Window grime/build up.

J

jam3s121

New member
Hey guys, I just got my 99 Audi A4 back from the body shop after getting some body work done, I was backed into at a local shopping center.. ended up getting a repainted front bumper, fresh painted hood, fender and headlights.



Anyways after I got home i realized the windshield was really dirty, I usually just use stoner invisible glass cleaner and tried it with a microfiber. As i was cleaning it with the microfiber you could hear the towel going against something, like against the grain. The windshield isn't sticky in terms of actually being sticky but thats the best way to describe it, theres something on my windshield that just won't come off. Cleaning with stoner glass cleaner and it seems like theres a invisible layer between whats dirty and my actual windshield.



I did have a light coat of rain x on my car prior to getting my car back, I had applied it in april and tried to take most of it off cause it looked like crap IMO. I think that would explain why the stoner cleaner is not penetrating the window, because you can tell its not. I think the windshield wasn't covered up when my car was getting painted or something and some chemicals got on to the top of it, and because it was on the light layer of rain x glass cleaner isn't penetrating.



Are there any products I can try to use? I was looking at permatex no touch glass striper, its recommended by a lot of people for rain-x removal but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I've tried warm dawn dish soap in a small area, didn't really help.



Would claying the car possibly work? I don't have a clay kit currently but the rear of my car needs it, I absulotely love how smooth feeling the front of my car is.



here's how she looks (ignore water marks on the headlights and below the hood.. it rained the day before i picked it up and i don't think the guy buffed em out.



Aitnl.jpg
 
It's overspray from them not covering the windshield properly. Clay should take care of it unless it's really thick. If it's too thick to clay off, you should be able to use some lacquer thinner, just don't get the thinner on your paint or anything else. If that doesn't do it, you may have to resort to blading it off with a razor. I would never condone using a razor on your paint, but on glass I do it all the time with no problems, just make sure it's well lubricated with some QD and use light pressure with the blade. But try the clay first, it's the safest option.
 
That would make sense... like i said it feels like some sort of film, when I had rain x on the car you could not tell you were rubbing the windshield with rain x on it. With this its like you are rubbing against something.



Should I just pick up any old claybar like the meguiars ones I can find in a lot of stores near by? I think those are "mild" correct me if I'm wrong. I see you're in milford, Ct. I should just pay you guys to detail the whole rear of my car :) I'm in monroe, ct
 
jam3s121 said:
That would make sense... like i said it feels like some sort of film, when I had rain x on the car you could not tell you were rubbing the windshield with rain x on it. With this its like you are rubbing against something.



Should I just pick up any old claybar like the meguiars ones I can find in a lot of stores near by? I think those are "mild" correct me if I'm wrong. I see you're in milford, Ct. I should just pay you guys to detail the whole rear of my car :) I'm in monroe, ct
Click to expand...



The Southbury K-mart sells Clay Magic clay for a good price, though I can't remember if they have the different grades or just the mild. Actually, I'm in New Milford, not Milford, so even closer to Monroe. If you are interested in setting something up, feel free to give me a call tomorrow or shoot me a PM.
 
ExplicitDetails said:
The Southbury K-mart sells Clay Magic clay for a good price, though I can't remember if they have the different grades or just the mild. Actually, I'm in New Milford, not Milford, so even closer to Monroe. If you are interested in setting something up, feel free to give me a call tomorrow or shoot me a PM.
Click to expand...



Would it be better to get something stronger than mild? I know the napa and autozones near me pretty much carry the mild versions of whatever mothers/megiuars offer. I really want to get this stuff off my windshield but I have a feeling to do my car I'll just have someone else do it because i doubt its ever been done.
 
I'd just go with whatever you can get your hands on. If the overspray doesn't come off glass with mild clay, it's not likely it's going to come off with more aggressive clay either. As long as it's not so thick you can't see through it, mild clay should take it off.



EDIT: Anyone with more experience claying overspray off glass, please chime in if you think something more aggressive would make a difference. IME, it prob won't, but I don't do much claying on glass.
 
Thanks, I'm going to go ahead and just buy a kit then and hopefully it will come off. My friend said I could try steel wool for overspray (he used to work at a body shop and now powder coats) so maybe i'll try that.
 
Thanks for all the quick replies guys really appreciate it. I might just try the 0000 steel wool because its like 5 bucks at home depot vs 20 bucks for a clay kit.
 
Barry Theal said:
Just buy 0000 grade steel wool. Don't waste your money on clay for glass.
Click to expand...



Barry, do you use the steel wool straight, or do you lube it up? Very cool advice, this is the first I've heard of it. Learn something new here every day.
 
Going with the consensus here, clay should do the trick. Sounds like you have some overspray issue. Even Auto Zone, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart carry clay kits. Should solve your problem.
 
Yeah, definitely overspray. After googling more about dirty windshields and people getting body work done it seems like its a pretty common occurrence.



On another note, I have a freshly painted hood, bumper, two fenders, and one door. Should I be adding any product to protect this? I picked up my car on friday the 16th.
 
Just reporting back. Mothers clay kit worked perfectly.. although after doing the front and back windshield the clay started feeling pretty brittle.
 
Some autoglass is surprisingly soft and steel wool *CAN* mar it. So can a steel razor blade if you "gouge" a bit instead of merely "shearing" (one reason why they came out with plastic razor blades). No, no...I'm not saying it's all that *likely* to happen, but I'm in the better-safe-than-sorry camp when it comes to autoglass.



jam3s121- Glad the clay worked out so well. Nice safe approach.



Being just as paranoid about messing with the curing of repaints as I am about the glass, I use either Meguiar's M05 New Car Glaze (M07,M03, and Deep Crystal Step#2 Polish are all similar) or 3M Imperial Hand Glaze for the first 90 days.



OCW is approved by Ford for use on "post-production paintwork" and it didn't mess up my latest repainted bumpercover (at least not so I could tell) but I didn't use it until after 60 days of just glazing. It offers a *lot* more protection than the glazes and might be your best bet.
 
I am really paranoid with my windshield because I had it crack on my last year and paid outta pocket for it. Was really pissed off when it was dirty as hell driving home from the body shop.. I don't think they did the most professional job in world on my car but my car looks better than it did and I can make it look better or pay someone pretty soon for that.



I was surprised how effortlessly the clay slid against the windshield, I was expecting it to drag a little more. Anyways thanks for all the help, i just wanted to report back because I always use google to try and answer my questions first.. sometimes people get advice and never report back so you don't know if that advice was good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top