I have a scratched glass repair business that started using glasrenu I find it works extremely well but would love to know if anyone is using an srp finer and polisher for removing large areas of stock on residential windows/ commercial over half m2 at a time.
I only ask this as what I’ve seen of the srp system on you tube etc looks a very clean way to operate especially on the inside of residential properties.
My business is in New Zealand and no one in the USA seems willing to international ship(fields company etc).
Any feedback would be great.
Thanks
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It is easy to import items from the US using Shipito or Planet Express. They give you a US address and take photographs of the items being sent to you and you fill out the customs declaration online. I get a lot of my window cleaning tools to my country in that way.
I haven’t used Glassrenu or SRP but I’m curious about what your experience is and what ballpark estimates. Suppose you have a window of moderate size - say as wide as a standard door and half a standard door height. The middle of the window is scratched with some moderate depth scratches and a lot more finer scratches of the sort you get when a pet is accustomed to pawing it. What are your best guesses for -
What tools to use for this.
What your expenses are for this job.
How much your charge is.
How much time for completing the job.
I have a Makita drill, cerium oxide powder and polishing discs and pads so I’ll be trying this out soon. Probably not the best tools but I have time to spare.
I’m trying to quote at around 1 third of cost over the replacement of the damaged window. Although im pretty good at estimates now and im managing to charge a minimum of $80 an hour plus extra 30-50$ for out of the city jobs.ive tried a few manufacturers products ie Glasspolish.com these were good for a few years and worked well for me and will still use what I have for commercial jobs as the customer doesn’t sit in his armchair and scrutinitse the work.However i gave glasrenu a try and as ive got it down with speed and the overall finish is flawless im sticking with this for all my residential jobs.I bought the full glasrenu kit bar the Makita polisher as I’ve got a Flex one.
Thanks for the import advice I’m finding it costly I recently had over 1000$ import taxes which I’m trying to pass onto the customer little be little.
Regarding the kit you use my advice is if the scratched area is in full view the scratched area youl repair will get scrutinised badly so make sure that you have confidence in the products your using.If the damage is down low you may have a bit more leeway regarding finished result.The customer is always fussy about it, they always want it back to how it was especially for money youl charge them.good luck
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I would allow around 2 to 3 hours for this job.
Using a drill for me was difficult to keep the pad flat on the the glass which can create your own damage.
Use the right tools ie a variable speed polisher.
You don’t often get a 2nd chance to not leave a distortion
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Great advice - thank you. I prefer Planet Express to Shipito - I didn’t think the shipping options for Shipito were reasonable and they asked for a lot of documentation.
On import taxes - I have paid my share of those but I notice sometimes the Customs don’t charge. If you are declaring the values correctly and the value isn’t over two hundred euros then there is a fair chance it comes to you without a tax payment request. That only happens if a third party like Fed Ex isn’t charging you on behalf of Customs. Do make sure to declare accurately - no point in annoying them. I think they don’t care as much about orders of tools intended for small businesses- it is the retailers and larger orders they prioritize.
There is a simple way to keep the machine flat on the glass every time. And only a very few people are using it. So if you build one (cause the manufacturers simply won’t) you will be unique. It involves putting a gimbal or ujoint between the shaft of the drill motor and the disk/pad. If you want to see a video look at this very old video I made several years ago.
I really wish some manufacturer would take this. I am way too poor to do anything with it!
And the Mini-Wobble
Henry
[email protected]
Hey @Scratchfix not sure if you have used YouShop before. I’m based in Dunedin and have used it a few times for things. Works great, part of NZ Post.
Hi Andy,
Can I get your eyes on this?
Would be my first job for a paying customer - the job is risk free because Plan A was to replace the window anyway. Does this look like a straight forward job to you? I thought it should be but don’t have the experience to be sure.
Hi,
The scratches look reasonably large.if you can’t snag your finger nail on them you may be in with a chance just using cerium, however tempered glass will be bit harder to polish it out just using cerium so it will probably take you a lot longer but if they are gonna be binned in any way go for it, remember to check the temperature and don’t get it too hot, before spraying it with water again or you could crack it.
Let me know how you get on
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Thanks for the info, I’ve not used you post yet il look into using it on my next shipment.
Cheers
Thanks Andy!
I decided not to take the risk. I could snag a finger nail on it and I don’t have the experience or equipment yet. I will try and take a course on glass polishing soon as I can.
probualy a good idea.the thing with repairing scratched glass particularly residential is that the customer tends to glare at it after your finished.remind them that it’s an alternative to replacement…not a brand new piece of glass.
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I’ve now taken a glass polishing course with GP and invested in a toolkit. Any tips that come to mind would be great.
The GP 4 stage sanding discs.
Fluke 62 Max IR thermometre.
2 Makita LED worklights.
Variable Speed Polisher Flex 1503.
Dusk mask.
Looking forward to trying out this stuff in the wild. Here is a picture.
I always mask off all off the rubber that holds the window pane in, not only does this stop any slurry bleeding into the rubber but Wil protect the rubber if you accidentally touch it with the the rotating polisher, nothing like swapping the damage for more damage.
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True! I have the training but I need a lot of practice to get better intuitions about what works. I was going to obtain some old or damaged windows for practice. I have some damaged windows and a glass cooktop in my house to fix too.
Some random comments -
r1 I’m concerning about taking care to prevent strain on my wrists - maybe you had a thought on that.
r2 for preventing window cracking I was to take extra care near edges and to prevent the glass temperature rising to 40c+ - I was told even a professional breaks a few windows a year.
r3 this is a speculation on technique - suppose a window is very scratched all over and distortion seems likely - could you sand the entire surface very close to the edge to a similar depth and then the angle of distortion forms a bevel framing the window - it might look natural or difficult to notice?
r4 is there a way to speed up work on edges?
maybe using gorilla tape over masking off to buffer the frame and rubber seal
r5 do you notice some patterns of moving while sanding and polishing are superior than others?
r6 would you prefer to use a polisher with cerium oxide directly on a mineral deposit or first remove what you could of a mineral deposit with window scraper first?
r7 the people at GP seemed to get some business from inexperienced glass polishers who left behind haze - not noticing it wasn’t all gone - I also noticed it could be difficult to spot remaining haze - I have a flashlight for inspection but wonder if there is a more sure technique.
Sorry for thousand questions - this is meta- I am wary of expert knowledge because though I respect knowledge I also know professionals have knowledge that is not easily transferred because they don’t know how much they know - people who study the theory of knowledge called this the paradox of polanyi. I am always impressed by how tradespeople think their way of work is obvious and then friends in office jobs are baffled by routine DIY conundrums - it is strange and interesting. They take to the search engines to find solutions to practical problems all the time and the results are like the blind leading the blind while tradespeople do not really believe anybody would not know the answers - as scifi shows of worlds with two dimensions.
