Scratched Window

[Arthur_]

Hello

Ever since I bought my E85 just under a year ago its had a fair few bad scratches on the driver side window, I don't know the cause of this but id like to fix it.

I bought a replacement window from a breaker for £10 but it unfortunately has one or two very light scratches which I am planning on hopefully polishing out!

Is there a common cause for windows to scratch?

What product can I use to polish the scratch out of my replacement window?

Thanks
Arthur

 

[Beedub]

you need a rayon pad.... and ceri glass polishing compound but it wont remove all of theose scratches just dull them...... go easy, the heat can crack the window.

 

[NickDE]

Have you checked the inside of the glass and given it a damn good clean. Dirt can somehow get onto the seal and then keep getting on the window.

 

[Arthur_]

you need a rayon pad.... and ceri glass polishing compound but it wont remove all of theose scratches just dull them...... go easy, the heat can crack the window.

Like I said my replacement window hasn’t got anywhere near as many scratches as the one in the photo so il give it a go!

 

[Arthur_]

Have you checked the inside of the glass and given it a damn good clean. Dirt can somehow get onto the seal and then keep getting on the window.

Thanks, when I replace the window il be sure to clean the seals properly

 

[Jl-c]

For some reason BMW used really soft glass it seems on the E85 / E86 , my side window and windscreen are quite badly scratched but unfortunately I have not found an E86 drivers side window yet

 

[kis]

Is it just dirty seals that cause the scratching? :?

 

[Angelus666]

Firstly I'd get some strong all-purpose cleaner and a toothbrush and give the seals a good scrub clean. Maybe even a bit of paint cutting polish to see if that removes some of them.

If not good, before opting changing over the window I'd have a go at sanding them back and then polishing them back from there. The Ceriglass stuff really doesn't have enough bite but will polish out the sand marks ok. Be careful and you might just get a perfect finish back.

 

[Arthur_]

Firstly I'd get some strong all-purpose cleaner and a toothbrush and give the seals a good scrub clean. Maybe even a bit of paint cutting polish to see if that removes some of them.

If not good, before opting changing over the window I'd have a go at sanding them back and then polishing them back from there. The Ceriglass stuff really doesn't have enough bite but will polish out the sand marks ok. Be careful and you might just get a perfect finish back.

Yeh my plan is to polish my very slightly scratched replacement first and then fit it if its any good, I assume its not too difficult to change a window?

 

[Angelus666]

You'll have to take the door card off and then go from there. I've seen a few videos on YT that show how to do this properly.

Sand the glass first, it'll avoid any refitting issues (broken clips, etc...)

 

[Homer]

both my side windows are the same, so you're not alone, let me know how you get on on trying to fix them, I was tempted just to get them replaced, but not a cheap replacement.

 

[Arthur_]

You'll have to take the door card off and then go from there. I've seen a few videos on YT that show how to do this properly.

Sand the glass first, it'll avoid any refitting issues (broken clips, etc...)

Thanks, il have a look on Youtube and see what they say!

What do you mean "Sand the glass first"?

 

[Arthur_]

both my side windows are the same, so you're not alone, let me know how you get on on trying to fix them, I was tempted just to get them replaced, but not a cheap replacement.

I will post progress on here once I do it, I found a guy near me selling a few windows at £20 each but when I went to collect I noticed they were scratched, He knocked it down to £10 for me, its no way near as bad as mine currently is!

 

[kis]

Think what he meant is that try buffing the scratches out of your existing window. Replacing the window is a good idea, but it's also probably going to be a bit of a pain...

 

[Angelus666]

Like wet sanding the paint, you might be better off just sanding the glass with 1000 grit then moving by stage up to 3000, after this get the cerium oxide on it and it might well come up perfect.

 

[sw4nny]

Think what he meant is that try buffing the scratches out of your existing window. Replacing the window is a good idea, but it's also probably going to be a bit of a pain...

Like what you did there, bit of a pane