How to Remove Scratches From a Glass Stove Top

Scratches on a glass stove top come from the same few things: a pot slid instead of lifted, a cast iron pan with a rough base, a grain of salt or sugar caught under a pan, or a scouring pad used on a stain. Light ones can be polished out at home in ten minutes. Deep ones cannot be removed, only made less visible. This guide shows you how to tell which you have, the methods that work in order of how safe they are, and how to stop the next scratch.

Quick Answer: How do you remove scratches from a glass stove top?

For light surface scratches, rub a thick paste of baking soda and water over the mark with a soft cloth in small circles, then wipe clean. For scratches you can feel with a fingernail, use a glass cooktop polish or cerium oxide compound the same way. Deep gouges and chips cannot be polished out; they can only be blended, and a cracked top should not be used at all.

First, which kind of scratch is it?

Run a fingernail across the mark.

• You cannot feel it: a surface scuff or haze. Baking soda or toothpaste will usually clear it.
• Your nail catches slightly: a light scratch. A cooktop polish or cerium oxide will reduce it and often remove it.
• Your nail drops into it: a deep scratch or gouge. No home method removes it. A repair kit can fill and blend it so it is less visible.
• It is a crack, not a scratch: stop using the hob. A cracked glass top can fail under heat, and on an electric hob it can expose live parts. Have the glass replaced.

Also check that what you are seeing is a scratch. Grey or white marks that follow the shape of a pan are usually mineral residue or burnt-on sugar, which polish off with a different approach. See how to clean white spots on a glass stove top and how to remove cloudiness from a glass stovetop.

Before you start

• Let the hob cool completely.
• Wash the surface with warm water and a drop of dish soap, and dry it. Any grit left on the glass becomes another scratch as you rub.
• Work in daylight or under a strong light held at a low angle, which shows scratches clearly.

Method 1: Baking soda paste (light scratches)

Baking soda is a very mild abrasive, mild enough that it cannot scratch glass-ceramic on its own.

• Mix two tablespoons of baking soda with enough water to make a thick paste.
• Spread it over the scratch with a soft cloth.
• Rub in small circles for one to two minutes with light pressure.
• Wipe off with a damp cloth, dry, and check under the light. Repeat once or twice if it is fading.

Method 2: Glass cooktop polish or cerium oxide (light to moderate scratches)

Cooktop cleaning creams sold for glass hobs contain a fine polishing agent. Cerium oxide, the compound used to polish glass and watch crystals, is stronger and is sold as a powder or paste at hardware stores.

• Put a pea-sized amount on a microfibre cloth or a felt pad.
• Work it over the scratch in circles for two to three minutes. Keep the pad moving so no one spot is rubbed longer than the rest.
• Wipe clean with a damp cloth and dry.
• Check the result. Cerium oxide removes a tiny layer of glass, so several short passes are better than one long one.

Wear gloves and keep the powder off the controls.

Method 3: Toothpaste (surface scuffs only)

Ordinary white, non-gel toothpaste contains fine abrasives similar to baking soda. It works on scuffs and haze, not on scratches you can feel. Apply a little to a soft cloth, rub in circles for a minute, wipe and dry. It is the method to use when you have nothing else in the house.

Method 4: Stainless steel stove tops

The methods above are for glass. On a stainless steel hob top, scratches are treated differently: use a metal polish or a non-scratch cleaning paste and always rub along the grain of the steel, never across it. Rubbing across the grain leaves a visible patch of new scratches. Finish with a dry microfibre cloth.

Method 5: Deep scratches and chips

A deep scratch cannot be polished away, because polishing works by levelling the glass around the mark and a deep mark has too much depth to level. Two options remain:

• A glass cooktop repair kit. These fill the scratch with a clear compound, cure it, then buff the surface flat. The scratch becomes far less visible but the filled line can still be seen at some angles.
• Replace the glass. For a chip near the edge, a crack, or a scratch that bothers you every time you cook, a new glass panel fitted by the brand's service centre is the proper fix.

What not to do

• Do not use a scouring pad, steel wool or an abrasive powder cleaner. They add scratches.
• Do not use a razor scraper on a scratch. Scrapers are for lifting burnt-on food, held almost flat, and they do nothing for scratches.
• Do not polish a hot surface. The compound dries instantly and you will rub grit into the glass.
• Do not keep polishing one spot. Cerium oxide can leave a shallow dip that shows as a distortion in the reflection.

How to prevent scratches

• Lift pans on and off. Never slide them, even an inch.
• Check pan bases. Cast iron, stoneware and any pan with a rough or burred base should stay off glass, or sit on a heat diffuser.
• Wipe the glass before cooking. A single grain of salt under a pan is a scratch waiting to happen.
• Clean spills once the hob has cooled, with a soft cloth and a cooktop cream, so you are never tempted to scrub.
• Keep pan bases clean. Grit baked onto the bottom of a pot scratches as surely as grit on the glass.

Scratched stove top FAQs

Can you remove scratches from a glass stove top completely? Light ones, yes. Anything deep enough to catch a fingernail can be reduced but rarely erased.

Is a scratched glass cooktop safe to use? A scratch, yes. A crack or a chip that goes through the glass, no. Stop using it and have the panel checked.

Does toothpaste really remove scratches? On surface haze and scuffs it does, because it is a mild abrasive. On a real scratch it will not.

Are ceramic and glass cooktops the same when it comes to scratches? Both are glass-ceramic and both scratch and polish the same way. Our article on ceramic versus glass cooktops explains the naming.

Why does my black glass hob show scratches so much? Black glass shows every mark under kitchen lighting because the scratch scatters light against a dark background. The scratches are no worse than on a lighter surface; they are simply easier to see.

Final thoughts

Polish the light scratches out with baking soda or a cooktop compound, blend the deep ones with a kit, and replace a cracked panel. Then protect the surface by lifting pans and keeping grit off the glass. If you are choosing a new hob, the glass-topped VATTI cooker hobs use tempered glass with a nano coating on the flagship models, which resists both grease and the daily wear that turns into scratches.