Window help. Water Spots from Hell!

[vulgar_si]

So I bought a 2003 mazda 6 about 2 months ago and it had horrible water spots on the windows. They look etched in but I tried Vinegar, Clay, and a mister clean eraser. So far nothing touches them.



My question is should I try something else like Autoglym or NA window polish, or do I need to move on to something more aggressive? I don`t own a porter cable buffer yet so I hope I can get these clean with elbow grease. Do you have any suggestion? I did a search but couldn`t find exactly what I needed (product and use recommendations)

Thanks.

[ret]

Z-12 should take care of it.



http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-12&Category_Code=Zaino



RET

[chml17l]

Not to dis the Z glass polish, but the Detailer`s Pride Glass Restorer is a better value.



http://www.autogeek.net/dp515.html



I was really impressed with Spot-X (http://www.glass-restorer.com/index.html) when I used it by hand on both my side-view mirrors and windshield. It is usually available for about $6 at Home Depot.

[Deviant]

Z-12 is pretty good stuff. Still gotta try some of that DP stuff though.



For some reason the Z-12 left some micro scratches on my glass for our older `97 Tacoma. But for the newer `05 Tacoma and a `04 BMW, I noticed no micro scratches at all. Just something to be aware of.

[ret]

The Z-12 (by PC) did a real nice job removing the wiper blade haze on my wife`s 2001 Maxima.



I`ll try to find the before and after pics.

RET

[2.5RS]

http://www.topoftheline.com/glasspolish.html

Even cheaper, and worked extremely well (by hand) on the water spots etched into my sisters windshield. Blitz makes some good stuff.

- Andrew



*Edit: Spelling

[vulgar_si]

Thanks for the suggestions. I plan to try the spot-x first, and if that doesn`t work I will try the detailers pride. I really hope this takes care of them. Otherwise I guess I will tell the wife I HAVE to buy a PC right? :chuckle:



Thanks again for the replies.

[RCBuddha]

Another Z12 fan here. Good stuff!

[Campese]

This may sound crazy, but I tried everything I had on some water spots on my mother in law`s car that sat out all last year and had HEAVY baked on spots everywhere. Nothing worked that I had, I didn`t feel like ordering anything, so I did a quick search here. I found one thread, can`t find it now, that suggested good old fashion rubbing compund.



Worried me a little , but I figued, hey, I`m already ticked off, and It`s my mother in laws car (he he). Used a wet terry towel, a compound I bought from wal-mart ($4), and mild hand pressure. Half an hour later all the windows were spotless with a mirror, spot and scratch free finish. I think it may have even took out a few old scratches. Just don`t get the compound on the rubber trim.

[vulgar_si]

I picked up some spot x and will be trying it within the hour. I think I have some rubbing compound laying around so I guess I can always try that after the spot x.

[drck1000]

I would recommend Glass Scrub from Glass Science and Autoglym Glass Polish with a terry towel to apply. Glass Scrub requires wet glass so I usually apply after washing and prior to drying. It works really well on the water spots that were baked on the glass on my car and an older family van.



Used Autoglm Glass Polish on a family SUV and that worked well for removing hardwater spotting that had been baked on for almost 2 years. It came off, but with a lot of elbow grease. Now that I have a PC, that would probably make the process much easier.



I haven`t tried Z-12 yet, but as noted above, I`ve heard many good things about it. I also have DP Glass Restorer and am waiting to try that one out.

[vulgar_si]

Well I just got back from using the spot x as recommended and all I can say is THANK YOU! My windows are finally spot free. It took a bit of work, but they look amazing now. Best 7 dollars I have ever spent. I also bought the spot x window scruber it was 1 dollar and I think if I hadn`t gotten it I wouldn`t have had the same results. If anyone has nasty water spots they can`t get off I would recommend trying this stuff.



Thanks again everyone. Your advise was truely appreciated.

[chml17l]

Glad the Spot-X worked out for you. I`m going to give it a real try soon on a glass shower door. This should be quite a test for the product considering the mineral buildup and general crud that has been there for years. I might even post some before and after pics. Nothing like testing stuff on a car, but sometimes the bathroom presents even more of a detailing challenge. :grinno:

[imported_Mighty HD]

00 steel wool will take it right off and not scratch the glass.

[hondadetailer]

At the dealership we have "water spot remover" I had never tried before. It`s kinda messy, but it gets spots off. The problem with it is that it leaves a thick haze thats difficult to get off. And it burns like hell if you get it in tiny cuts on your hands! I use rubber gloves.