I hope I'm in the right forum for this, I just had my car painted (68 convertible) the fellas at the body shop took out my windshild and they asked me if I would like it send somewhere to have it buffed and polished. The question I have is, is this something I could do myself and if so how do I do it? Can I also do my side windows? Thanks in advance. By the way the car came out great, I am very pleased.

I have heard of something called jeweler's rouge. It is suposed to be applied with a smaller buffing wheel and will take scratches out pretty well.--They warn about going too far and deforming the windshield glass. Yes, I need some too. No, I'm not sure where to get it--I heard about it but haven't researched. Maybe one of our fine friends here could help us with suggestions.

Lance

Buffing glass takes alot of time and patience. You need to be moving the buffing wheel continuously to keep the heat down. And spray the windshield area quite often with a spray bottle of water to also keep the heat down and keep the powder in solution.
Here is a link to the cheapest kit I found about six months ago. http://www.caswellplating.com/glass.htm

If your fingernail will hand up on a scratch then forget about buffing it out.

Relace it with a new one! I just got a new one for my Gran Sport (A body, should be about the same price as your Camaro) it was only $140.00. I have always replaced the windshield if I have to pull it out and it shows a bit of wear. Nothing makes a car feel more like new than looking out a perfectly new windshield onto a newly painted hood. If I could buy all new glass for what the windshield costs, I'd be doing it. Just make sure it is of the highest quality, like PPG or LOF, there is some real junk out there.

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Fan of anything that is interesting and moves human beings.
1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
1948 Chevy PU with 401 Buick

Ahhh... Another glass question! You know I have to throw my two cents in!!

You guys are all correct. Too much buffing will heat, distort, and crack the glass (I've only done that about 50 times!) Yes, it takes a lot of time and patience and replacing it is great - if you have the cash. PPG & LOF are the biggest and best names out there in OEM glass.

Cerium Oxide is the powder most glass shops use to polish glass. (You can buy it in 3 lb. containers from companies like C.R. Laurence. Their part number is CO301 and it will do about 300 windshields. Cost to you will be about $5 - $10)

If you just want to buff it up a little, here's what I'd do:
Mix the Cerium Oxide with water to form a watery paste. Next, fill up a spray bottle with water. Get a polishing wheel, like you'd use for wax, and attach it to your drill. (We use hard felt wheels, but those are more so for deep scratches.) Plug the drill into a GFI outlet for safety.

With the windshield removed and laying face up on some type of support, pour the paste onto the glass. Smear it around a little with your fingers and proceed to buff it in just as though you were waxing your car. I recommend doing the whole face once, washing it off with the hose and repeating two or three more times. Beware of the heat!! Buff and move on - don’t revisit the same spot for 10-20 seconds. Spray the windshield with water if you see the paste starting to show the slightest bit of drying. Be careful and be patient!!

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions! Good luck!

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My 68 RS Conv. 1 (http://members2.clubphoto.com/not198647/Camaro/photo2.jpg)
My 68 RS Conv. 2 (http://members2.clubphoto.com/not198647/Camaro/photo1.jpg)