Glass repair and restoration

Glass polishing is the removal of scratch and mineral damage from glass surfaces using a series of abrasive and polishing actions.

Using glass polishing systems, a skilled glass polisher can remove almost any form of scratch, mineral or spatter damage from any glass surface.

Compared with other materials, glass is generally stable and not generally affected by environmental variations. However, being brittle, glass objects are easily broken and glass restoration is often required.

A scratched window does not mean the end of the life of most panes of glass. At Paul Coyle and Son we are able to remove most scratches to glass with the minimum of disruption to the surrounding area. We do not have to remove the glass but are able to effectively polish out the scratches and restore the glass to a pre-damaged condition in an incredibly short period of time. This saves the usual beading damage on UPVC that can occur when the glass is removed or replaced. It also saves on the energy needed to recycle the glass.

Common glass damage includes Scratched Glass, Graffiti on glass, Chemical damage, Angle/Weld splatter.

The process of glass polishing was first developed in France back in 1688 as a finishing stage in the production of plate glass.  At this time, the optical quality of glass left much to be desired.

With the plate glass placed on large round tables, rotating iron discs and increasingly fine abrasive sands were used to remove scratches and blemishes from the glass surface before being polished with felt pads to complete the process.  By 1773, the French glass polishing system was adopted by the English at Ravenshead and by 1800 a steam engine was used to power the grinding and polishing tables for plate and cast glass polishing.

As glass manufacturing developed and the quality of production improved, the need for glass polishing services in its traditional form all but disappeared. it wasn’t until the late 80’s that glass polishing started to reappear, mainly within the auto windscreen market. Hand-held power tools used felt pads and abrasive compounds to remove light scratches and stains from auto glass.

Since then, there have been numerous advances in repairing scratched glass, but the basic theory behind the techniques remain the same as they were back in 1688. A powered rotary disc using abrasives to remove the glass to the depth of the scratch and to blend and polish the area worked back into the surrounding glass.