Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

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Tangent
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Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

I have finally managed to cut 4 pieces of glass for a set of four pictures I am framing and when taping the first lot together I have noticed a very fine scratch on the glass which can't really be seen but it is throwing a shadow onto the work beneath.

Is there any way to try to polish this scratch out or do I need to start again?
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easypopsgcf
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by easypopsgcf »

Start again
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prospero
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by prospero »

Sometimes what you think is a scratch is really a bit of stubborn gunk and you can remove it with very fine steel wool.

A real scratch on the other hand is a complete write-off. :(
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Tangent
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

I think this is a real scratch as I can feel it with my fingernail :-(
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Graysalchemy

Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Graysalchemy »

Start again and be thankful it is not a sheet of Trueview museum glass. :evil:
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Kwik Picture Framing »

Do it again, a scratch from a glass can never be removed. Easy just to a new piece
Roboframer

Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Roboframer »

Draw a circle around the glass with a sharpie and put it in a place where you will store future offcuts, but beware, they breed, MUAHAHAHAAAA!
Tangent
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

LOL
Thanks everyone
Been rubbing at it for an hour with toothpaste and bicarb but come to the conclusion that you are all right.
Just that I am not as good as you at cutting it and if you knew how difficult it was for me to get all four cut you would understand my preoccupation with bicarb!

But to have to start again will only give me more practice.
Just hope the other three are scratch free
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by pramsay13 »

As you've realised there is no way to remove it.
If you are framing for yourself you could just live with it. I have a picture I did for myself around 8 years ago that has a bubble in the glass. It isn't obvious and it doesn't bother me so I've kept it. I doubt anyone else has noticed.
I'm my own harshest critic when it comes to sales, so if it is for a customer I would redo it and as Robo says draw a circle around scratch and then reuse bit of glass for smaller items.
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

Yes I am considering leaving it for now and then when I am far more adept at cutting glass I could always replace it later.
These are for the bedroom and just checked and if I put that one on my side of the bed the light doesn't catch it from any angle I might view it from.
The other side of the room gets the sun at times.

But now I am dreading trying the other sheets.
I cut them on the same cutting mat and vacuumed it in-between but I think that some tiny splinters may have remained on the mat.
All part of the learning process though.

I missed my course today because I have been so ill with a nightmare cold.
So really wanted to get some stuff done at home this week, especially since last week was half term.
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Tangent
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

Next sheet I picked up has no scratches :-)
Have put a little masking tape on the scratched pane as I can only assemble two of the four pictures today because I haven't done the watercolour for the background for the other two.

Maybe by the time I get round to doing that one the thought of marking the scratch with a sharpie and cutting a new sheet might not feel as daunting as it does right now.

Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement.
I am very happy to have found this forum :-)
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Tangent
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Tangent »

Oh and thanks for making me realise how trivial this issue is Graysalchemy
If I ever decided I need to use Trueview I will order it cut to size and take my work in when I go to pick it up and assemble it there!!!

Although known by my friends to never do things by halves and for getting too serious about things and researching to the nth degree AND loving the best of everything, I think I can tolerate the reflections from the glass that I have always seen wherever I go.

Perhaps if I win the lottery I will use that amazing glass ;-)

But thank you for pointing out that all that is lost is my pains of labour ~ the cost of the glass was not anything to get hung up about.

Just not sure where I'm going wrong with my Silberschmitt
I can cut smaller pieces easily enough
But when I need to lean right across for a longer cut I can hear that it hasn't been effective.
But practice makes perfect and I'm not ready to give up
:D
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Trillian »

I know what you mean about reaching across a sheet of glass to cut it. Those of us who are of the female variety can struggle a bit due to short arms and (ahem) certain appendages getting in the way :oops: . I appreciate that you are short of space, but in my old workshop I used an A0 size drawing board (parallel motion removed), with a dowel-pegged lip at the bottom. I was able (just) to lift, turn and place a full size sheet of glass onto the board, and then tilt the board up, making it easy to start the cut. The glass rested on the lip, and so couldn't go anywhere. I lined the board with a sheet of non-slip matting, but an off-cut of carpet would have sufficed.

I'm not sure what size you are getting your glass in at, but you could consider buying a smaller, (A2 size?) second-hand, desktop drawing board to rest on your workbench, for glass cutting. When not in use it could then fold down flat, and unless you've got a futon, the drawing board would easily slide under a bed. Make sure that the dowels are placed far enough apart to take the width of your glass cutting edge/T-bar!
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Graysalchemy »

I had a couple of grands worth of TrueView museum glass on the rack earlier in the year, just having it there brought me out in panic attacks, and cutting it well don't go there. Fortunately i managed to cut all I needed without any trouble and even found a buyer for a piece of offcut until I put my size 10 through it :oops: :oops: .

Any way job done and off my hands before any of it could brake. :D :D :D
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by IFGL »

My chaps in the work shop aren't keen on cutting that either, although I just buy it by the box, I haven't had call to have that much in in one go, must have been a great pay day when that invoice was paid.
Graysalchemy

Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Graysalchemy »

I didn't make much on the glass but it was a good job all the same. :D
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by iamzero »

I remember when I first started cutting my own glass, I kept practicing on cheaper stuff and built up confidence and had it nailed by cutting silly curves and all sorts. I put my first sheet of con clear on the table and ruined it. I think the trick is not being scared of it if that makes sense.

Just out of interest does anyone think Tru Vue museum is worth the cost or just overpriced?
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Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by prospero »

iamzero wrote:
Just out of interest does anyone think Tru Vue museum is worth the cost or just overpriced?
It's much cheaper in the US. And much dearer in Austrailia apparently.....

Let's see. It aroundabout 30x more expensive than standard glass. It is better, but is it 30x better? The law of Diminishing Returns. :?

I've just got some True Vue Ultravue. Has anyone tried it? about a 1/3 of the price of museum, but not UV filtered.
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stcstc

Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by stcstc »

if you are doing work to the highest standard its the only single ply glass that meets the standard

ultra vue is very nice cuts well easy to clean etc

its does 70% UV so better than normal but not as good as museum
Roboframer

Re: Is there a way to remove a scratch from glass?

Post by Roboframer »

Three single-layer glass types meet 'the standard' and they're all True Vue. Museum, Conservation Clear and Conservation Reflection Control.

Thing is why is "the standard" 97% (FATG and PPFA)? I know for the FATG, because I was at the meeting that set the standard, the reason is that "It's what's been set by others" and I'm afraid that's not good enough. I want to know what my customers want to know, just how much difference - in time - is there between 70%-97% or 92% to 97%. It's a fair question and IMHO the answer is "negligible"
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