What specifically causes door glass scratches (Page 1/2)
cam-a-lot NOV 18, 10:28 AM
Hello

Just had my dew wipes changed, and want to change my badly scratched driver side glass. It has the very common vertical scratches. I do have the new felt pads from TFS and am "assuming" this is the problem area, but am not sure. Can someone tell me why exactly the Fiero door glass scratches and what can be done to avoid it after replacing the glass with a new one

thanks
da.slyboy NOV 18, 10:55 AM
Biggest issues problem is dirt/sand getting trapped in the felts an wipes that can scratch the glass. Old rock hard dew wipes also will scratch the glass. Easy prevention is to keep the glass clean and I occasionally use a old toothbrush to brush the inner part of the dew wipes (window down) to remove any trapped dirt.
cam-a-lot NOV 18, 11:29 AM
Thanks for the reply, but I am not sure that is the main cause. I see one particular spot on most Fieros that results in vertical scratches in the glass- regardless of the condition of the dew wipes. Something inside is scratching the glass in a particular spot, and I want to figure out what it is
cvxjet NOV 18, 11:53 AM
Window guides on the INSIDE are capable of causing scratches also- They get dirt in them, and also the Felt wears thin. Sadly, you apparently have to cut the door structure to replace the guides. You can clean them a bit.......
theogre NOV 18, 05:25 PM
Outside "Felt" areas (2 of them) gets more crap that scratches ever when "dew wipes" are new.
Lower the glass some or all the way to get more space to clean the "Felt" parts. Try gently pull/push glass towards inside of car too.

I use a small wood/plastic stick to "comb" out crap when dry.
Wet makes most things stick even when you soap it here.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

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Mickey_Moose NOV 18, 05:30 PM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:
Sadly, you apparently have to cut the door structure to replace the guides. You can clean them a bit.......



Nope can be done without any cutting - been there and done that. Not easy but they can be changed out.

As for the OP - dew wipes seemed to be the issue with my car. Installed new wipes and glass. I keep the wipes clean and so far so good.
Quadfather NOV 18, 09:16 PM
It is possible to remove the felts. You have to remove the glass first. Note: you must then reinstall the felts before reinstalling the glass. I have direct knowledge of this.
cam-a-lot NOV 18, 09:27 PM
So the consensus is that the felt pads wear our or catch dirt, causing the scratches? my glass will be getting changed anyway, so hopefully changing the felt pads will help?

[This message has been edited by cam-a-lot (edited 11-18-2019).]

theogre NOV 18, 11:49 PM
Outer felts are part of the dew wipes.
Inner felts can get dirty but often not you problem.

Inners need door cutting or window removed.
Many claim Dew wipes and outers can be replace w/o window removed but most times Window has other issues and best just remove the window and fix all problem at same time.
Like glass moves front/back/tilt moving up/down, slow PW motors often cause by crap/rust on the regulator parts, etc.
8t6fierogt NOV 19, 07:14 AM
on my old 84, the dew wipes were really cracked and worn. the windows got scratched because of small rocks entering into that area. clean out the area with an air compressor.