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. A great number of people actually throw the item away believe it or not, when the scratch could quite easily be removed. With the right knowledge and materials, you can get your glass looking spotless again.

1.) Trying to rub the scratch out using harsh abrasives will not work. 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. A fine abrasive is what you need, and the experts tend to use something like cerium oxide. Any good jewelers will stock this type of abrasive.

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. If the pad isn’t completely clean then you’ll just make more scratches in the glass, so check carefully first. 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.) For more serious scratches that cut deep into the glass, you’ll need more than a polishing wheel. 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. Once you have filled the scratch, you can then use the fine abrasive and polishing wheel to smooth the glass off.