than bother with insurance.
Call around to all the auto glass shops in your neighborhood, and make sure you tell them it is self-pay. I once made an appointment to get a WS replaced for around $300, and cancelled it when I got another estimate for $175. Many of them charge double if it’s an insurance job, and some just routinely quote that much regardless of who pays.
Aha! Did this and found a discussion … Where else? … Right here on SDMB!
Check with your insurance coverage. Even if they don’t cover the cost of the repair, they can recommend a repair shop to you.
Scratches can be removed, but buffing and polishing of curved glass will lead to distortion in your field of vision, not an ideal result. Chips are repaired by injecting a U.V sensitive resin into the damage, and then curing it once ALL the air and moisture are displaced, That flash presentation above shows one method, which incorporates a timer, and then presumes the damage has been filled, I alternate between vacuum and pressure, sometimes taking up to an hour to fill the chip to my satisfaction. A second resin is then applied to the face of the glass, which bonds to the other resin and to the existing glass, and both are cured using the U.V light. There are resins of differing viscosity available, along with different colors for filling damage in the black banding area of the glass, or colored glass as seen in some makes of vehicle.
When dealing with insurance companies regarding scratches, wording is crucial. Tell them you’ve got damage that can’t be repaired, not that you’ve got annoying wiper scratches on your screen! and always replace wiper blades when getting new glass fitted.