Water spot removal from glass
 

Hi guys, thought I'd pass this along; I've been working through some appearance issues with my new-to-me 2016 BRZ. Paint correction and polishing is done, todays task is addressing the water spots on the back window:

1. Clay bared window to remove any surface contaminants

2. Hand applied some Allens cleaning vinegar; spots still there

3. Hand applied (x2) some Chemical Guys Water Spot Rx; minimized the bigger spots but spot outlines still remained.

4. Broke out the DA, orange pad and some Meguiars Scratch X 2.0 i had laying around in my detailing cabinet; Success!! Worked great, spots are history:)

DA?

Dual Action polisher. Adams Mini Swirl killer

now your final result pics need more clarity ^^

So, you ground off the water spots - good job!


:thumbsup:


humfrz

I've had good luck with the Zaino glass polish.
http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-12.html

is it like an electric tool?

Thanks for the link, will have to try some next time.

It is:) check out the link below, the mini is really handy for polishing small areas like windshield pillars, spoilers, around the fender vents, etc. I actually use it quite a bit more than I thought I would when I bought it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=iwSD1b0IV3A

It can be pneumatic, wired, battery or powered by a hamster wheel.

They have glass polish. Any swirls in the sun?

No swirls or DA haze in direct sun or under my Scangrip detailing light. I was prepared to do some polishing after but it wasn't needed. I suspect because the Scratch x is a consumer grade product, the micro abrasives broke down quite quickly and didnt do any micro-marring on the glass surface. I checked out your build thread; your paint looks great!

That is good to know. That would totally be my fear that I would polish the window in the shade then go for a drive in the sun and see haze or swirls.

Thanks. It did look good--dam winter.

So I’ve been looking for a way to get the water spots off my windows and to get the swirl marks off my entire car including windows could you possibly walk me through everything you used and the tools needed? I’m new to this detailing stuff but the swirls and water spots drive me crazy in the sun. I tried vinegar, and I tried the orange looking water spot remover from the chemical guys and none of it worked.


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He basically said everything he tried didn't work except for polishing it off with a dual action polisher. It really could have been said in a sentence and without unneeded pictures.
Water stains are akali and need acid to remove them. If you used vinegar and spot remover and it didn't work, take it further. CLR would be my next option and then at the far end of of "be careful with this stuff",
I would then use very thinned down muriatic acid. You can only get it on the glass or painted surface because it will attack and stain metal and possibly etch paint. It will also burn skin and clothing, so again, be careful.
Most likely CLR will do it but most people jump from using vinegar/spot removers, which are very low on the acidity scale, and jump to physically removing water stains by "grinding" it off with a polisher.

Thanks for the helpful explanation. I’ll try the CLR this weekend. I’ve heard of people bidding it with 0000 SS pad but that sounds like it will scratch the hell out of it. How would I remove the swirl marks also? Do I need to buy a buffer and rub it down with clay or something?


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You're still talking glass here, right?
For glass, I would start with weak and move along to stronger liquid removal. So vinegar and spot remover are out then CLR and the thinned muriatic. I never have and never would try steel wool on glass.
Another option is a razor blade which seems crazy unless you've seen it work. This is also risky if you aren't careful. Taping the ends of the blade will make sure you don't scratch the glass but if it's kept at a angle
and you don't take it too fast, it's pretty good at cleaning glass. Probably better than the DA polisher. If you don't trust yourself on the car window, test on a house window to get a feel for it.

A buffer is better for after liquid removal doesn't work on the paint since buffing is essentially slowly removing clear coat. If you're talking about scratches on glass then it is possible to remove that too
if they aren't too deep but, on paint scratches are only coming out with the polishing which is essentially slowly removing clear coat so that's why I would use polishing as the last resort.

Also, since the clay bar came up, clay bars or clay sponges just pick off embedded contaminants from the surface before you buff it so you don't rub those contaminants around as you buff it scratching the surface even more.
You also didn't mention it but if those water spots are left too long on the paint, they will eventually etch the clear coat and are only coming off with that polishing. Actually not coming off but being technically grinded out
of the clear since it is not on the paint but into the paint.

Yeah I was referring to the swirl marks on the glass. So just to confirm I could use a buffer on the glass to remove the swirl marks? Do they have some kind of filler for the glass or anything? Sorry I’m asking so many questions I appreciate the help.


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Buffing out scratches in glass is hardcore stuff. There are no window scratch fillers that I've heard of. I have one on my rear window and I haven't even tackled that since it's heavy duty buffing. Here is a video doing it the correct way: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIwHrCtpHs[/ame]

Honestly, if the whole windshield has scratches, Id have a pro come out and do it since you can see in that video, it is not for the faint of heart.
You're basically taking the scratch out by sanding the scratch out with finer and finer polishing. You might even be better off just replacing the whole thing depending on the cost to have a whole windshield professionally buffed properly.

16 N hydrochloric acid will take those watermarks right off - :thumbsup:


humfrz