Scratched the glass on my right mirror

[NormR]

Hi there,
I somehow managed to scratch the glass on my right side mirror. I probably picked something up with the wash glove and put a two inch long scratches across the glass. I looked to see if there is an OEM replacement with no success. Luckily there are no other scratches anywhere else so I am super relieved about that. 
If anybody is going to ask, I rinse the bike prior to soaping, use 3 different wash gloves, 2 buckets, change the water at least once during the wash and have a pickup plate in the bottom of my wash bucket to prevent dirt getting on my gloves. Has anybody come across a way to replace the glass on a mirror? Is there a way to remove the scratches with 2000-3000 wet sandpaper (not sure)? Every time I check my mirror while riding I ask myself how I F'd -up 

cheers

[JCtx]

If you have fairing mirrors, the 'glass' (I don't think it's actually glass, but could be wrong), should move, and those are fairly easy to pop out with a plastic trim tool. But first, make sure you can buy the glass alone, and order it. Your second option is to buy a pristine used mirror... if you can find one. Good luck.

 

[dirtrider]

9 hours ago, NormR said:

Hi there,
I somehow managed to scratch the glass on my right side mirror. I probably picked something up with the wash glove and put a two inch long scratches across the glass. I looked to see if there is an OEM replacement with no success. Luckily there are no other scratches anywhere else so I am super relieved about that. 
If anybody is going to ask, I rinse the bike prior to soaping, use 3 different wash gloves, 2 buckets, change the water at least once during the wash and have a pickup plate in the bottom of my wash bucket to prevent dirt getting on my gloves. Has anybody come across a way to replace the glass on a mirror? Is there a way to remove the scratches with 2000-3000 wet sandpaper (not sure)? Every time I check my mirror while riding I ask myself how I F'd -up 

cheers

Morning Norm

 

You didn't give the motorcycle year or model but you show a 2020 R1250RS listed below.

 

I don't see BMW offering a separate glass lens replacement for those outlier RS stalk-type mirrors. 

 

There are a couple of European on-line sellers on E-Bay that offer replacement mirror glass but with a quick check I couldn't find anything for your RS mirrors.

 

How large is the scratch, & where on the mirror is it located? If outboard you might be able to cover it with a small convex blind-spot stick-on mirror. 

 

Way back years ago I use some toothpaste & a felt buffing pad in my Dremel to polish out a mark on my truck windshield. It sort-of worked. Made it easier to look through but didn't make it completely go away. You might be able to polish the scratch out but my guess is that will leave a distortion in that part of the mirror. 

 

You might try a local glass company to see if they have a way to polish that scratch out for you. 

 

There are some aftermarket (look like OEM) mirrors available for fairly cheap but typically those do not have decent UV protection so fade easily & who knows the quality. 

 

[Hosstage]

1 hour ago, dirtrider said:

You might try a local glass company to see if they have a way to polish that scratch out for you.

They may be able to cut a new piece for you. No idea how easy or hard it might be to just replace the glass.

[Toruk]

You might try Glass Cooktop polish. You clean glass top kitchen stoves with it. It is my go-to windshield and glass polish for car shows.

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, Hosstage said:

They may be able to cut a new piece for you. No idea how easy or hard it might be to just replace the glass.

Morning Hosstage

 

To cut a new one the glass company would most likely need the old one in-hand & intact (the OEM lens is not just round, oblong or, symmetrical). 

 

Removing the original lens sort of commits you to HAVE to do something as there is a decent chance the original will crack or chip during removal. 

 

It is probably held in with the plastic rim around the lens, (at least a lot of them are held in that way). There is also a possibility that the original is also glued in on the back side.  With no replacement lens then no reason for the OEM to make the lens easily removable.   

 

If the lens is "only" held in with the plastic rim then I can usually get the glass lens out using cell phone lens replacement plastic tools but I have cracked (broken) a few trying to get the plastic rim pried out along the edge of the glass as some take a pretty good prying. Dipping the mirror in a bucket of almost boiling water can soften the plastic around the lens slightly but that is still no guarantee that it still won't break during removal.

[Skywagon]

Contact these guys...It may not help, but I have use the products many times in the past to repair scratches in airplane windshields....which are extremely expensive to replace as well as my truck windshield.  Repair shops that replace windshields may be able to polish is some and make it better, but it won't ever just go away.  Good luck.

 

Glass Products – NOVUS Glass

[professorb]

Products intended for cleaning or polishing plastics are not going to help you. 

Depending on the depth of the scratch you might be either trying ti fill it with an optically clear resin, or if shallow enough polishing it out with the "right" abrasives.

I have removed scratches from automotive windshield glass using an abrasive paste made from cerium oxide  https://a.co/d/cu4dVHS. Start with a Dremel-type rotary tool (1/8-inch chuck) or small die grinder (1/4-inch/6mm chuck) and a small felt wheel, maybe a conical profile to keep the polishing action where you want it  https://a.co/d/gnOEaKO. The polishing process will absolutely affect the surrounding material! Work slowly -- don't get too aggressive -- let the polishing compound and the felt wheel do the work. When the sharp edges of the scratch have been knocked down enough you will need to polish the area to match the surrounding glass. A small multi-ply cotton jeweler's polishing wheel is the right tool. Use a polishing compound like tripoli first, then with a fresh wheel move up to white diamond, then jeweler's rouge polishing compound  https://a.co/d/d0jKpb5.  Do not cross-contaminate polishing wheels with different compound grits. Again, work slowly and let the tools and the compounds do all the work for you. Felt wheels are for cutting compounds -- cotton wheels are for polishing. It matters.

The process is a huge PITA, and the results will never be "perfect", but it will be a huge improvement.

Maybe: try to duplicate the scratch on a scrap piece of glass, then try to buff it out... see if you think the results are worth the effort.

Pro Tip: Drape your bike with plastic drop cloths, maybe just let the offending mirror stick out, wear an apron and eye protection -- the cerium oxide paste/compound will want to fly everywhere and you will be finding pink spots of it for months to come. How would I possibly know this....? 

 

 

 

[wbw6cos]

I just looked up the price of a replacement mirror.   Ouch.   

 

Good luck. 

[Skywagon]

24 minutes ago, professorb said:

Products intended for cleaning or polishing plastics are not going to help you

 

Not my experience.  They are an abrasive, just like anything else.  I have used them numerous times on glass with improvement.  I just used it on my truck a few months ago to polish out a windshield wiper scratch.  They just aren't as abrasive as  cerium oxide paste/compound and probably won't work as well.

[John Ranalletta]

https://www.motorworks.co.uk/parts/panels-screens-mirrors/mirrors.html?find=r-series-r1250-r1250rs--09-2018---09-2022--213&sid=hUH0dB21j1

 

Half $ vs. new.

[Oldrider51]

How to Repair Mirror Scratches | A Guide | Glass Doctor

 

the attached link might help

[NormR]

Wow, all these suggestions are amazing! Definitely gives me some hope! Going to start by digging thru some bins of parts I have and see if I can find an old mirror lying around. Rather experiment on that then risk making it worse..........

cheers to all