honion

I already posted this in the Wash & Wax but I am looking for as much help as I can find.

I have water spots/etching on my rear and passenger side windows. (The car was like that when I bought it) I have tried everything to remove them.

Here is a list of what doesn't work:

• white vinegar and water mixture
• clay
• at least six different kinds of polish that we had laying around
• also tried the polishes with an orbital buffer
• a glass polishing kit

I also tried the #0000 steel wool technique and this removed the water spots but left a slew of scratches behind so that doesn't really qualify as working to me.

Lord Helmet

Try using newspaper as the wiper-offer thingy. Newspaper works pretty well. If that doesn't work, try a little rubbing compound on it (by hand with lots of pressure). Good luck honion!

Also, IMO, orbital buffers will get you nowhere. Try a real buffer.

OneFlyCL

iTrader: (1)

i used Flitz one time and it work OK even though its a metal and fiberglass cleaner....... got some of the spots off the only thing is it takes Hella pressure, time, and it stinks
good luck to you lol

redrocketCL

a high speed buffer and extra cut compound is about the only thing that will work

honion

Thanks, I'll try some of these. Also I meant to say a regular buffer. I have access to both and the stnadard one didn't help.

Stealth CL

haha yeah you posted in my thread....i couldnt get it off of my sisters windows, so i just gave up and told her it was her fault for mot buying a car cover, and parking next to sprinklers.

123456SPEED

As a preventative to ever getting spots, just lightly wax your windows. I get no spots.

quicksilver10101

i had the same problem with my windows when i bought the car and the only thing that i found worked a little bit was some acid wash a local detailer applied for me and even that didnt remove the water spots totally so if u find sumthin that works please lemme know

Lord Helmet

Sprinklers hitting my car piss me off more than people that don't use their turn signals.

resedaruss

iTrader: (1)

One caution I would throw out is that unless you really know what you're doing with a rotary buffer, you can burn through your clearcoat in no time. Clearcoats are only 1.5 to 2 mils thick. A mil is 1000th of an inch. if you remove more than .5 mils of clearcoat you will weaken it and eventually have a dull area on your finish. When that happens your clearcoat (at least) will have to be refinished in order to repair it.

If water spots have etched into your clearcoat so deeply that a mild abrasive polish can't get them off with a random orbital (as opposed to a rotary) buffer, which can happen if there is a lot of acid in the water, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have a body shop remove them. It'd be a lot cheaper than getting the car repainted. It shouldn't take them more than an hour or two to do it.

resedaruss

iTrader: (1)

Oops!

I missed mention in the original message that the stubborn water spots were on the WINDOWS! That precludes all of my cautionary comments in my previous message about rotary buffers and clearcoats.

Sorry!

03silvertypeS

If this is still a problem, you can get some fine steel wool. Spray the windows w/ window cleaner first then use the steel wool on them. Make sure it's the real fine stuff and not like a Brilo pad or something. If you have an old shamy, I would use that to dry them and then use a soft terry or microfiber towel to dry after using the shamy. There will be no more water marks nor will there be scratches (since I know that's what some of you are thinking). When I detailed for a local Mercedes-Benz dealer, this is how we did the windows of all the cars.

Allout

I went to an Professional auto detail supply shop and they had a chemical cleaner that worked like a champ. You must be very careful and use lots of water. After the chemical stripped off the water spots, I then used rain-x to coat all the windows.

jproy

what was the chemical cleaner?

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

If you have scratches from the steel wool, you really need to go see a professional detailer. Optical clarity can be drastically affected by using steel wool, buffers, abrasives, etc.

Lord Helmet

Did you ever get them off honion? I'd like to know the results.

Allout

It's made by PRO Car Beauty
http://www.prowax.com/solvnts_rmvrs.shtml

VIPCLS

Take the vehicle to a fine detail shop and im sure they know some chemical to apply to rid of the problem.

BigLizard

That stuff works!

honion

PROBLEM SOLVED!

I found this stuff at a commercial glass & mirror company. It works great and you can use it with out the buffer. I don't know if it is available online. I also included before and after pics of my sunroof.

MSW 6SP

One thing i hate is waterspots on the windows. Ive tried many options.
A picture is worth a thousand words, Honion if you find that stuff online let me know

honion

http://www.technologylk.com/product_...roduct_ID=1155

Stealth CL

wow nice job, i need pick some of that up for my sisters car. and yes as 123456speed said, waxing your windows is my best method of not getting them. also i wax my winshield, and almost never need to use my wipers, because the water just flies off with the wind,its awesome.