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.

clean off previous wax layer. Before you put on the new wax, make sure the whole board has been cleaned thoroughly. This can be done by scraping it down with a plastic utensil using long strokes. You may want to use a hair-dryer to soften the wax and base cleaner which you can get from a snowboards outlet. Don’t be tempted to use a metal tool though as you can scratch the base layer.

Iron the wax on. Take an iron and set the temperature so that it just melts the new wax slowly. More often than not this is the same heat you need to a piece of cotton clothing. When you’ve got the right heat, press the wax bar against the iron and let it drip all over the board. Then place the iron directly on the boards and smooth out all the wax so there is a thin coating all over.

Finishing. After the wax has cooled down (usually take around thirty minutes) you can start finishing the base. This means you need to buff the wax with a rag until you get a shine from it. Finally, take a hard-bristled brush to the wax and take off any thick wax areas, then buff one last time. Now your ready for a little extreme sports action