Hey guys, Is it possible to restore badly frosted safety glass? One of the windows on my Gradall is essentially opaque from weathering. A replacement for this particular piece is fairly expensive. Does polishing/buffing work on safety glass, or do I really need a new window? Thanks for any ideas!
First, you need to clean it. Start with a solvent such as lacquer thinner. Next, I use a clay bar with glass cleaner (not all clay bars are lubricated well with glass cleaner, I use a 3M one) At this point, you should be able to determine the surface quality of the glass itself. If it's still textured after the claybar cleaning and subsequent wipe down, replacement is probably the best option. Remove the glass, make a cardstock template, and shop around. Since it is flat glass, MOST glass shops should be able to have a supplier cut and temper the glass for far less than OEM, which is how much?
yes, you can polish safety glass using diamond abrasives and other methods... similar to doing marble counter-tops and what not... the main thing is not to overheat the glass when polishing.
Thanks for the tips! I'll try some this weekend. Any recommendations on diamond abrasives or brand/grade of clay bar?
Does glass really weather or is this laminated safety glass with the plastic layer in the middle that's turned opaque? like in old cars and trucks with long cracks and bubbles between the glass layers.