I came back to my car after work yesterday and it looks like a faulty sprinkler blasted my ride sometime during the day and then the scorching 100 heat and direct sunlight dried some nasty waterspots on to my car body, pano roof, and 75% of the windows...

I go home, give it a good wash, throw some quickdetailer on... The car body looks good again (Arctic White also hides water spots so the body doesnt really matter)...

BUT THE WINDOWS GLASS... Permanent water spots!

I used some invisiglass first to clean, then used rubbing alcohol on a microfiber towel... There is still partial water spot residue stained all over the every piece of glass on my car...

Funny thing is, you can only see it if you shine direct light right on the car...

Like what I mean is, the windows looked clean to me from a 2 foot distance with natural light, or at least 95 % clean... But then I took a standard LED flashlight and shined it on the glass, and I have tons of water spots everywhere that only show up in direct light....

I put 90% rubbing alcohol and rubbed hard on the glass under the direct light for like 30 seconds at each water spot, but nothing will take off the residue from the glass... Not even when I scratched at them after soaked in alcohol...

I can't really see them from far away at all, but it just really bugs me to know I have water spot stained glass that I can't EVER return to full clarity again...

Is there any other secret way to remove water spots that I haven't tried????
Can you clay bar windows? I figure if rubbing alcohol got off all the road tar and tree sap on my clearcoat body with no damage, then it should work also for a smooth glass surface, but no luck so far....

Sorry for long description, but is there a true solution to removing water spots COMPLETELY from glass?

Or will there always be that small residue that will be visible in the right, intense light situations?
????

 

Try Bon Ami to clean the glass.

 

have you tried windex? There's another solution from Home Depot called Zapp's. It is used for Shower Tiles and Restrooms to clean waterspots and soap scum, so be very careful when using on your windows to not touch the paint.

 

Clay bar or rubbing compound will work on the car body, not sure about window.

 

Try CLR - it removes mineral deposits which is basically what's on the window. Bon Ami works too - but that's a brute-force approach as you're essentially sanding off the minerals.

 

NEVER use windex! big mistake by using windex, leave that for your house!!!! they say streak free, what a scam!!! merc dealer has an aerosol that works really well on glass, i know chevy dealerships and toyota has the same too, so if Merc is too expensive try the other dealerships.

 

you should never ever use Windex!! all home products except for leather cleaners and vacuums should only be used at home. It would destroy the glass
I've tried it on my 1st car I ever got, the next rainy day the glass wouldn't clear the rain using wipers. the water seems to become tacky on the glass.

 

well, based off the 6 replies so far, Mr Darth sounds the most legit...

Only thing is like the other poster said, I am wondering if it actually sands the glass and can make things worse...

Anybody have experience using Bon Ami?

 

it works just a lot of elbow grease, i would get glass polish and a buffer, make sure to tap off around the window

 

Ah! Most maddening thing ever. That happened to my old volvo once, I got some Hard Water Spot remover. Its in powder form and you mix it with water. It worked great, only because its so harsh, so dont get it near anything other than the glass. I've also found that Zaino's Glass Cleaner/Polish removes water spots pretty well. No standard cleaner is going to get those buggers off!

 

VINEGAR!

 

And their are detailing products designed to specifically deal with your problem.

 

Yup, cheap - and some "new" glass cleaners now claim "with vinegar added"

 

apple cide vinegar? or balsamic vinegar?

Or clear, standard vinegar?

 

back in the motherland we used black and white newspaper, sometimes with vinegar for the tough spots

 

same thing happened to me, left a couple water spots on my polished rims... any ideas what to use on that?

 

I think vinegar is the answer in this case.

BUT, Bon Ami is sometimes the only thing that will remove the buildup on the windshield from road oil.

I've used it many times and it works very well.

 

+1 clay bar is the best. It wont mark your window. You can also buy glass polish, you wont need to rub hard cus its just caked on drit.

 

Want a cheap solution... How about try some toothpaste, its known to kill even a fungus who will haunt most car windows after raining (I'm talking about someone who live in two weather HOT and RAIN) This tips been given by one of my car polish expert.

Hope this works..

P.S. do not used it for your body exterior. Windows only!!!

 

I clay bar my entire car including the glass everytime I do my twice a year detailing. The glass is surprisingly very clean, clear and smooth after the clay bar.

 

Just your basic white vinegar, about 50-50 with water. And as mentioned before newspaper is an old standby to sparkle glass. Vinegar won't remove oil, but it will remove "hard" water spotting and prevents streaking after washing.

 

I didn't read any of the messages above, but I use a razor blade and scrape them off. It works really well, although very time consuming.

 

Everything I have ever read about retail store claybar, indicates it contains abrasives to shear off contaminants. It doesn't actually lift them as claimed. I have been using it for years with great results, but I would limit the use on windows.