Plain answers from Glass Restore, a family-owned glass restoration company in Los Angeles, California, operating since 2014. We remove scratches, acid etched graffiti and hard water stains from glass on site. Each answer links to the page or guide that covers it in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In most cases, yes. We work on the pane that is already in your frame: the damaged surface is taken down in stages and polished back to clear, in place. Nothing has to be ordered, and nothing has to match a new pane. Where the damage is too deep to take out safely, we tell you that instead of selling you a repair that cannot work. See glass scratch removal in Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Run a fingernail across the scratch. If it glides over, it is a fine scratch such as a scuff, swirl mark, wiper mark or cleaning scratch, and it comes out cleanly. If your nail catches, the scratch is deep: it is still restorable in most cases, but it takes more passes. The real limit is not a depth in millimetres but how wide an area has to be lowered to keep the pane optically flat. Chips, coated faces, laminated glass scratched through the outer ply and failed double glazing are cases where polishing is not the answer. Depth does not show up in a photo, so the fingernail test is the first thing we ask. Full guide: How deep is too deep<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No. The abrasive in toothpaste is usually hydrated silica or calcium carbonate, which is softer than glass, so it cannot cut a scratch. It can make a panel look better by cleaning off soap and mineral film, but the scratch is still there. Baking soda is softer still. Harder abrasives rubbed by hand, such as scouring powder or rubbing compound, tend to spread the damage into a hazy patch, and cerium oxide on its own is a final polishing stage, not a scratch remover. More in Toothpaste, baking soda and other glass scratch myths<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scratch graffiti is mechanical: a key, scribe or stone cuts a narrow trench, and a fingernail catches in it. Acid etching is chemical: etching cream dissolves the surface and leaves a frosted, milky area with no distinct edge, often with drip runs, and a fingernail slides over it. A simple test is to wet the area: an etch largely disappears while wet and fogs back as it dries, while a scratch looks the same wet or dry. Neither washes off with any cleaner, because both are damage in the glass rather than dirt on it. Details: Acid etching vs scratch graffiti<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually, yes. Etching cream eats into the surface, so it cannot be scraped or dissolved off. The glass itself has to be taken down and polished back to clear, which we do on site on the pane already in your frame. We work on a best-effort basis and tell you upfront what we can and cannot fix, especially where a tag runs right into the frame. If the glass is tinted or coated, tell us or make sure it shows in the photos, because coatings change the answer. See acid etched graffiti removal in Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clean one panel properly and dry it. If it looks clear, you had deposits and cleaning solved it. If it still looks hazy or spotted when dry, the minerals have etched into the glass and no cleaner can reach that, because there is nothing left on the surface to remove. Etched glass holds water longer, which leaves more minerals, so the damage grows on its own. Early damage polishes out; years of it may not. Sprinkler overspray is the most common cause on Los Angeles windows. See glass hard water spots removal<\/a> and sprinkler overspray window stains<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cleaners work on what sits on the glass. Once the minerals have etched into it, cleaning has nothing left to remove, so we take down the damaged surface itself and polish it back to clear. Hard water is still hard water, so how long the glass stays clear depends on how the panel is dried and how heavily the shower is used. We can treat one panel or the whole enclosure. See shower door glass restoration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Polishing removes coatings, so coated, tinted and Low-E surfaces change what we recommend and sometimes whether we take the job. In a typical double-pane window the soft-coat Low-E layer sits inside the sealed unit, so the scratches you can touch are usually on bare glass. On single-pane coated glass, reflective storefront glass and shower doors with factory coatings, the scratch and the coating share a face, and polishing that face strips the coating. Tell us what you have, or make sure it shows in the photos. Details: Low-E coated glass polishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No. Chips and cracks are structural and the pane has to be replaced. Polishing takes off surface damage; it does not put glass back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We polish automotive glass, mainly on exotic, classic, luxury and rare vehicles, where the glass is expensive, slow to source or no longer made, and restoration keeps the original factory glass in the car. On an ordinary car replacement is usually the better answer, and we will say so. Send the year, make and model, one shot of the glass straight on and a close-up at an angle. See auto glass scratch removal and windshield polishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is priced per panel, not from a flat rate card. Scratch depth, glass type and thickness, panel size, count and access, and whether the damage is really a scratch all move the number. Estimates are free and start from photos. See glass scratch removal cost in Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Estimates are free. Text photos to 818-356-1345: one shot of the whole pane, then a close-up taken at an angle with light running across the glass, plus how many panes there are and where. That is enough to tell you whether it restores and what it will take. You get a written estimate before anyone drives out, and the estimate is the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, we work on site: homes, offices, storefronts, shower enclosures, vehicles, RVs and buses, and whole buildings pane by pane. Pages by job: storefront glass<\/a>, shower doors<\/a>, post-construction glass<\/a>, auto glass<\/a>, RV, motorhome and bus windows<\/a>. We also install anti-vandal and privacy window film<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For fine scratches and light deposits, yes: the DIY restoration kit is the same pad system our crews use (see glass restoration kits<\/a>). Deep scratches and heavy etching need a steady hand and a machine that holds its speed. For people who want to offer glass restoration themselves, we run certified glass restoration training (see trainings<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glass Restore is a family-owned glass restoration company operating in Los Angeles since 2014. Address: 1320 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Phone: 818-356-1345. Email: info@theglassrestore.com. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not sure what you are looking at? Text a photo to 818-356-1345 and we will tell you what it is and whether it comes out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plain answers on glass scratch removal, acid etched graffiti, hard water stains, Low-E glass and estimates from Glass Restore, Los Angeles, since 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4179","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4183,"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4179\/revisions\/4183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theglassrestore.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How do I know if a glass scratch is too deep to polish out?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Does toothpaste or baking soda remove scratches from glass?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is the difference between acid etching and scratch graffiti on glass?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can acid etched graffiti be removed from glass?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How can I tell whether hard water spots on glass are deposits or etching?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can hard water stains be removed from shower glass?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can Low-E, tinted or coated glass be polished?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can you fix chips or cracks in glass?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can a windshield scratch be polished out?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How much does glass scratch removal cost in Los Angeles?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How do I get an estimate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you work on site, and what kinds of glass do you handle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can I restore glass myself, or learn to do it as a business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who is Glass Restore and how do I contact you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n