windshield problem at night: sparkly bits when there are oncoming headlights

[thirdman]

Ok, so I picked up my Mom's '92 Festy recently (used to be mine a million years ago), and have been driving around a fair bit with zero problems... UNTIL:
I drove it at night last night and every time I went under a street light or had oncoming headlights coming at me, the windshield was rendered almost impossible to see through because of a bazillion little rainbow-y, sparkly, glittery bits... Like a million little scratches.

The windshield is fairly clean inside and out, and I cannot see any scratches with my naked eye... what could be causing that? What can be done to diminish it? (assuming you could figure out what I am talking about based on my description...)

Any ideas?

[FestYboy]

There are several glass polishes available, but I would start with some whitening tooth paste in an area with an RO sander

[ryanprins13]

Is it sand pitted?

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[sc72]

That sounds like a real possibility but he would see some pits in the daylight.

[thirdman]

I hear ya about the sand-pitting, but I'm not sure how it could have happened... it was my mom's and she never got it out where there was any sand, and never got it over 35 mph... and the windshield is only about 5 years old, original was damaged by hail. She never drove and night, so I don't know how long it's been like this...

[ryanprins13]

That sounds like a real possibility but he would see some pits in the daylight.

I figured but had to ask..

I hear ya about the sand-pitting, but I'm not sure how it could have happened... it was my mom's and she never got it out where there was any sand, and never got it over 35 mph... and the windshield is only about 5 years old, original was damaged by hail. She never drove and night, so I don't know how long it's been like this...

Ok, have you tried cleaning the window with anything? The yellow haze/film from smoking can do weird stuff to light. I applied the rainx anti fog to the inside of my windshield a little too thick and it was annoying with the light until i wiped more off.
It could be some sort of weird film, grease, tree sap smeared smooth or something on there. Try a couple different cleaners maybe

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[thirdman]

Ok, have you tried cleaning the window with anything? The yellow haze/film from smoking can do weird stuff to light. I applied the rainx anti fog to the inside of my windshield a little too thick and it was annoying with the light until i wiped more off.
It could be some sort of weird film, grease, tree sap smeared smooth or something on there. Try a couple different cleaners maybe
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It's never been smoked in, but I agree that I need to hit it with a variety of cleaners inside and out... Surely there is a simple fix?

[jawja jim]

Last resort might be to use cerium oxide and a thick, hard felt pad. But it's not cheap to try. I used it to polish out bamboo drippings that will REALLY mess up glass. The cerium oxide is cheap enough - less than $10, but the 1 1/4" felt pad is about $25. This is the stuff used to polish lenses, and it is very labor intensive. I spent about 6-8 hours on hatch, windshield, and 2 side windows. Hard to say the time, because many rest breaks were required.

[rap]

If you are using paper towels to clean with, you may want to try newspaper instead. I've had good results over the years. It seems that PTs are too soft to cut thru the baked on road goo/ bug guts or whatever and NP seems to acts like a scraper with the cleaner to clean down to bare glass. If you go the cerium oxide route, be warned the powder splash will stain a weak paint finish. Learned that the hard way on a 72 white pick-up with a poorly maintained finish for the 30 yrs before I got. Needless to say white with pink pok-a-dots doesn't work.

[lessersivad]

If you are using paper towels to clean with, you may want to try newspaper instead. I've had good results over the years. It seems that PTs are too soft to cut thru the baked on road goo/ bug guts or whatever and NP seems to acts like a scraper with the cleaner to clean down to bare glass. If you go the cerium oxide route, be warned the powder splash will stain a weak paint finish. Learned that the hard way on a 72 white pick-up with a poorly maintained finish for the 30 yrs before I got. Needless to say white with pink pok-a-dots doesn't work.

I agree with the newspaper use. It works a LOT better than paper towels. Really cuts thru the grime.

[jawja jim]

rap, you are correct about the mess involved with cerium oxide. If I use it again, I will mask as if painting. I didn't have a problem with lasting stains, also on a white car, but it was a chore to get it out of cracks and crevices.

[Rick the Quick]

And where do you find cerium oxide? and the hard felt pad?
Thank you in advance!

[rap]

And where do you find cerium oxide? and the hard felt pad?
Thank you in advance!

Ebay look under glass scratch repair

[jawja jim]

I got it from Amazon, but I see plenty on Ebay, too. And wear something you don't care about. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Rick the Quick]

Thank you, I will try it.