Terrible spots / streaks on windshield glass

[senorgregster]

Hi All,

I sure hope someone can help. I've done some google searches and ended up more confused. I think I washed my brand new 07 CR-V when it was too hot and ended up with some pretty terrible spots and streaks on my windshield. I didn't notice until I did some night driving in the rain. It really screws up night vision. I've tried a few things to remove them but nothing has worked. When these streaks/spots are wet there is a small central spot that has the same look to the good parts of the glass. This spot is surrounded by a larger dry looking circular zone that seems to be the problem. The streaks emanate from there and follow the path the wipers take. Its almost as if I have etched the glass.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

[Black Pearl]

Your problem may be tree sap, although I am not sure. I have no experience with this product, but faced with your problem I would try Meguiars Glass Cleaner.


http://www.meguiars.com/?glass-care/NXT-Generation-Glass-Cleaner

[SJB]

If it is really bad, try using a clay bar (meant for paint) this is ultra fine abrasives and will remove just about anything that is on the glass withou scratching it.

[2RedV's]

Stoner's Invisible Glass Cleaner works very well.

[Richieknoble]

i work with auto glass for a living and what i have come to realize is nothing works better at cleaning glass better than a razor blade. make sure to spray the area with a glass cleaner first, a foam based cleaner if possible, then take a razor turn it sideways and carefully scrape the contaminated area making sure to only scrape one way, not back and forth because you will scrape the glass. if this doesn't work nothing will. just be careful and scrape gently or you could scratch the glass.

[senorgregster]

Thanks for all the responses.

I have now tried Stoner's Invisible Glass, nail polish remover (acetone), ammonia, acetic acid, bug/tar remover (Turtle Wax brand) and ice cubes!

They all seem to help but it would take me several weeks of constant scrubbing to clear up the whole windshield. I'm going to try the razor blade option as well just to see if it is faster but we are talking about >100 spots and very long streaks on each.

Is there any potential of a clay bar scratching the glass? The bars I looked at said specifically not to use on glass. The razor blade scares me as well.

Any other thoughts?


Thanks again to all.


Greg



Your problem may be tree sap, although I am not sure. I have no experience with this product, but faced with your problem I would try Meguiars Glass Cleaner.


http://www.meguiars.com/?glass-care/NXT-Generation-Glass-Cleaner

[Richieknoble]

like i said razor blades are the best way to clean glass. I work with it for a living you just have have to be careful. As far as a clay bar you will probably streak your windshield up badly so i would not use it.

[2RedV's]

Clay bar - NO
Razor blade - YES. Just keep the blade at a low angle and let it glide across the glass. I have done this before too. It works very easily and you do not have to press hard at all.

[Black Pearl]

Thanks for all the responses.

I have now tried Stoner's Invisible Glass, nail polish remover (acetone), ammonia, acetic acid, bug/tar remover (Turtle Wax brand) and ice cubes!

They all seem to help but it would take me several weeks of constant scrubbing to clear up the whole windshield. I'm going to try the razor blade option as well just to see if it is faster but we are talking about >100 spots and very long streaks on each.

Is there any potential of a clay bar scratching the glass? The bars I looked at said specifically not to use on glass. The razor blade scares me as well.

Any other thoughts?


Thanks again to all.


Greg


Wow! You do have a problem. I am speaking from complete ignorance here, but I thought I seen something recently about not using ammonia on automotive glass--problems with tint maybe. I would be very leary of using any chemical other than glass cleaner. But again I am speaking from ignorance.

When using a razor blade (no experience with that either other than scraping off Pennsylvania Inspections stickers from the inside back in the late 60's), I think I would be tempted to follow the arc of the wipers, so that if you did scratch the glass it would be in the same track as the wiper motion and not tend to leave a smear during wiper use. But again I am speaking from total ignorance.

[senorgregster]

well I just tried the razor blade. it worked OKish but a single small spot took me a good 5-10 minutes. The blade gummed up so it is taking stuff off. I'm not sure this is the way to go because I estimate that I have a good 200 spots and then the streaks. I'd be at it forever. The good news is that the spots are removable - just need to figure out a faster way.




like i said razor blades are the best way to clean glass. I work with it for a living you just have have to be careful. As far as a clay bar you will probably streak your windshield up badly so i would not use it.

[headknocker]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I was curious to know how this turned out.

Years ago some family members were involved in AMWAY and they used to carry a glass polish which worked very well. It removed a ton of chemical and acid rain spots on my Accord's windshield and mirrors and it didn't cause scratches.

I did a google search and I found some products which might do the trick.

Glass Polish (http://www.topoftheline.com/glasspolish.html)

Z-12 Clear-View Glass Polish: Zaino Store (http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-12)

[Inspiredtiki]

Redigging an old thread, but I noticed no one put Diamond Magic. I clean all glass (no mirrors), and porcelain stuff in my house with this stuff. For glass, this is a miracle, especially for those with hard water spots. I wish I took before and after pics of my buddies ride, but ALL his windows were caked. With a bit of elbow grease, Diamond Magic restored his windows like new. I also know it takes off any gooey junk left by old stickers (though goo gone works just as well for that)... Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone liking "perfect" windows...

BTW, don't get it on the paint cuz it's a light abrasive...

[headknocker]

I've never heard of Diamond Magic. Where did you buy it?

[tcturner]

No expert but I would change my blades because 1) they might be the problem 2)they might be extending your problem because they are picking it up and spreading it all over.
just a thought
Jim in TO

[kdx200]

It sounds like you've got calcium or lime deposits on your glass. I got the same thing on my glass most likely because I use well water at my home. I used a product called Duragloss #755 and it worked like a charm. I found it at a local auto supply store (not a chain auto store though). It's a glass polish. Bear in mind though that since it is a polish and is applied in the same way wax is to paint that a little elbow grease will be needed. I did my 2000 Explorer's windows before I sold it to make room for my '08 EX-L and they looked brand new again. It took me about an hour to do all the glass. Cost about $7.00. Let me know if you use it and how it worked out.

[PINODY]

It sounds like you've got calcium or lime deposits on your glass. I got the same thing on my glass most likely because I use well water at my home. I used a product called Duragloss #755 and it worked like a charm. I found it at a local auto supply store (not a chain auto store though). It's a glass polish. Bear in mind though that since it is a polish and is applied in the same way wax is to paint that a little elbow grease will be needed. I did my 2000 Explorer's windows before I sold it to make room for my '08 EX-L and they looked brand new again. It took me about an hour to do all the glass. Cost about $7.00. Let me know if you use it and how it worked out.Duragloss makes a great line of products that rival some of the best out there ... Duragloss Glass/Interior Cleaners (http://www.duragloss.com/catalog.asp?catid=97)

[EastCoast]

I have a similar issues with water stains from my sprinklers, and "chrome polish" was able to remove the stains.

[electric V]

Wow! I thought I seen something recently about not using ammonia on automotive glass--problems with tint maybe. I would be very leary of using any chemical other than glass cleaner.

You are right about amonia messing up tint BP. But it will only mess up the tint depending on where the tint is. The Tint on my V is on the Inside of the vehicle fo if I use amonia on the outside it will not mess up my tint.

I personally fill a squirt bottle 3/4 of the way with water add a bit of amonia (about 1/2 of the left over empty space) and the rest of the empty space with water. Then i shake the bottle to mix the contents and use that mixture to clean all types of glass.

Just do not use it on the tinted part of the windows. As far as I know a vehicles that have tint have the tint on the inside of the vehicle. Bur Amonia is extreemly corrosive and will eat away at the tint you have to use extreeme caution.

[King Eric]

You may need to try a fine abrasive polish compound on a rotary polishing tool at a low setting building up the heat.

Or try IPA to remove it first and foremost.

[kbz1960]

Welcome King Eric, I guess I'm a noob and have no idea what IPA is and might guess a lot of other don't either. I did google IPA and it comes up with International Phonetic Alphabet, business consultants, International Photography Awards, Indiana Percussion Institute, etc.

I don't suppose any of those are going to clean glass. LOL

Could it be Isopropyl alcohol ?

[howdy]

Wow, what sort of substance is stuck to your windshield?!?! Are the spots also on the paint as well? Any way to make a photo of the spots? I'd really like to see in better detail what it could be.

FWIW, I've used an ammonia-free glass cleaner from Eagle One (I think) and has worked very well on all my vehicles and it doesn't harm the tinted windows either. I would think you use any brand as long as it's ammonia free.

Good luck.

[Incubus]

Try using #0000 Steel Wool. Just spray your favorite glass cleaner. Avoid your trim, and you'll be okay.

[Less]

Wow, alot of different answers on this thread, but no one seems to be asking the right question.

Water spots can be either 1) Stains or deposits ON the glass iteslf. Or 2) Chemically etched 'pits' or 'holes' IN the glass.

If IPA, Clay, or strong cleaners are not removing the spots, then you probably have etched-in water spots. Which means you actually have to remove the glass around the spots to level the windshield. You can imagine what a chore this is going to be. You'll need a mechanical polisher and some aggressive products. Something like this:

http://www.autogeek.net/glass-repair-kit.html

At $60 for the kit, assuming you already have a polisher, that's a significant investment just to fix a windshield. If you have other windows on the car that need treatment, or you have multiple vehicles, it might be worth the investment.

Otherwise....maybe you were driving too close to a gravel truck. And maybe a rock flew into your windshield and broke it. And maybe the insurance company will just pay somebody to replace the windshield altogether. Who knows how these things happen? World's a crazy place, you know. :D

[oh9CRV]

Pa. acid rains etched all glass on my 91 Astro, real bad. I tried MANY products over the 19 years of ownership, and only one product, of the many that I tried, removed the etching. SPOT-X by Big Time Prods. www.spot-x.com ,available @ home depot. And after removal, it never seemed to return. I applied it w/ spot-x No-Scratch scrubbing pad. And yes, it does take some rubbing.

[senorgregster]

Sorry guys, I hadn't noticed this thread was bumped and responded to so many times. Thanks for all the feedback. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me that caused the spots it was most likely tree sap. I never did ID the tree type but I know which one it was! It has tiny yellow flowers and they cause a mess on a load of cars in the neighborhood! It turns out that the spots just cleared up over time ( a long time) as I washed it over and over and I just avoid those threes now.

Thanks again all.

[paragrunt]

http://www.amazon.com/Autoglym-Car-Glass-Polish/dp/B00063JM4G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1256607260&sr=1-2

Autoglym, this stuff rocks. Just don't use it inside on tints. You might be surprised at what this stuff removes.

[tasty1]

Barkeeper's Friend.