FEATURED ARTICLE:
Fixing Your Scratched Glassware Quickly
Everyone will come across this issue and some point or another. A favoured piece of glassware has been dropped or just mishandled and has picked up some ugly marks and scratches. You would be amazed just how many people throw the bit of glassware out, even though with a little work it could be made as good as new. All that is needed is a few tools and bit of helpful information.
1.) Using harsh abrasives to buff the scratch out of the glass is not the best option. This may work on wood, but on your favorite whisky glass, you’ll end up with a horrible opaque patch that will look even worse and be even more difficult to remove. You need to use a very fine abrasive substance such as cerium oxide. This can be picked up from most good jewelers.
2.) You now need to get a polishing wheel. This is a kind of buffing pad that can be attached to a drill and in combination with the fine abrasive, will gently buff out the scratch. It is very important that the polishing wheel is clean and free from any grit. The drill only needs to be used on the slowest speed setting usually as higher speeds can cause damage. Crystal glass is stronger and so can withstand higher spin speeds.
3.) If the scratch is quite large or deep, you may find that a polishing wheel is not enough. In most cases you can use a resin to fill in deep scratches and you can pick this up from DIY shops and specialist glassware shops. You’ll need to ensure that the resin you use has the same refractive index as the glass, otherwise it will stand out like a sore thumb, especially on crystal vases and glassware. The resin will still need to be polished up using the abrasive like with smaller scratches, but if done right you should not be able to notice a thing.
