How to remove scratches from windscreen?

I’ve noticed that the windscreen of our car is scratched (presumably from ice-scraping over winter). It’s pretty annoying at night / low sun so wanted to repair. The scratches are only very light surface ones so I hope they will buff out. But how? Can anyone recommend a product? Cheers.

You can polish out with cerium oxide glass polish but you shouldn’t do it. It will weaken the glass. I’ve done it to a rear screen but would never do it to a front screen.

Best to hope for a stone chip and get the windscreen replaced on your insurance.

Did you just happen to spot a crack in the windscreen there. . . ?

As above I’d avoid mechanical polishing. A good clean and some stuff to help bead water etc (I use spray on wax) should see you through till you find a crack.

Best to hope for a stone chip and get the windscreen replaced on your insurance.

Read the what your policy actually says. Often windscreen ‘cover’ is nothing of the sort. People reach so readily for their insurance policy they don’t really know what the cost of replacing the screen actually is – with several insurers I’ve had over the years the ‘excess’ on their widescreen replacement was more than the cost I was quoted when I called the same windscreen company directly.

And it places a claim on your record… And yes that’s the case even if you have a policy where your NCB is ‘protected’ as you still have to declare you’ve made a claim…

And it places a claim on your record… And yes that’s the case even if you have a policy where your NCB is ‘protected’ as you still have to declare you’ve made a claim…

The vast majority of policies specifically state that glass claims do not affect ncd and do not affect premiums when shopping around etc (but may need declaring)

The cover is usually excellent as well. I’ve used it once with Direct Line. Totally painless. Excess £75 or £200 – can’t remember – and done next day by Autoglass.

Can’t think of any full windscreen that would be cheaper to buy and fit than the normal glass excess (side windows may just sneak in under in some cases).

Most policies with windscreen cover have free chip repair also.

That said I would not condone insurance fraud and suggest someone make a claim that is not valid and / or intentionally damage their own property.

Just buy a new windscreen. I just paid £110 to replace a badly scratched one and it’s worth every penny just for the crystal clear vision.

Just buy a new windscreen. I just paid £110

When ? Modern screens with heating elements and traffic radar etc are frighteningly expensive.

All those gizmos aren’t compulsory

You bought a car from this decade.

Unless your buying a poverty spec it’s hard to get away from them.

When ? Modern screens with heating elements and traffic radar etc are frighteningly expensive.

It was for a 2015 Skoda Yeti so no fancy gadgets. But the one for my Transit Connect with the heated screen was about £90. This is going through the insurance both times, it’s had no affect on my premium or NCB.

You can polish scratches out, but unless you’re very even with the polishing over the entire screen, you end up creating uneven sections, which can result in a distorted view and cause eye strain when driving.

We used to have a van at work that had a distortion in the windscreen right at eye level. It was horrendous to drive for anymore than a few minutes, and the boss refused to do anything about getting it replaced as he never drove it.
It unfortunately developed a major crack in the windscreen one day, which meant it had to get a replacement windscreen. You need to remember that insurance companies will fix stone chips, whereas a crack isn’t repairable.

*It really wasn’t me. I suspect I know who it was, as it was done in a very subtle way, whereas the other candidates would have just put a hammer through the screen!

I have however cracked a windscreen by unfortunate placement of a screwdriver (you just need to nick the edge of the glass, then hit the glass with palm/side of your hand for it to crack right across!), and I’ve had a customers side window randomly shatter after closing it one day.

When ? Modern screens with heating elements and traffic radar etc are frighteningly expensive.

All those gizmos aren’t compulsory

It’s worth pointing out that the only one of those things that will affect the price of the actual screen is the heating element, and if you buy a Ford, other than a Ka or the very first EcoSport models from around seven years ago, all Fords have them.

The sensors/cameras for lane deviation, speed sign recognition, etc, are all mounted in the large black plastic unit that the rear-view mirror is attached to, and which is removed before the glass is taken out, then replaced after its fitted. That does require the whole lot to be re-calibrated, a process that takes between two and two and a half hours. The screen itself would cost between £750 and £1000 depending on size, a Range Rover screen with heating is around £1200.

It’s also worth noting that windscreen glass is significantly thinner than it was years back, which is why they crack so easily.

I know this due to talking to screen fitters at a place in Bristol I used to take cars into, an hour’s drive each way, plus two and a half hours for fitting and calibration meant I was off-site for a significant part of the day, much of it spent in MaccyD’s next door – it was the only place nearby to be able to sit down!

About 10 years ago I found out that a UK insurer paid a flat price for any glass replacement or repair. The price was around £140, the customer paid the excess which was, I think, £25 at the time.

This isn’t a big company (top 10 ish) but did tend to insure more premium cars than average.

I once had a chip on my company car screen which was annoyingly placed, so I set about prepping to turn it into a crack so it’d get replaced. It was very very easy to persuade the crack to propagate – a light tap with the heel of my hand. About the pressure you’d use to fold a piece of paper.

There’s not a chance I’d ever consider any sort of polishing process that could weaken the screen.

It’s worth pointing out that the only one of those things that will affect the price of the actual screen is the heating element, and if you buy a Ford, other than a Ka or the very first EcoSport models from around seven years ago, all Fords have them.

Yes labours free these days.