V-Fib

You've detailed your Shark. Hours of polishing/waxing cleaning everything to a Bristol shine. Night comes and you go cruising to show off the beast, only to find out the windows are not near as clean as the rest of the car. What will get them clean without streaks? I've tried everything under the sun. I use clean soft 100% cotton towels. Do paper towels and newspaper (both wood) scratch and dull the glass surface?

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

joel roeder

best i have found so is wurth window cleaner. expensive but good, otherwise i try windex with 0000 steel wool.

V-Fib

Joel,
0000 Steel wool????? Could you elaborate?

Anthony Tate
79/928/Silver Metallic

John Struthers

Tony,
A word or so of caution!
The steel wool will clean off the residues ... BUT ...
There will be tiny pieces of steel fibers that break off when you LIGHTLY rub the wading across the glass. If you use the wadding dry the pieces will - like body prepping for paint - get into places you can't get them out of, even with high pressure air.
When dew or water - in you case, salt water -
comes in contact with the 'wool' fibers it oxidizes quickly. RUST! it will, literally, oxidize those little fibers into the paint and sometimes into the glass or plastic trim pieces.
Some will argue that you can just rub the oxidant stain out but as someone who lived in the Rust Belt I do not recommend this method of cleaning as it is just a mild form of self induced fly ash.
If you are using the wool with a liquid you simply speed up the process.
To head off the arguement beforehand...
Take a piece of 0000 wool and tear it apart over a piece of blank white paper, what do you see?
Lay some of those fibers on a damp kitchen counter top, a damp piece of painted metal, in a damp clear glass...let sit until dry...results?
To top all of this off, when working on aircraft windshields there is a Micro Polishing Kit that goes all the way to 13,000 grit which is finer than talcum powder and you can still leave scratches with it.
I know that a lot of people have windows with dash preservative overspray, cigarette smoke, and even car wax/polish residues on them inside and out, PIA to get rid of it all. But regular cleaning with window cleaner seems to-for me- be the best plan of action. Vinegar is better but there is the smell issue. Clean it in the shade.
Could be worse, we have MIDLAND WATER which dries to a lovely crust of salt/mineral deposits in minutes even using a concentrated car wash surface wetter additive.
Another test... if you have an old mirror use that oooo wading dry in one spot then wet in another, results?
Life is difficult Tony, don't make it worse.
Hey, I was thinking of cruising down there with my son for a few day at the end of August, maybe you could point the way to some mediocre fishing, and we could gloom each other's sHARKs... Hmmm Don and OREO aren't that far away...then there is Max... <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Thom1

Hi Anthony,

Try Duragloss 755 Nu-Glass. I have used it after normal window cleaner to remove water marks. It is a polishing paste. It can be applied by hand or buffer. The local PPG paint guy supplies a lot of this to body shops.

HTH,
<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Shane

I use rain-x cleaner and rain-x on the outside and the fog-x for the inside. No streaks and a crystal clear windshield. The down side is that you will be able to see every chip and defect in the glass. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

Donald

OT-
John & Anthony;
Sounds like a possible, my little indians haven't been to the beach lately, and I'm due for a breakfast @ Beulah's in Port Aransas. Ya'll get every thing arranged, like a date & beer on ice, and let me know. Max will help me dispose of the beer in an environmentally-friendly, recycled manner.
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />
Donald

Thom1

Hi Shane,

Is the rain-x cleaner a polishing paste? Does it require some elbow grease to work?

The Nu-glass requires that you buff it in, allow to haze, wipe off. It polishes stuff off of the glass that window cleaner can't touch. But, it would take some time to do the whole car by hand. Is the rain-x cleaner a similar process?

<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Jay Wellwood

What's this I hear...

A potential get together of Sharks just to the South of me? Depending on the date, I would love to come on down.

Keep me in mind...

Shane

Nope no real elbow grease involved. Just the same amount needed when using windex. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

joel roeder

well now, mr struthers certainly has put a new lite on ooo wool cleaning. i have used the wool trick for 20 some odd years both in the north and in the south and have never seen the likes of johns discription, at least not on my car as to the paper trick i am quite sure it would show just that. as i still have two of the cars i drove in the seventys i will have to inspect for this rust speck thing. although the one will be tough to decifer anything. it spent 22 years in my uncles barn. hehe. but the seventy challenger is still garage kept and should show any issues. i am curious as i havent noticed but maybe i havent looked close enough. oh, and folks i use the same method to reburnish the bumpers on e28 bmw,s joel

V-Fib

I've used steel wool on metal, firearms, ect, But not on glass. Interesting thoughts on both sides though. I've been using vinegar/distilled water/windex mix, with fair results. The humidity and salt air makes keeping the windows clean a pain. I will try the Rain X and Fog X first, since it is available locally. Will try the Wurth cleaner too, if I can find it. I have been busy the last few weekends at the deer lease (Uvalde). Dove season (north zone) begins Sept. 1st. Depending on the dates I might be able to swing a mental health day or two and fire up the Redfin and chase a few with you all. If interested, send me an email off list.

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

John Struthers

Joel,
Not an indictment, but a heads up.
I too once used fine steel wool to polish things attached to both motorcycles and cars.
My first punch in the gut came when I went from polishing small fender areas on an old late 60's Yamaha to doing the whole fender - looked good -.
I was removing light rust staining from the rolled fender lip areas - chrome fenders -. It looked pretty good so I started in on the chrome tank which also looked good. Unfortunately, I neither applied wax nor removed the rubber knee pads from the sides of the tank. Rust staining was evident the next day. Also, when I rinsed the bikesome of the fibers apparently settled around the gas tank filler neck and this went unnoticed long enough to start actual rust at the base - nothing to do with the gas cap - which then started the paint flaking down the centerline black paint stripe.
In defense of your 0000 steel wool: I did at a later date use a product called 'Simi-Chrome'. After 3 applications I had burnished the chrome tank to a goldish/bronze, OH MY GOD!
Next disaster - I couldn't put 2&2 together - I had the bumpers on my 68 Nova 350CI sleeper Show Chromed. Did the OOOO wool on the front as I had some staining around the attachment bolts.
Ended up with swirls and more staining.
This was not a result of to much 'ARM', some of the Old timers said I should have polished with lighter fluid, diesel, or kerosene but the issue of OOOO wool is a dead one with me. If it works for you, great you have my best wishes. I am, however going to continue to NOT RECOMMEND using it on anything with a fine finish which includes auto glass and be particularly adamant when the finish in question lives in a salt/air environment. I can smell the ocean/tidewaters quite a ways off. I used to live 55 miles from Lake Erie and I could smell it, when I bought my sHARk in San Diego I could smell the Ocean clean over to El Centro - that's halfway to Yuma Arizona-. SALT IN THE AIR!
We all worry about electrolytic corrosion in our aluminum V8's - if John B. gets those flicks of his block and heads you will be horrified, I know HE was sick about it - our glass and paint deserve the same consideration, as corrosion is corrosion and abrasives are abrasives. From 'MY'
my experience and from the heart, Joel, I would not use it again. Different strokes... .
Jeez, a 70' Challenger...I forget what they look like! They didn't have those raised turn lock hood locks yet did they?

Normy

-One of my twice annual chores when I was growing up was to help my dad wash all the windows on the house. We used soft scrub cleaner, a scrub brush, and a ladder. Afterwards, since Soft Scrub leaves a film, we had to use Windex on them. The result was impressive however.

I've been doing this occasionally to the windows on my cars since. Obviously you have to do this when you are washing the car, and you don't spare the water to make sure the mild abrasive does not end up on the paint!

Normy!

'85 S2 5 speed

V-Fib

Normy, are you still using the ladder? LOL, just kidding.

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />