Duragloss AW doesn't bead by itself on glass?

M

mikebai1990

New member
This is kinda weird, and I have no idea why... But Duragloss AW by itself doesn't bead. Here's the situation:



We got new vinyl windows installed in our house today, so I decided to immediately put on some protection while everything was still clean. So I sprayed the glass with Stoner's Invisible Glass and wiped off with one MF towel. I did all the windows in the house (well, actually only half of the windows were installed). Then I went back to the first window and sprayed a total of 8 little squirts on one side of a double hung window, and wiped off with another MF. So I did this for all of the windows, eventually reducing it down to 4 little squirts per one side of the window once my MF became somewhat saturated.



So, I eventually finished all the windows, and I wanted to see how the protection was. So I put some tap water on my fingers and flicked it onto the window. The water didn't bead at all. The water drops were all weird-shaped, similar to what you would expected from an unwaxed car. Okay, so I supposed that maybe I didn't put on enough AW. I sprayed more liberally, wiped off, and tried again. Still, abnormal shaped water beads. I tried pour little amounts of water down the window. The water stuck onto the glass as it slowly reached the bottom of the glass, completely different from the water "roll-off" I was expecting.



Now, before I come to any wrong conclusions, could you guys explain why the DG AW didn't bead up? Maybe the AW has a cure time? I flicked the water onto the paint about 5 minutes after I applied the AW. Maybe the Stoners Invisible Glass caused the problem? I believe that AW is a water beading protectant, not a sheeting one. I'm absolutely dumbfounded. I have never used DG AW by itself (I always top on my Collinite), so I never was able to test it out on paint, but I'm quite confused now.



edit: I am certainly not saying that AW is a bad product. I just genuinely want some help regarding why the water didn't bead up. So before I get any replies, I wanna say: please don't beat me up :bolt
 
Thats funny..as one of my things with AW is to coat the house windows..and the water beads with a lite rain and rolls off making them look dry..even on my windshield it beads while sitting still ..till it starts to roll off...



Al
 
I know that AW beads very well and tightly on paint. I use it as a standalone and it's beads are numerous and tiny round droplets. Maybe it isn't bonding with the glass or maybe the Stoners is causing it to react strangely. Granted, the AW will bead on my windows on the car, but it's not as perfect as the beading it generates on the paint. I'm gonna say that the AW doesn't bond as strongly with glass like it does with painted surfaces...



Maybe try a panel of glass without the Stoners treatment and another test of the panel with Stoners and compare? I also think maybe the Stoners has something to do with it.
 
Yea, I expected it to bead up also. IIRC, I got the idea from you, when you once posted that you use AW on household items, like windows. That's why I wanted to AW the windows immediately after they were installed.



edit: While I was looking for other signs of protection, I noticed that the finish was pretty slick, slicker than an unAW'ed window. So I guess the protection is there. I'm still not sure about the beading issue, though.
 
I also apply AW to my car windows and it seems to bond ok as the water beads nicely.



It's possible it didn't bond with the glass. Try an IPA wipedown or Windex with ammonia on one of the windows and reapply AW. Maybe they have a residue on them that the Stoners didn't remove. Then pour some water onto that window and see what happens.



Glad to see you are still having fun using the AW :bigups
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. I have a few windows that I haven't done anything with yet. I will try half the window with a simple moist (with water) MF wipedown, the other half with Windex. Be back in a few minutes :)



Yes, twitch, I'll still am playing with the AW :) I'm only half way through the first bottle that you gave me to sample. Then I have your second bottle, and then I have my new 22 oz. unopened AW. Thanks for opening me up to AW :)
 
Mike..maybe it is the type of glass...but its strange...I use it on the glass tables and if you spill some water it balls right up....the way I do windows is spray a towel with AW..wipe window and wipe again with a dry one





PS...I use Fast Clean and Shine to clean them also...works great



Al
 
You said you got new vinylwindows on your house? Maybe the AW just isn't bonding to vinyl, as I think vinyl is pretty porous? Just throwing out some ideas here, as I've been a lurker for three years almost and I think only posted once.
 
When I said vinyl, I mean other than the glass, everything else is vinyl. The problems I'm having is just on the glass, so I don't think that should be a problem.



Alright, so I tried it with Windex, without plain water, same results. The water seems to sheet off rather than bead up. But the sheeting is present on the glass without any protection, so that doesn't really mean anything... Well, I guess this is a tricky one :)
 
UDrower said:
You said you got new vinylwindows on your house? Maybe the AW just isn't bonding to vinyl, as I think vinyl is pretty porous? Just throwing out some ideas here, as I've been a lurker for three years almost and I think only posted once.
Click to expand...


I thought the same at first but I believe "vinyl" windows refer to the housing and not the glass itself.



^ Mike you beat me to it.



mikebai1990 said:
Alright, so I tried it with Windex, without plain water, same results. The water seems to sheet off rather than bead up. But the sheeting is present on the glass without any protection, so that doesn't really mean anything... Well, I guess this is a tricky one :)
Click to expand...

Do you have any Klasse AIO? It should prep the surface nicely and AW bonds to it.
 
I suspect that there is something in the window cleaner that keeps the AW from sticking to the window. I had a similar issue with a Zaino product after using window cleaner on my T-tops.
 
A couple of things here, I don't know how they glaze the windows into those vinyl frames, but as twitch noted, there might be some sort of residue from the manufacturing which is interfering with the AW. The other thing to consider is that many windows of that type have a sputtered metal coating (Low-E coating) on the glass. It has, however, always been my presumption that the coating is on the inside of the thermal panes, where it can't be abraded away.
 
Well, we have a huge rainstorm today, and I looked out the windows to look at the water beading. I was pleasantly surprised to find this:



Top Window (un-AW'ed)





Lower Window (AW'ed):





And here's a complimentary shot of my front storm door beading with Collinite 476 topped with AW (and the MPV in the background, under the tree, getting hammered with sap and pollen and all that stuff):





Conclusion: I guess I expected the beading to be perfect, which it wasn't. Also, maybe AW has some sort of cure time. But no matter what, the beading is there! For you guys who have AW on windows and glass, is the beading very spherical and perfect or like mine? This beading is after a month or so since application.
 
mikebai1990 said:
This is kinda weird, and I have no idea why... But Duragloss AW by itself doesn't bead. Here's the situation:



We got new vinyl windows installed in our house today, so I decided to immediately put on some protection while everything was still clean. So I sprayed the glass with Stoner's Invisible Glass and wiped off with one MF towel. I did all the windows in the house (well, actually only half of the windows were installed). Then I went back to the first window and sprayed a total of 8 little squirts on one side of a double hung window, and wiped off with another MF. So I did this for all of the windows, eventually reducing it down to 4 little squirts per one side of the window once my MF became somewhat saturated.



So, I eventually finished all the windows, and I wanted to see how the protection was. So I put some tap water on my fingers and flicked it onto the window. The water didn't bead at all. The water drops were all weird-shaped, similar to what you would expected from an unwaxed car. Okay, so I supposed that maybe I didn't put on enough AW. I sprayed more liberally, wiped off, and tried again. Still, abnormal shaped water beads. I tried pour little amounts of water down the window. The water stuck onto the glass as it slowly reached the bottom of the glass, completely different from the water "roll-off" I was expecting.



Now, before I come to any wrong conclusions, could you guys explain why the DG AW didn't bead up? Maybe the AW has a cure time? I flicked the water onto the paint about 5 minutes after I applied the AW. Maybe the Stoners Invisible Glass caused the problem? I believe that AW is a water beading protectant, not a sheeting one. I'm absolutely dumbfounded. I have never used DG AW by itself (I always top on my Collinite), so I never was able to test it out on paint, but I'm quite confused now.



edit: I am certainly not saying that AW is a bad product. I just genuinely want some help regarding why the water didn't bead up. So before I get any replies, I wanna say: please don't beat me up :bolt
Click to expand...



I was having the same issue you were on one of my cars. The solution was to clean the windshield with a light cleaner/polish. I used Zaio and topped it with AW, it now beads perfectly.

Hope this helps
 
I use AW on windows all the time, just washed and waxed the accord and applied AW 3hrs later i drove the car and guess what it rained GRRRRRRRR



But the windows did bead like crazy.
 
I don't think you'll really get those tight beads with AW. It's more of a sealant, and sealants aren't really good for making tight, round beads. They tend to just go for more of a get-the-water-off type hydrophobia.



I don't get tight beads with any sealant I use (whether it be AW or DP Sealant). Tight beads only come with carnaubas in my experience. I think its better to have that quality for car paint, though, since I'd rather water slide off rather than sit on the paint, only creating an opportunity for water spots/that annoying dust that settles out of rain water.



You could put carnauba on your windows if you really want the tight beads though :D
 
Good point! Before AW, I always used Collinite on the car/windows, everything. After I got AW, I've been using it to top off after my washes. So I guess I was expecting the beading to be as good as that of a carnauba. Anyhow, I'm glad that I've resolved my problem :)
 
paul34 said:
I don't think you'll really get those tight beads with AW. It's more of a sealant, and sealants aren't really good for making tight, round beads. They tend to just go for more of a get-the-water-off type hydrophobia.



I don't get tight beads with any sealant I use (whether it be AW or DP Sealant). Tight beads only come with carnaubas in my experience. I think its better to have that quality for car paint, though, since I'd rather water slide off rather than sit on the paint, only creating an opportunity for water spots/that annoying dust that settles out of rain water.



You could put carnauba on your windows if you really want the tight beads though :D
Click to expand...



Hi guys this is my first post, i found very good beading characteristics on one of the sealants i have just started using on my new car see pics below. Only with duragloss #101 and 5 coats of #105 sealant. Found the beading pretty good for my standards comments appreciated.



105beading2.jpg
 
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