I have some minor scratches on my car's windscreen. How can I have them removed economically?

Glass is one of the hardest commercially available materials. The automotive windscreen is made of toughened laminated glass, but because it is the main frontal area of a vehicle, the windscreen is subject to abrasion.

Besides air-borne dust "flowing" across the windscreen when the car is moving, there is always some amount of dust that settles on the glass surface.

The first few strokes of the wiper usually carries the settled dust across the glass, causing minute scratches. These are usually unobtrusive and rarely impair vision.

The scratches that are a problem are those that are left by a wiper blade where the rubber is torn off, exposing the metal parts of the blade that will inevitably create marks on the windscreen.

There are a few body and upholstery shops here in Singapore that specialise in removing these minor scratches.

The process is basically polishing the glass with special abrasives to restore the surface to its original gloss and smoothness.

Such a job usually costs between $120 and $200. Minor chips can also be polished off and prices vary depending on the extent of the damage.

However, most deep cracks cannot be repaired and you are better off replacing the windscreen.

Shreejit Changaroth