No, it's something to do with the manufacturing process, or tempering, they do with glass now. You see it in certain lights in a lot of new cars too. Can't be polished out.
There was a thread on the subject here a couple months ago.

That's pretty much what I found out - if you look online there are outfits that restore storefront glass in situ (replacing a huge pane of that due to a scratch is a major expense). In theory this could be a good option, but I didn't take it further because a) I assumed that they wouldn't really be interested in auto glass and b) I imagine that if they broke it that would be on me, and I'd rather not take that risk without a better idea of their track record for this type of glass

Used kerosene back in the day.. A lot safer on the paint ( if in car) and your hands..

Thanks for posting. I think the real value is salvaging glass that is only available as used pieces. As to skill level, I got the impression that this is a lot like working with body filler. If you can successfully work with that, you can successfully do this. Sound about right?

Close, I'd say its like buffing out a car in the sense your using a rotary buffer, you need the same pressure, overlapping strokes, and good control/awareness as you sand.

But it is like body filler in the sense you ultimately want smooth transitions between sanded surfaces.

Except you don't have much of a chance of the "body filler" exploding like tempered glass will....

I am one of the glass guys who says this cannot be done..

Big reason is 3K or 40 hours for most people...

Glad to hear of a way to do it if someone wants to invest that kind of money or time in something that there is no guarantee it wont explode or be too far damaged to bring back....

I understand your skepticism, as I too thought this a near impossible task. My back window was pretty bad, lots of damage and a few pretty deep. Keeping heat out is a concern but was actually pretty easy by working a large section of glass, of course if you work a smaller section, a small mist bottle of water helps to keep things cool. Of course you can't lean heavy like your grinding on a steel table and expect to not have issues. Think finess rather than bull in a china shop

Did you watch the videos??

I did not mean to sound skeptical.. I think this is a great thread for someone who HAS TO have his orginal glass and there is the possibility of getting it clean..

My comments are just saying this is not an exact science with no guarantees after expending HUGE amounts of time and labor.

Your results are with tempered glass ( all of the glass in your car except the windshield). I can assure you the survivability ( the glass making it through without breaking ) of doing this on a WS goes down about 1000%..

No I did not watch the video.. I was in the industry for over 35 years and have spent many hundreds of hours trying to buff out scratches and imperfections on glass..

Minivan, thanks for the insight. While I haven't decided if I'll attempt to try and save the front glass or not, I do love a challenge and will post back if I decide to do it. Truthfully, I'm away from home for three weeks so it'll be a while before I'm back and can see if it's possible. Stone and star bursts may be the issue that could prevent that piece from being pursued. Considering your insight I'll pay special attention to keep heat out of the glass if I decide to get after it.

If you have the time and money why not try???

As you have said above the pits and any small chips will run pretty easily on a WS.... Good Luck....