New/second post/windshield so far, but need to do more for perfection

JJZ4MR

JJZ4MR

New member
So, first off I`m really liking this OPEN style forum. Stepping up my game, starting " new " detailing biz, even though I`ve been professionally detailing on the side, since 1980. I`ve been gaining high end clients and going that route with official new biz.

Windshield. It`s my DD, 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid with 83K miles. Glass has years of hard water spots. My general upkeep has been, wash/Stoner Invisiglass/Rain X/wet microfiber wipe down. I`ve been happy. Recently stumbled out the detailing stone age, going to drop around $ 2000 on upgrades in tools/equipment to further enhance my abilities.

Here`s what I`ve done this week. Stocked up on many gallons of distilled water. Used distilled white vinegar 3:1 with DW. Terry cloth scrub...noticeable improvement, not good enough....next...cleaned, clayed with Simoniz blue bar/Black Magik QD for lube, MF wipe down, Stoner glass cleaner.....Actually thought I had looking beautiful, before glass cleaner, but after cleaner I could see the spots. I have more than just the spots, I have wiper marks. No scratching, I always clean my blades/change them often, and use some cleaner and RainX on them. It`s more you can see the travel of the blades on the glass when wet, especially as I leave for work in the early AM. ( I own my own mobile personal training biz )

I don`t yet have a DA. I want to polish the glass. Or perhaps as I`ve read, use 0000 synthetic steel wool, with some type of glass specific polish OR a chemical that removes hard water stains. Looking for some technique and product advice. I did see a highly rated hydrophobic called Aquapel, any input ? Razor scraping ? Seems like it could scratch but Larry from Ammo used lube. Kaboom cleaner ? Seems dangerous around trim. Would Magic Eraser or Car Pro Eraser do any good ? ScotchBright pads seem to work for some.

Thank you in advance, JJ
 
So I just finished my AM workout. Relatively cool at 7:30 AM here in FL at 73*. Real humid and dewy which makes the marks really stand out. Tested some wiper travel marks ( clear and defined line, which is good to stare at ) I`ve always believed in the phrase " least aggressive first " so in my continuation of that....Mr Clean Magic Eraser/Scotch Brite/0000 steel wool. Invisiglass as lube for all. ME actually made a difference, with way too much effort. SB helped, but not as good. 0000 SW, good, I did remove some of the lower level water spotting, but for the 1/2 hour I just polished the glass with the SW, heavy pressure, frenzied movements, spending more time on travel lines/marks....still can see them as I pass over with slightly damp MF. As everything dried, it does look sparkling clean.

I checked my paint polishes/lense/plastic polishes/even metal polishes, none mention being safe for glass. I guess cerium oxide powder ( $20 for an 8 oz bag/High Grade at Walmart ) may be my next step. Still need to look into various hard water stain remover made for detailing. Some CLR I was thinking may work also.
 
I`m serious pick up some ceriglass and a rayon pad for a da as well as a small da and you will save time and get it done right


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In my opening post I stated not owning a DA...YET...I`m leaning heavily on GG6 and getting 3" HD backing plate. I do want a dedicated 3" DA for tight spots/headlight lense restore. So is the ceriglass and rayon pad something that attaches to the DA ? or can it be hand polished ? I will be adding that to my research list...which is getting pretty long. My Master Buy List is TOO LONG. My funding and wanting are getting farther and farther apart, so I need to stick with the necessary with an emphasis on versatility ( like just starting with ONE DA and 2 sizes of backing plates ) Seriously how long does it take to change a backing plate ?

Can you even reach the corners/edges of the windshield with a rayon pad ?

Edit, OK just added 5oz/5"/3" to my bag. Do I need the block to get the edges ? If so I`ll buy the kit...Ohhh and it comes with a MF...Sarcasm
 
I`ve never really worried much about corners if they seriously needed it that bad in corners I used the edge of pad by hand to do corners. Also make sure to tape off the rubber seals around windshield and do before Wash to wash off the splatter. And don`t let it get to dry or hot


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OK, well AGAIN, NO DA, but I want it perfect NOW. So use the Ceriglass all with elbow grease ? I do appreciate it, just was hoping there was a technique I could try in the AM, I`ve used up my arsenal. I will say, after the 0000 Steel Wool, the glass is noticeably brighter. I did read up on the Ceriglass, sounds like a great product.
 
I think I`ve seen a kit somewhere with a hand help pad but wasn`t autopia so not sure if I can post


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So 3rd AM session of achieving a perfectly clear windshield. I`m just "experimenting" with my DD. I put a 1/2 oz of THE WORKS bathroom cleaner in the center of an old MF. Layered some paper towel at the base trim ( cowl ) for protection. Product says " removes scale/lime/rust/hard water buildup....Wiped it onto my dewy glass....crystal clear...no hard water marks, no wiper travel marks...Perfect ! I did then clean everything off multiple times with glass cleaner. BAM ! $ 3 product from Family Dollar solved my problem. I`m sure the claying and vigorous 0000 steel wool polishing helped as well. My glass is now perfect, will top it off with Rain X, which I love. I have read that people don`t like Rain X because of the streaky swirly effects after using. A wet MF wipe down solves this completely. Now of course I will be using distilled water for glass.
 
Just as an update : I`ve come to the conclusion that using The Works is too harsh a chemical to be using. I experimented with different dilution rates, but just decreased it`s effectiveness. Kept searching for options on line. CP Ceriglass is on my BUY LIST. But, saw a lot about Bar Keepers Friend online. Went to Bed Bath Beyond. Bought Soft Cleanser and Spray Foam. I have to say...AMAZING ! ....I`ve been experimenting on multiple windows on my and GF cars. I`ve come to the conclusion that 1) going over with medium clay and QD 2) palm sized 0000 Steel Wool with Foam BKF is really quick and really effective, for a very low cost. I also have purchased from Amazon Cerium Oxide $ 12 for 8 oz. I`m going to use my 3M headlight restoration 3 inch backing plate w/ polishing pad to try and really make the glass sparkle. This step in not needed, I`m just having fun trying different techniques. Hope this helps someone looking for a cheap quick alternative. Going to order Aquapel glass treatment for the finish step, as I now think it is superior to RainX, though more expensive.
 
I`ve used the mckeeys glass coating on a lot of windshields and I still have quite a bit in the 4oz bottle I bought and it is far superior to rainx and aquapel. And it lasts bout 6-8 months


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I agree a coating like the McKees Glass Coating is superior to Rain-x or Aquapel. Now that your windshield is perfectly clean it`s a great time to install a coating.
 
Sounds like I might oughta consider that McKee`s Glass Coating for the Crown Vic if/when I use up my RainX. Just *so* many choices for some stuff these days!
 
Accumulator said:
Sounds like I might oughta consider that McKee`s Glass Coating for the Crown Vic if/when I use up my RainX. Just *so* many choices for some stuff these days!
Click to expand...

Pitch the rain-x and save the constant hassle by getting the glass coating


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Civicclutch said:
Pitch the rain-x and save the constant hassle by getting the glass coating
Click to expand...

Eh, not gonna pitch it, and the hassle isn`t really anything...haven`t been driving that car anyhow. Not like it`s any more hassle than my usual autoglass maintenance though I expect a coating would diminish that greatly.

But yeah..I never did like RainX, only using it as the PO had it on there and just keeping it up was easier than cleaning it off. Now I`m all paranoid about how I`d polish the windshield sufficiently without any risk of getting the Glass Polish on anything (NO, I`m not gonna redo the windshield surround or cowl cover, not for at least a few years at the rate I drive that car). After maybe five or six years I might give the car a Major Detail, and I`ll probably ditch the RainX then.

I`ve just gotten over getting new detailing stuff all the time...if something`s not broken I`m gonna use it up before upgrading, and there`s NO WAY I`m gonna risk precipitating any unnecessary work anyhow.
 
OK then, back to the drawing board with my hydrophobic glass treatments. I did not see much on McKee`s Glass Coating, but I was looking for/at Aquapel in that was coming up as the top rated product. Found some great YT vids on long term use comparisons using the Aquapel. Now I`m excited to turn my attention to McKee`s. They seem to have some top notch products. Funny, I never really paid that much attention to glass/windshields, now it`s my latest obsession. Thanks to all over you for helping my base of knowledge, I really appreciate the input !

I did find that using Green Scotch Brite pads ( even though I saw online that plenty of peeps use them ) WILL MICRO SCRATCH GLASS. I wanted to polish with the rotary drill plate/glass polisher pad from 3M, I`m pretty sure they will come out pretty easily....lesson learned. A big wad of 0000 Steel wool, with the Bar Keepers Friend FOAM as a lube/hard water spot remover using LITE pressure does a great job, is cheap and not messy at all.
 
So today at first light, on a cloudy Central West Florida morning I got out my cerium oxide, high speed drill and 3M glass polishing 3 inch pad/plate, which has a foam layer under the polishing pad. The hook/loop pad on it is nice for installing the 3000 grit synthetic polishing disk. Part of the 3M headlight restoration kit, which currently is $ 10 after $ 5 rebate at O`Reilly`s. Mixed the CO, taped the inside of the glass where I had MICRO scratched with the Green Scotch Brite pad ( right in front of my view ) which is really hard to find under just the right light conditions. Anyway...in a nut shell, was not impressed with my results. Did make SOME improvement, but not much. Went over it 5 times, cleaning off, checking my work, got a little more aggressive with my speed/pressure/time over small area each time. Went over whole windshield spent about 1.5 hours on it. Even though I taped off all window trim, covered cowl with a beach towel, really a messy project. Starting raining as I was finishing, washed off the entire car afterward in the rain. CO is a pain to work with, results were FAIR/GOOD. I did have some ORIGINAL RAIN X left over, did two coats, wiped down with distilled H2O after letting it haze up for 15 mins or so. Drove around in the rain all afternoon, really great hydrophobic results. Now spending time researching M37 VS Optimum VS Aquapel.
Worst part, as I pulled off my Blue Painters Tape from around the trim. Paint on my 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid pulled up with it in a couple spots. I immediately remembered Larry of Ammo, talking about pulling tape off at a hard angle ( acute ).
 
JJZ4MR- Oh man, sounds like you just can`t win for losing! Especially sorry to hear the paint pulled off with the masking tape (!), wouldn`t have expected that no matter what angle you used.

At least the CO seems to have really cleaned the glass so the RainX is working better.
 
Yeah, I`m kinda bummed. The top trim is really thin, but it`s not like I pushed the tape down. The paint on these is weird. Had this happen on a small spot as I was using Turtle Wax Enduro Trim Seal on the back plastic trim on the rear. I could not get it uniform as I had to stop to avoid putting it on the paint (it`s like a shiny black dye) So I did a second coat a few months later, but this time taped it off, so I could just continue smoothly right over the tape. And some paint pulled up. My rear bumper has some separation from the paint too. I`m going to see what the dealership has to say, see if others have had similar issues. The paint came off in a jagged long 6 inch section, just in one spot. Not sure if I should just use a touch up brush, or smooth out the jagged tears and shoot it with a can. The undercoat is sorta green, looks horrible. Oh, well, live and learn, just glad it was my boring DD and not my Datsun 240 Z or my BMW Z4M
 
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