Expert: Robert Lamb - 7/31/2008

Question
Do you know a way to hide or remove scratches on a window pane caused from razor blade scrapes?

Answer
Vencil,

If the scratch is not very deep it probably can be removed. This job is usually done by a professional, but if you want to tackle it, I'll "walk you through" the process.

First of all, how deep is the scratch? If you can slip your fingernail in the scratch, it is probably too deep.

If the scratch can be removed, you will need a few items. First of all, you will need cerium oxide powder which you can find on the Internet (an 8 oz. jar of polishing powder costs about $14).

This is also known as Jeweler's Rouge (or red rouge). Jeweler's Rouge was originally developed by the jewelry trade for buffing precious metals.

Cerium oxide is difficult to use by hand, so you will also need a standard electric drill or a variable speed drill. You can buy the polishing head from one of various window cleaning supply houses like J. Racenstein, or ABC Window Cleaning Supply (found on the Internet) for about $45.

Make a slurry (wet paste) with the cerium oxide and water and keep the window wet with the slurry (a cheap paint brush work will work to apply the slurry).

You can find a discussion and photos of someone who removed scratches from their fish aquarium here: http://www.fitchfamily.com/glass.html

One of the main things you will be concerned about is that you do not keep working in the same area too long a period of time. And be sure you keep the area wet so you don't burn it. The slurry is going to dry quickly as the glass gets hot. Another concern you will have is that if you work too long on the area, you will make a depression and distort the optics on your glass. One way to avoid this is to work in an area slightly larger than the scratch.

If you decide to tackle this, let me know how it turns out.

Sincerely,

Robert Lamb
Window Masters
www.robscleaningservice.com