rough glass

[WFE270NWIA]

I bought a 1086 on an auction that had the exhaust stack broke off and the elbow bent back towards the cab. Been cleaning it up and washing
the windows noticed a rough area on the windshield where I'm guessing the exhaust hit it. Doesn't seem to bother seeing through it. Was
wondering if there's some way to clean up? Thanks.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Unless you get really involved in it about all you can do is make it safe. You could take a belt sander or disc sander and grind the sharp points off if it. It would take silicone carbide abrasives to actually polish it out. It's like when a glass company cuts a plate glass shelf. The edges are sharp until they grind the edge smooth.

 

[Hemmjo]

Scratches in glass greatly weakens it. When working with glass you cut it to size by scratching, then breaking it along that scratch. As mentioned you can sand glass smooth with Silicon Carbide sand paper. It is a long process to do by hand. But the process is to start with a coarse grit. Use that until the original scratch is no longer visible. Then switch to the next finer grit until all of the scratches from the larger grit are gone. repeat. repeat. etc, until the glass is as clear as you want it. I have done this a lot. Start with 100 or 120 grit, then use 120, 150, 180, 220, 240, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000. You will be able to see through it when you get finished with 600 or 800. I have never used higher then 1000. You need to use water to flush the dust away, lubricate the paper and and to keep the fine dust from becoming airborne. It is NOT good for people.

It is very possible your windshield is laminated to keep it from shattering and flying back into your face if something happens... you know, something like the exhaust pipe getting bent back and hitting it.

 

[caterpillar guy]

With all the 1086's around I would think you could buy a used glass in the junkyard for it and with a new seal it would be as good as new with far less work involved. I'm also sure that most yards will sell the whole cab and not want to sell just the glass. Though you would need to find one that has been damaged without that pane of glass being broken like a rear roll over or rusted out to bad to fix.