Water Etching correction with UDM

N

Neofate

New member
My Lexus has had these water spots on all the windows but especially the sunroof for a while now, and they simply won't come off no matter what you do. I tried windex, alcohol, soap, wax, polishing by hand -- No luck.



So I ended up ordering a 2 1/4 Backing plate and 4 inch pads for my UDM. I also ordered some window restorer 'polish'. It is designated for 'machine use' so it says.



Here is the UDM with the backingplate and I used a grey finishing pad for the work.



4inchpad.JPG




Have the polish spread randomly on the pad and worked it in.



--As you can see I did the Sunroof first.. it isn't easy getting up there with a machine... so I laid a MF towel out to the side so I wouldn't be laying the machine down on the side of the car bare.



I smeared it in like normal polish, then worked it over at setting 1 -- Then moved it up to about 4. Anything faster and this particular polish will splatter very, very quickly. Directions say no more than '3000 rpms' .



I was pleased with the results... It got about 95% of the marks out, and there were alot -- With relative ease and speed.



Here are some pictures of the etchings I am talking about -- It was near impossible to get my camera to get a shot of them (they are really all over the glass.. but for some reason with the lighting , etc, the camera just doesn't pick it up like our human eyes do. Though I managed to get some shots of a few spots.



**Note: These are higher quality, because I had to shift it up for the camera to pick the etchings up. Sorry for sizing issues in the thread.**



spot1.JPG




spot2.JPG




spot3.JPG




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You get the idea .. :)



After said and done here is the sunroof -- **These pictures are of low quality, but reflect the finish, it is the best the glass has ever looked.



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I decided to go ahead and do all the windows on the car while I was at it.



So here is a side view of the passenger windows.



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The product I used was:



DP-515 16 oz. DP High Performance Glass Restorer -- Got it off autogeek.



Just thought some of you with water-etchings that are stubborn that want an 'easy' way to get rid of them might be interested.



If there is any easier way, then ignore this.. this is the best I could come up with for decade old spots ;)
 
Neofate- Man-oh-man you just keep getting that car better and better :xyxthumbs



Glad to hear it worked out so well, and it's good to know that the product works the way it oughta.
 
Haha.. Yeah its a combination of Club Lexus, and Autopia. Mostly autopia though.



I'm a nut man,.. certifiable now in regards to what I do to this car at all hours of the night/day. My neighbors have to think I'm insane,.. every few days they drive by I'm doing something to the car rofl. -- Right now it needs a wash (well to me lol.. ) -- Because I have to use my DWG on it, and I'd like to layer it, then Seal, and maybe put DWG on top of the Sealant NXT 2.0.



On that note,.. Accumulator: With DWG, I'm going to strip the wax with a strong wash soap -- Then DWG it



Couple questions:



1) What applicator should I use for best results , ease, and to not waste too much product. (I have every type of applicator known to man pretty much).



2) Should I layer it before sealing.. Meaning put more than one coat on? (If it would help, I will) -- If so, any wait time between layers.. If so, how long?



3) How long to wait between application, and wipe off? If no wait, would it hurt to wait , say, 30minutes just for my own silly peace of mind? Or does that hurt the application?



4) Lastly, will the NXT 2.0 Sealant strip the DWG off? And, will the DWG strip the NXT 2.0 off (if it would help to put another coat after the sealant) ?



Thanks, and sorry for so many questions..
 
wannafbody said:
I'd suggest using a white CCs pad for a bit more bite with glass polishes.
Click to expand...



I concur -- But was my first time with 4" pads, and glass.. So I followed instructions. Used a finishing pad.



But, as I worked, glass is fairly difficult to 'mess up' -- I did notice you get hazing and some odd streaks occaisionally, which takes the right technique to prevent from happening.. Nothing you can't fix though.



I took my about an hour to do the windows and sunroof -- Could have been much quicker, but I took my time as usual -- Really working it in, and setting up for the sunroof took a little bit of time.
 
Neofate- I ca't help with info about using the DWG, but I will commit a little of my Autopian Heresy and say that IMO you're nuts to strip off a perfectly good coat of wax ;)
 
Accumulator said:
Neofate- I ca't help with info about using the DWG, but I will commit a little of my Autopian Heresy and say that IMO you're nuts to strip off a perfectly good coat of wax ;)
Click to expand...



Hah! Nuts to strip off a good coat of wax.. blah! For DWG that I've never used... pfft.



You think I'm gonna wait till NXT 2.0 , in a garage kept vehicle is going to wear off before I use it? Yah right! :rofl



I'm surprised you don't have any advice on the procedure for it -- I guess I'll have to search on it some more and just dig around.



Do you happen to know if Either product DWG or NXT 2.0 has cleaners in them for sure? That is basically what I need to know to know the order, and if order matters and so forth.
 
Theres many stronger products available that will remove marks like that by simply wiping it on and wiping it off.



Could have done all the windows in 10 minutes without using a buffer.



Most hardware stores have it. They always contains hydrocholoric acid as this stuff reverses the chemical etching process. Dont be scared either its completely safe.



Its a chemical process the strongest cutting compound will struggle to remove water etching yet most dedicated glass polishes can remove them with ease because it has the chemicals required.



Most of the strong stuff isn't available online as it cant be shipped in the normal post. So all you have is watered down products that require you to rub for an hour to do all the windows.



The easiest way is to water down some hydrocholoric and just dab it onto the glass, then wash the car as normal.
 
Neofate- If you really want to wash off the stuff that's on there now, I'd buy the first step of either AutoInt's or FinishKare's decontamination system. It's handy stuff to have around anyhow.



And heh heh, I've never used my sample of DWG :o I just don't know anything about it.



IIRC the supposed "cleaners" in NXT are really only present to make for easier use, they don't really do much cleaning in the sense that you mean (note that even straight carnauba waxes will do a *little* cleaning through solvent-action and the mechanics of the application/removal).



TTWAGN- He might oughta be a little careful on an older car with, IIRC, some aluminum trim bits (note that I'm no expert on Lexus trim). I don't even use the mild acids in decontamination systems on used Audis as it'll cause problems if the aluminum trim has even (literally) microscopic breaches in its anodizing.
 
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