# Glass Polishing and Scratch Removal: Review and Instructions using Lake Country kit



## TH0001

One of my biggest fears has always been scratching(wiper-tracks or hazing) my windshield by using the wipers on a dirty surface. Quite frankly, up until two days ago I have never been able to effectively eliminate the tracking from glass. That is until I used the Lake Country Glass Polishing Kit. My wife's vehicle was particularly bad and was to the point that driving at night was becoming difficultfor me. She had apparently adjusted to not being able to see, which no matter how hard she convinced me never let me feel safe about her driving.

The scratching on the windshield of my wife's Hyundia Sonata was so bad in places that I could feel a texture with my finger nail.
Even in incandescent light scratches and haze are clearly visible.










Under 500w halogen lighting the damage to the windshield is even more visible (my wife claims to be able to see through this with no problem!).



















I remembered seeing on Lake Country's website that they offered a glass polishing kit and found one for sale at properautocare.com. When the box arrived I opened it and read through the directions, which I didn't find easy to understand. A quick call to Lake Country quickly cleared up any questions (as typical their customer service is outstanding!) I had and provided very clear directions on how to use the product.

Given that I did not find the instructions helpful, I have merged them with my conversation and experience to provide a review and hopefully instructions so that anybody with basic rotary experience can replicate my excellent experience with this kit.

Manufacturer's Claims (from Lake Country's website)

GPS PRO 
Glass Polishing System 
•Polish and restore automotive glass and other glass surfaces
•Machine powered system restores clarity by removing wiper tracks, light scratches 
and other minor defects
•For use on: Windshields and Automotive Glass; most other glass surfaces
•For use with rotary buffers or D.A. machines
•Contains materials to polish and seal approximately 7,200 square inches

_NOTE_: The kit from Lake Country contains an adapter for use on a Porter Cable. CMA offers two separate kits (on for DA's or one for Rotaries). Given that glass is often much harder then paint, I elected to select a rotary kit.

Contained in the kit
- 4 oz of glass polish (cernium oxide) 
- Rain x
- 2 felt cutting disks (used for removing deeper damage and heavy scratches
- 2 yellow foam pads (used for removing light marring, calcium deposits, and polishing the glass to high gloss, these pads are significantly different then the yellow foam used on paint)
- 3.5 inch backing plate
- terry cloth applicator










Additional products needed
- Polishing machine (either a rotary or orbital PC style)
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Water
- Assorted microfiber towels










*To begin….*
Similar to removing swirl marks and damage from the paint, removing scratches and wiper damage from the glass requires 're-leveling' the surface.

*1)* Thoroughly clean the glass surface using alcohol (or window cleaner) and remove all dirt, bug splatter, film, and chemicals. Contaminated glass may benefit from a couple minutes with a clay bar. We do not want a particulate remaining on the paint as it can become trapped between the pad and glass and cause more scratching.

*2)* Tape plastic trim and rubber seals around the perimeter of the glass.










*3)* Apply supplied backing plate to the rotary (or Porter Cable).










The defects on my wife's glass could be felt my finger nail, they where deep and would require heavy cutting. I elected to start with the more aggressive, thin felt pad. Hook and loop backing means you simply press it against the backing plate (felt side up) to attach it to the machine.










*4)* Lightly mist the area to be polished with water (one light spray) and draw two thin beads of product on the glass (using the supplied glass polish).










*5) *Spread the polish over the working section.









Now we are ready to begin polishing the glass.

_*To polish the glass…*_

_NOTES_: Modern automotive windshields contain a thin plastic sheet between two layers of glass (interior and exterior). The polishing process itself will transfer heat to the glass. If the windshield becomes to hot the plastic sheeting can warp leading to distortion. Removing defects from glass requires a lot of pressure which can build heat in a hurry. Stop to check the surface temperature of the paint occasionally by placing your hand on the surface. If it is hot to the touch, mist the area with water to cool it, before continuing.

*6)* Work the polish with slow arm speed and significant pressure (roughly 20lbs of down force). On a rotary polisher you will set the RPM between 1000-1500 rpm, on a Porter Cable aim for about 4000 OPM. Work a small section, roughly 1.5' x 1.5'. Keep constant pressure and polish over the section until it begins to flash off.

*7)* inspect the surface, if more polishing is required (scratching still visible), mist the area with water and continue polishing.










_NOTE: _Water is used for several reasons when polishing glass. One is to remove the heat buildup and the second is to work the polish longer. Cerium Oxide is a very hard abrasive and will often can take several minutes to break down. Too much water on the surface while polishing can greatly increase the time needed to remove the defects as well as cause splatter. Try to keep the consistency as thick as possible for maximum action, only adding water when necessary.

*8)* Once all the defects have been removed, mist the area lightly and polish with no pressure to fully break down the abrasives.










Remove the exhausted residue from the section before moving on to the next section. It may have caked on the surface. Window cleaner or IPA will quickly remove the residue. Be patience as it may take several minutes per section to fully remove the damage.

*9) *Repeat steps over areas needing to be corrected. I highly recommend cleaning the pad after each section. As the pad cakes with polish residue it becomes less efficient and takes more time to polish each section. Simply mist the pad with water and turn the machine on. Use a microfiber towel and press it against the rotating pad until clean.

*10)* With the deeper defects removed it is time to refine the surface by switching pads. The yellow pad supplied in the kit is different the yellow pad that Lake Country makes for paint use. It is very stiff and has no pours. Give the pad a light spray of water to prime it.










*11)* Since the goal is the refinement of the surface after compounding we can work a larger section (roughly ¼ the windshield) with less pressure. Draw two thin beads on the glass.










*12)* Work the polish with low rpm (1000) and medium pressure (10 lbs) in overlapping cross hatch pattern until the polish is nearly opaque and has flashed.









*13) *Lightly mist the section with water and continue










*14) *Work the polish until fully broken down in this manor. It should leave a barely visible film on the glass surface.










*15)* Repeat for all sections

NOTE: The yellow polishing pad CAN be used for deeper damage removal by using more pressure and slower arm speed, working smaller sections. It will not remove the damage as quickly however.

*16)* After polishing the entire windshield spray with glass cleaner or alcohol to remove any stubborn residue.

_Result pictures._

50/50 Shot of the deep scratches and their removal.









Before pictures.


















After pictures.













































_Quick Review:_

Pro's: Effectively removes deep damage from glass, restoring a crystal like clarity to the windshield. Greatly improves vision.

Con's: Glass polishing requires down force and a lot of it. It can be exhausting after a while. Also the supplied instructions are not the greatest.

Conclusion: I love this kit. Instead of products that claim to use wax that doesn't exist or exist for 14 months in the desert, these products simply do what they say. There is a slightly learning curve although anybody with rotary experience will catch on fairly quickly. In the end it is a must have kit.


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## beardboy

Great writeup and looks like an awesome product :thumb:


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## nudda

wow, very nice. I just looked at the pics but need to polish the glass on my E60 so might give this a try at some point in the future when I get more confidence


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## chris'svr6

fantastic result...well done :thumb:


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## Zax

Thanks for taking the time to write that up. Very informative for anybody thinking about buying that kit.

:thumb:


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## joe_0_1

Fantastic, but what's the difference between using the above kit, and using the likes of AG Glass polish?

Very interested. Mine is knackered :thumb:


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## Silva1

Great review
Hopefully someone in the Uk will stock it :thumb:


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## s2tommy

Looks like a new windshield


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## empsburna

finally! 

a brilliant write up and how to guide - puts all the maybe and possibly posts firmly to bed now on how to remove scratches from glass. 

a big thumbs up.


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## Ibi_TME

Great read
Just need the products in the Uk


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## Andrew_O

Thanks for a great write up. Been looking for this for a while. :thumb:


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## TH0001

Wow I didn't know that the Lake Country Polishing Kit isn't offered in the UK. What a shame. I think Polished Bliss needs to get on this today!


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## vindaloo

Great write up, would love the product, wish we could get it easily


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## steveo3002

what does that kit cost , im heading out to usa soon , and i could something like that


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## parish

joe_0_1 said:


> Fantastic, but what's the difference between using the above kit, and using the likes of AG Glass polish?


AG - and any "normal" glass polishes - are nowhere near abrasive enough. Glass is very, very tough.


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## vindaloo

steveo3002 said:


> what does that kit cost , im heading out to usa soon , and i could something like that


$35 @ properautocare at the moment


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## pampos

Thanks for sharing....i can't wait to try mine....


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## vindaloo

Ordered mine from the US, $70 all-in with Express Mail (hopefully may arrive without the dreaded duty & vat, fingers crossed)


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## Kriminal

What a fantastic and informative write-up.

Good job bud :thumb:


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## ads2k

Great step by step guide and some fantastic results :thumb:


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## RcH

Nice work! Would something like megs #85 not be an 'alternative' to this or would that damage the glass? (until it is stocked in the UK)


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## PJS

Without wanting to undo Todd's efforts here, at promoting something which he found works well, there are glass repair kits on ebay here in the UK.
Similarly if you use Google.
Most are based around Jeweller's Rouge, made into a paste, and applied with a firm felt pad with a drill that'll operate at 1300 rpm.
All the ones I recall seeing are under the £20 mark, which is practically on a parity with the price Todd paid for his kit.


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## Rich @ PB

Looks like I might have to add this to my next bulk order from CMA... nice review, thank you (just about to test a UK derived kit that looks very much the same, so it will be interesting to see if both perform equally as well).


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## gioprivatemove

WoW... nice work there mate. perfect instruction too...


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## FinstP

It is really hard work to treat glass properly, especially if you have deep scratches - when you are grinding rather than polishing. 
For fine scratches, jewelers rouge aka cerium oxide is freely available in the UK - see http://www.briliant.biz/moreinformation.asp?CategoryId=7&ProductId=8 for example (£4.95 for 100 ml).


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## Bigpikle

thanks Todd

I have some deep scratches on my screen, caused by the wiper blade coming off and the arm scratching across the glass several times 

Wonder if this will be sufficient. Been tempted to get a new screen TBH, but this might be worth a try when it comes available....


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## vindaloo

Bigpikle said:


> thanks Todd
> 
> I have some deep scratches on my screen, caused by the wiper blade coming off and the arm scratching across the glass several times
> 
> Wonder if this will be sufficient. Been tempted to get a new screen TBH, but this might be worth a try when it comes available....


I have the kit & IMHO it will not remove the type of scratches you have. I have some fine scratches on a couple of side windows & it only succeeded in reducing them


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## RobF50

Can anyone recommend any other kits in the UK ?


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## shabba

TH0001, even if the guides you get from them are not that great, your thread made up for that!
thx a lot, u got me convinced, gonna buy one for my old Polo!
cheers mate


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## G style

I have had a look around and found this place dont know any thing about how well it works or if its as good as the kit in the how to but worth a look at.
If any one does get this and has ago please p'm me and let me know if its any good. I f i had a polisher i would give it ago but until then.http://www.glasspolishshop.co.uk/index.php?cPath=60


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## Rich5ltr

I wonder how the contents of the US kit reviewed differs from the one above from the glasspolishshop.com? I have a PC polisher and have 2 x screens that I want to polish. One has a few very small wiper scratches but needs a general polish and teh other is on a 50 yr old classic where the glass has got little pings on it over the years which I would like to polish out. I will try one of these kits, just wonder if the UK one is basically the same contents?


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## clcollins

Found this kit, no pictures but it reads as being the same / similar to the one reviewed:

http://www.4wheelplay.co.uk/liquid-glass-scratch-repair-system-p-25002760.html


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## monkeyboyo

I have bought, but not yet used a kit from theglasspolishing shop.
I bought it having watched a DW member (German Taxi) get great results in just 3 minutes or so on a light to moderately scratched A-Zone. Thanks Keith :thumb:

The Cerium Oxide was very messy in use. Generated a lot of heat very quickly, and that's something to really keep an eye on. Might be an idea to get a helper to keep checking the heatbuild up whilst you work the abrasives.
The wool pads worked out to about £1.20 each i think.

Obviously, only polish the outdoor side of the screen :lol:


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## bilabonic

Same again here but cheaper still - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110378017513&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:GB:1123


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## RandomlySet

great guide. think i'll have to purchase this kit


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## chattan

very useful


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## [email protected]

some interesting reading.

so has any of our traders got a similar kit?


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## PJS

Planet Polish have one.


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## CNOEVO

I recieved the kit but without the yellow pads any one ahve an idea what i could use instead?


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## Luke M

Quite thorough write up.


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## Luke M

Random bump


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## TPursey

Good review and instructions


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## MK7

good write up pal


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