Thought I wanted to be an Auto Detailer - Wndows Scratched Please Help

[bburdette]

Hi Guys,
I am very new to auto detailing and possibly wanted to start a business. I wanted first to detail my own vehicle to see how hard the work was, to get some experience and to see how long it would take. I detailed my Ram 1500 quad cab truck this past weekend. I washed it, clayed it, compound, polished and waxed it. Also done the tires and wheels, chrome, and all the plastic trim. I done it all by hand. It took two full days, man was I tired. Now, I am thinking twice about starting a business. Anyway, everything looks great, but the windshield and glass. I cleaned it with clay, compound and window cleaner. At the time it looked good. But as soon as the sun shined through it, it has a white haze that I can`t get out. Did I mess up by using compound? Do I need to go back and polish it? I have tried all kinds of cleaner and alcohol and nothing works. Must be fine scratches left by the compound. Can anyone please tell me what I need to do? Thanks

[nickclark08]

sounds like it could be haze from the compounding step. Try going over it with the polish and see if that helps. if not:

There is some glass-specific polish out there, has cerium oxide. There were some threads a while back, try doing a search and you should find some more info and "how to" posts.

[EdLancer]

Hi Guys,
I am very new to auto detailing and possibly wanted to start a business. I wanted first to detail my own vehicle to see how hard the work was, to get some experience and to see how long it would take. I detailed my Ram 1500 quad cab truck this past weekend. I washed it, clayed it, compound, polished and waxed it. Also done the tires and wheels, chrome, and all the plastic trim. I done it all by hand. It took two full days, man was I tired. Now, I am thinking twice about starting a business. Anyway, everything looks great, but the windshield and glass. I cleaned it with clay, compound and window cleaner. At the time it looked good. But as soon as the sun shined through it, it has a white haze that I can`t get out. Did I mess up by using compound? Do I need to go back and polish it? I have tried all kinds of cleaner and alcohol and nothing works. Must be fine scratches left by the compound. Can anyone please tell me what I need to do? Thanks

Tell us which us which category you belong to first ?

GenX: Born between 1966 - 1980
GenY: Born between 1981 - 1995
GenZ: Born between 1996 - 2007
GenA: Born between 2008 - present

[Angus]

Oh man, glass polishing is the worst. Don`t feel bad that it didn`t come out as perfect as you thought it would. IMHO glass polishing is someing to avoid doing at all cost. I`ve done it a few times and am never 100% happy with the results. No matter what I alway end up with pigtail scratches somewhere.

[RaskyR1]

You likely just have clay or compound/polish residue still on the glass. As mentioned above, you need cerium oxide to make a dent in glass.

[Mary B]

My money`s on.. the compound dried while you used it. I`ve done it and it looks white cloudy like, and won`t wipe off.
I had to use the compound to wipe off the compound.
Plus try the polish to lessen the compounds affect.
An IPA wipedown after most def. Maybe mix it abit stronger though.
Could some of what you see be on the inside ?
Just don`t panic, you will figure it out.
I polish my glass all the time, cleans very well, and glass is a super hard surface.

:)

[RaydiantDetail]

Hey, don`t be discouraged just because the first time you tried something it did not come out the way you expected. Remember successful people are those who failed multiple times but never gave up. Keep at it. As mentioned it could be compound residue. What compound did you use? Also you may want to look into a entry level DA like the Griots garage 6inch and some pads. Look into a glass polish like carpro ceriglass which uses cerium oxide and rayon glass pads. I have had good results with them but to remove really heavy scratches is just a royal pain and can take an entire day and you may never be able to get the glass back to 100%. Good luck!

[bburdette]

I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound

[kevincwelch]

Tell us which us which category you belong to first ?

GenX: Born between 1966 - 1980
GenY: Born between 1981 - 1995
GenZ: Born between 1996 - 2007
GenA: Born between 2008 - present

Gen A?

How many 9 year olds own Ram 1500 Quad cabs?

[nickclark08]

Yeah, that`s gonna be prone to leaving a haze.

If your polish is the Ultimate Polish, you *might* be able to clear the haze up with that. As others mentioned, I would definitely look into getting a GG6 or other DA polisher - makes life so much easier and more efficient than polishing by hand.


I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound

[Accumulator]

bburdette- Welcome to Autopia! That sounds like a tough early learning experience, but hey...[stuff] happens.

I`d be a little surprised if the UC actually marred up that glass. Some autoglass *IS* pretty soft/fragile, but I wouldn`t expect it on that vehicle.

I`d follow Mary B`s advice and use the "like removes like" approach. Work SMALL areas at a time and let it take as long as it takes.

Less on learned here, right? ALWAYS do a test-spot and make sure that anything you`re doing is fully dialed-in before you go too far down any particular road; catch mistakes early so they don`t turn into actual, let alone BIG, problems.

Don`t let one early experience turn you off this whole thing. Even if it doesn`t end up being your Career, being able to Detail vehicles is a useful skill to develop.

And yeah..plan on buying a polisher. Really. Gotta have the right tools for any job, and that`s one of `em.

[BudgetPlan1]

Tell us which us which category you belong to first ?

GenX: Born between 1966 - 1980
GenY: Born between 1981 - 1995
GenZ: Born between 1996 - 2007
GenA: Born between 2008 - presentUmmm...whats before GenX?

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[JSFM35X]

I just made X

[skibik]

Ummm...whats before GenX?

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Gencoolguys!

I think pre `65 and going back to right after WW2 we are known as the baby boomer generation. Don`t think there is anything like a Gen? code for us.

[Lonnie]

Ummm...whats before GenX?

That would be Baby Boomers born between 1945-1965 (I think) and before that are the Greatest Generation (according to Tom Brokaw`s book about those of WWII and the Great Depression, which they truly were, considering what they when through).

By the way, if you think age is just a number, you will (or have) found out how "that number" will affect (or has affected) your Social Security payment and when you can start collecting what you`ve paid in (or more correctly, what others are paying in now, since your payments have been made to the previous retiree`s. But we will NOT go there now, will we? Just sayin`....)