Not tar or bugs, but an indestructible film you can only see at night with headlight glare or when it rains. I’ve done a lot of searching online and there doesn’t seem to be a true consensus on dealing with it.
I’d like to avoid using steel wool or a razor blade.
Not sure what it is. Usually I just clean the inside and it's all good again. Haze builds up quickly on the inside. Unless the glass is so weathered that it's basically like having been sandblasted over time. For that, I was going to try Flitz. Been using that with good result on my headlamps.
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy "A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
Posts: 12718 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007
You can clay your windshield. I have read that Barkeepers friend works on glass. I've use barkeepers on on steel and other surfaces. Check you windshield wipers perhaps
Posts: 1473 | Location: Boardwalk, Va Beach | Registered: March 10, 2011
For a few bucks, go to the hardware store, or home depot or lowes paint department and buy a small container of DENATURED ALCOHOL. Use clean white old tee shirt or old white towel to clean the glass. Don't smoke around it and keep it off the paint. Might as well read the label. It's very flammable, you can use it in an alcohol stove.
I've used this before and was very happy with the results.
It's quite possible it is on the inside. Some glass cleaners always leave a haze (like windex).
Polish the outside with Imar glass polish. This stuff is specifically designed for windows and will make them look like brand new again, and take off anything attached to them (no matter the age), we use it in the yachting industry on windows that cost $2,000-20,000 each. A little bit goes a long way
The glass needs to be polished. I use Aquatech water spot remover. Follow up with Rain X. e mail me if you like for details. I do this for all my vehicles and for the boat that I run....
Wipe down the windshield with a dry/clean microfiber rag. Then with a new clean microfiber rag wipe clean the dishsoap and water. With a new clean microfiber rag, window cleaner.
Then clay bar the windshield with the soapy water and clay bar. Dry window and then reclean with window cleaner.
After I get it streak free, and clean I buff on RainX. This will super clean the windshield and keep it clean and clear for sometime.
I also do the same on the inside. It will almost look like there is nothing there.
Bon-Ami Original Formula. This is the stuff Corning recommended for their Corning Ware glass product line.
I doubt they'd have it where you shop. I get it from my ACE Hardware Store. Takes them a couple of days to order it in.
If you decide to use it, make damn sure it's the red label original formula. Don't use AJAX or COMET or god knows what else. This stuff is designed for glass.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "And it's time that particularly, some of our corporations learned, that when you get in bed with government, you're going to get more than a good night's sleep." - Ronald Reagan
Also, if you are using Rain-X or similar products, they can create a film that will cause wiper chatter and the glare that you are experiencing. When I stopped using Rain-X and gave the windshield a thorough cleaning my chatter and glare problems went away.
Posts: 4981 | Location: Arkansas | Registered: September 04, 2008
"The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. 'Make it evil,' he'd been told. 'Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sort of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with." -Douglas Adams
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Posts: 4245 | Location: AK-49 | Registered: October 06, 2011
Originally posted by RNshooter: I used to see mechanics using Soft Scrub.
Bruce
Too harsh.....It could put micro scratches in the windshield......the IMAR stuff works excellent is easy to use and less than $20.....it's made ONLY for windows.....You just buff it on lightly like car wax and wipe it off with a clean towel....you can see the rain etching as you are rubbing it on (it makes it much more visible) and then watch as it disappears with a few swipes.
^^^Larry is the man. I've learned a bunch from him over the past few years. The real key is using 'IPA' (Isopropyl Alcohol) on both the inside and outside of the windshield to cut through everything that's on it. Use a large towel over the dash and steering wheel to protect them from IPA because it will cut through protectants, and can discolor vinyl and leather. It will also remove wax from paint, so keep it off painted surfaces as well. When the windshield is super clean, then you can treat it (many options).
----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter
'Spray-away' window cleaner (blue can -has alcohol in it). Windex/other cleaners leave the film behind. I use the same polish & wax that I use on the rest of the paint. lasts longer than rain-x & I don't have to keep something special around. Use clean rags (microfiber) to buff it & you will have a clean window for a long time.
Posts: 3297 | Location: IN | Registered: January 12, 2007
