Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: I have a glass coffee table that has several scratches. Can you give me any advice as to how to remove them? Harriet Suvalle, Delray Beach, Fla.

We’ll give it a try. How deep are the scratches? If you can rub your fingernail over them and it catches, then they are deep and the experts we checked with said it’s best to replace the glass. Surprisingly, it’s probably relatively inexpensive to replace it.

We checked prices here in San Antonio and it costs about $42 for a quarter-inch-thick clear glass that’s 40 by 40 inches. Tempered safety glass, beveled edging, tinting, mirrored glass, etc. will add to the cost.

If the scratches are just on the surface, that is, your fingernail does not catch, some glass shops may have the equipment to polish them out. But all of the experts we talked to suggested it will probably be cheaper to replace the glass. Also, some distortion may be visible where the glass has been polished.- Heloise