I know if a crack or chip in a windscreen is over a certain size in the drivers line of view, the car will fail an MOT. However mine has a slight scratch not a crack, noticable if you look for it 10cm long in the drivers line of sight.
What are the regualations with regards scratches / can anyone recommend something to polish it out? I was recommended toothpaste but it didn't do anything...
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You won't polish anything off a screen unless it's *extremely* superficial, and the result will be slightly opaque or misty, especially after dark.
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There was a product I bought some years ago to repair a minor scratch on a camera lens. It did the job, scratch gone. I have used the same product on the outside of one of my aquariums as Leoness managed to scratch it when cleaning it. I cant remember its name, it was expensive, and if the scratch is on the outside of your windscreen this stuff may not stand up to the elements.
There was a product available years ago called rouge, used to polish scratches out of mirrors, it could be scarce as hens teeth these days, and as pointed out in another posting, may leave a semi-opaque area in your field of vision.
Leon
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the scratch is on the inside - i dont really want ot fork out for a new windscreen...
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LeononDerv,
Are you thinking of Jewellers rouge? Still available AFAIA. As the name suggests, jewellers use it to polish glass and precious stones with.
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Yip thats the one, I think it was a ferrrous oxide powder, not sure how this would polish glass, or if it would be any use for this application.
Leon
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Does the scratch *really* affect your foward vision?
If not, then I would expect a sensible MOT Tester to allow it through.
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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I would suspect that if the scratch is on the inside of the screen then it was probably made with a diamond ring where someone (presumably female) had wiped condensation off.
If this is the case then the scratch will be way too deep for rouge to have any impact at all.
The MOT rules around scratches are basicly examiners discression, if he decides that the scratch is too long then he can fail the screen, I would sugest take the car to where you will have the MOT carried out and ask the examiner what he thinks.
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Or keep quiet and hope he doesn't notice!
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However mine has a slight scratch not a crack, noticable if you look for it 10cm long in the drivers line of sight.
If the scratch is so feint it is only noticable when you look for it, then I don't see why you should have any problem.
After all, no-one fails a Ford with a heated front windscreen!
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"After all, no-one fails a Ford with a heated front windscreen!"
I totally and utterly agree with you! I know the benefits of the HFS but I couldn't live with it, much more distracting than a chip/scratch.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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ok-i'll get the tester to look at it before shelling out.
whats a ford heated front screen? like a rear one but on the front?? surely not?
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"whats a ford heated front screen? like a rear one but on the front?? surely not?"
yes it is.. Why people buy cars without them I don't know:-)
madf
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Same principle but using much, much finer elements and many more of them.
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The important distinction is that the wired run vertically not horizontally. This is presmably to reduce the distraction on the eyes as when they are focusing on the road they cross lengthways. Having horizontal strips would mean u have them in both eyes all the time.
I should imagine therefore that a long windscreen scratch would be more distracting if it runs horizontally rather than vertially.
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