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Scratches in windshield, what to do?

5K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  Vernl 
#1 ·
I noticed today that I have about a dozen scratches in my windshield. They range from 3-5" long and all go vertically across the windshield. Several are deep enough to feel with my fingernail. I'm not sure what could have caused this, but it looks like s**t and is rather distracting while I'm driving.

What can I do to makes these scratches less noticeable?
 
#2 ·
If they are deep enough that your fingernail gets caught in the scratch, I would say new windshield. Or maybe try safelight glass repair. I believe they can fill deep chips with a filler that dries clear, might work on long scratches.
 
#4 ·
Paying out of pocket is not an option at the moment. I'll call my insurance company and see what they say. They'll probably want to jack my rates up due to the claim and I'll just end up paying for it (and then some) out of pocket within a few months. I may just end up dealing with it for a while until I have the cash to pay for it myself.

I'm still trying to figure out what caused it... I haven't washed it in ages because it has been too cold to do so (and I hate automatic car washes), so I know I didn't scratch it myself. I haven't driven through anything that could have caused it. They just kind of showed up one day...
 
#8 ·
I have a plastic scraper i've been using for a few years with several different cars (an 02 focus and 99 explorer) with no issues. Its a fairly soft plastic, I don't see how it could possibly scratch the glass as badly as mine is unless the glass was just junk to begin with. I think I've only had to scrape my windshield once this year (every other time the defrost handled it well enough), and that was about 2 weeks ago. I only noticed the scratches a few days ago. Still, plastic should never be able to scratch glass so I'm fairly certain that isn't the cause.

I did find that my deductible is $500 (I should probably know this...), and Safelite wants about $350 for new glass. I'll just drive with my scratched glass until I can't stand it or the scratches turn into cracks.
 
#11 ·
Get some cerium oxide and buff it out. That's the only thing that will remove scratches from glass.
 
#12 ·
From what I've heard/read, cerium oxide won't help scratches that are deep enough to feel. I can certainly try it, but I want to know it will work before I spend a whole afternoon attempting to fix it.

I'm just kind of frustrated. This is the first new car I've ever purchased and it has been nothing but trouble thus far.
 
#16 ·
Its pretty tough to get good pics of this, even with my slr, so enjoy this crappy cell phone shot.

That scratch is about 3" from the top of the glass. Almost right in front of my face. Its about 2.5-3" long. There are a few more deep scratches, particularly in the bottom corner of the driver's side, and there are dozens of more shallow scratches all over. When the sun hits it just right, as it always does as I hit the road on my way home from work, every scratch stands out like they are drawn on with sharpies.



I'm done buying new cars. Used cars are easier. Between fighting with Ford when things go wrong (I've had my car back to the dealer twice within 5 months, both times it was a giant hassle to get them to do their job), and now this (which I don't blame on anyone, I would just be less disappointed if a 10 year old windshield looked like this as opposed to a 6 month old piece of glass). Its just easier to buy used.
 
#20 ·
I'm done buying new cars. Used cars are easier....I would just be less disappointed if a 10 year old windshield looked like this
I feel the same way - never again. Maybe I'll buy another Ford again, but never another brand new car from any manufacturer; it's just not worth it.
 
#17 ·
I don't remember where I read about using the ice-scrapper on the 2012 Focus windshield. It was said that you better don't use it. But maybe it was only a dream... [?]
 
#18 ·
I'm at work, so I cannot see the pictures, but if they are so jagged and obvious, I doubt it could be from a scrapper. Might be a far fetched idea, but perhaps someone actually did this to your windshield? I don't really know how easy that would be; does someone know how someone could scratch a windshield on purpose (with a key, or whatever?)[scratch]

edit: If there truly are recommendations not to use an ice-scrapper, I'd say that is ridiculous. This car is sold world wide, in many places where you just don't have a choice but to remove ice. Heck, what am I supposed to do with icy rain, which happens quite often here?
 
#23 ·
Idk who would have done it. At first I thought someone was being a dick, but I washed my car and the paint is perfect, not a single imperfection (which i'm sure would show up easily on candy red). I'd have to assume someone would key the paint before the windshield.... I know the paint would cost tons more to fix.

I also live in the middle of amish-ville, so there are more corn fields than houses around me, and at work I park in a lot with only employee's cars and nobody else has mentioned any vandalism. I'm pretty sure I have no enemies.

I looked in the owner's manual as per the scraper question, and the manual specifically tells you to use a scraper if ice/frost is thick on the glass. I haven't used my scraper often so far this year (2-3 times at the most), and its just plain plastic, probably HDPE (i haven't looked), and that shouldn't cause any scratches that deep without me putting all of my weight on it. Be aware that the scratch looks much worse in person than in the pic.



Someone mentioned RainX.... I hate that stuff, it tends t get streaky rather quickly. What I plan on doing tomorrow (day off, nice weather, should be a good day) is cleaning the whole car, clay-barring everything in sight, and waxing everything as well (I have yet to wax this vehicle). I'll put a coat of wax on the windshield while i'm at it. RainX uses silicone to repel water, whcih works great, but it doesn't layer up very well. I'll probably put 2-3 coats on the glass to see if I can make the scratches more bearable. I'll report back with how this works. I have read about some people using cleaner wax, but I'm going to use normal yellow paste wax.


Thanks for all of the input guys, Its nice to see so many people who actually care about my windshield enough to post.
 
#19 ·
Nosmokingbandit
I use rainx or a similar product on all my cars windshields and have noticed it helps make most of the scratches on old windshields far less visible from the inside especially when the sun glares of it just right (wrong?). Your scratches sure do look deep but maybe it will help make it tolerable.
 
#25 ·
Totally empathize with you. The other day I thought there was a stone chip on my windshield. Turns out it was just stuck-on dirt that even the wiper couldn't get rid of. Still, I feel it's worse to have a scratched windshield than a scratched hood in some ways -- with a windshield you have to stare at it whether you want to or not!
 
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