Window cleaning

[beandip]

I was wondering if anyone has a technique for removing water stains from a rear hatch window. I bought a rear hatch that was in very good shape, unfortunately it was stored outside for a while. It has these dried water stains on the glass and I have tried scrubbing Windex but it doesn't do any good.

Thanks for your help.

I was the one Escanlon referred to. My door glass was heavily with water stains . I tried even ground sapphire powder and made it into a paste, still no joy. At Blue Lake car show , one of our NWZ car club members that sells Adam products tried some swirl remover on the Tee tops on another car and it cleaned it. I bought a bottle on the spot and in about 15min. my window was clear. I just used my finger and a old tee shirt . I had even bought a ''new'' window because nothing I tried worked. I tried everything I could think of. I used my buffer with several different products. From my experience the Adams products are the vary best I have tried. I have used other stuff that they make and I have never found a better product. I sound like a commercial but I have no dog in this fight. even the car wash soap is by far and above better than any other I have used. My lowly ''gunk yard dog'' has taken sever first and second awards since I have used there stuff. It wont remove scratches like from a wiper or louvers on the rear hatch that have rubbed against the glass. It cannot work miracles .

Gary

[jwerner2]

Depending n what it really is autogeek.net has some good glass cleaning products.

I have also used a 10" orbital buffer.

I just sprayed the glass with some Stoners foaming cleaner and went over it with the orbital and a terry cloth bonnet.

[TomoHawk]

I have something called "Barkeepers Friend" (BKF) which is great on glassware, to take stains out and stains off of bartops, countertops, etc., but I haven't tried it on auto glass.

[TomoHawk]

Well,

So far I tried the No.7 polishing liquid (Meguiars) and it helped to get the glass more transparent with less glare at night. first I cleaned the Rain-X off with some strong solvent, then alcohol, then glass cleaner. I used a 4-inch polishing wheel on a drill motor to polish, holding the drill nearly vertical to the glass and pishing with a little pressure until the polish was gone and the glass came out clear. Then I removed the residue with glass cleaner.

But when I went out in the morning, there was much dew on the windscreen, and after trying to dry it with a chamois, I was almost blinded by the glare when I drove into the morning sun. I literally had my head out the window and drove slowly to the barn so I could pack the car for a short trip. After the window was completely dry from dew, it was much better, but the 10^8 tiny pits or marks still remain. That vintage glass doesn't seem to be holding up on the streets & highways.

It would be a great deal if there was a coating you could put on the glass to fill the tiny pits and restore the transparency in the low-sun times of day, namely sunrise and sunset.

At about $1000 for a new windscreen, I'd still try a little more polishing, or even a homebrew coating. I'm considering coating the glass with an extra-hard polyurethane floor coating.

thxZ

Edited September 21, 2009 by TomoHawk

[Travel'n Man]

Griots Garage has been my pick for years.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/home.do

Excellent customer service and excellent product line. The spray on wax to maintain shine after every car wash (a buffing wax twice a year) and the Speed Shine before car shows and results speak for themselves!!

I agree with the newspaper - it's the best for a steak free shine

Window Clay-

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+care/glass+cleaning/glass+cleaning+clay%2C+3.5+ounces.do?search=basic&keyword=window&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

Polishing Kit-

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+care/car+polishing/car+polishes/glass+polishing+kit.do?search=basic&keyword=polish&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

[TomoHawk]

I tred a second polishing and it seems to be better than before.

I used the same mthod as last time, but did the polishing even more carefully to overlap the lines well, go to the edges, and keep going until all the polish was gone. Then a rub with the microfibre and some glass cleaner. It even started raining after I finished, so I drove around a little. After the windscreen was pretty much wet with droplets, I tried the wipers, and it was a night-and-day difference from before. With only 1 pass of the wipers, the glass was clean and even looked squeaky-dry. The fine scratches from the wipers were not noticeable. Even the little pits seem less noticeable.

I will only need to leave the car out overnight to get some dew, and then see if I can clear the glass and drive into the low sun without being blinded by glare.

There are definitely no water spots on the glass.

thxZ