[BarryK]

Got caught in a bad sandstorm coming back from Palm Springs last week. I slowed to a crawl until I was out of it, but the next day I noticed my windshield was noticably pitted/sandblasted. When driving into the sun or lights at night, it's pretty hazy from the damage. My insurance will replace it ($100 deductible), but I'm curious if anyone knows of any way to polish this out. Seems like you could remove a thin layer of the surface & clear it up? I've seen some other posts that lead me to believe it is not repairable, but thought I'd tap into the combined brain trust here for other opinions.

If it's not repairable, is this a pretty routine replacement? I'm concerned about it being installed correctly - I had a windshield replaced on a Toyota a few years back & water leaked under the paint all around the glass & caused a lot of rust around the windshield. I'd hate for that to happen to my bimmer!!
Then there's all that electronics for the rain sensor, etc...

Thanks in advance for your thoughts...

Barry

[rrosen]

A glass shop could tell you if it could be polished out without leaving distortions in the glass.

The key is to be sure the shop that replaces it has experience in doing BMWs. You need to be sure the glass you get has the sensors built in for the rain, etc.

[E90Brian]

Originally Posted by rrosen

A glass shop could tell you if it could be polished out without leaving distortions in the glass.

The key is to be sure the shop that replaces it has experience in doing BMWs. You need to be sure the glass you get has the sensors built in for the rain, etc.

To elaborate, if you need a replacement, you'll need BMW OEM glass, so ask for it. I don't even know if anything other than OEM will work. And, as rrosen pointed out, make sure whoever does the work has BMW experience. Hate to say it but you should probably visit your dealer as see what they say. They may be cool enough to tell you who does their work if they don't do it in house (that may save you some money).

[FastLane]

Definitely make sure the dealer has experience with re-fitting windshields. Theres more to it than just applying some urethane and laying the glass on top. They have to remove the residue on the body from the original windshield seal and sand/prep it, then prime it, then apply the urethane bead, lay the glass on top very carefully and evenly, and allow proper time to cure.

If this is done improperly, you'll hear alot of wind/road/engine noise transmitting through the windshield shield. Not to mention, potential water leaks.