Water Spots from the Dark Side

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Washmitt

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So I got a used car and I saw these water spots on the windows and didn’t think much of it. Well, after going at the rear side window with:
1. A LC hybrid wool pad with CG V32
2. A CG microfiber cutting pad with CG V32
3. A LC force hybrid grey pad with CG V32
4. A glass polishing 3” pad on Flex 3” rotary with CarPro glass polish
And the window still has water spots! I know glass is supposed to be hard to polish but I really didn’t think waterspots on glass could be this hard to remove. Am I missing a step here chemically? I think my pictures got turned to the side not sure why but you can still see the before and after. They’re almost gone but not quite. Any suggestions would be awesome, thanks.
 
Washmitt said:
So I got a used car and I saw these water spots on the windows and didn’t think much of it. Well, after going at the rear side window with:
1. A LC hybrid wool pad with CG V32
2. A CG microfiber cutting pad with CG V32
3. A LC force hybrid grey pad with CG V32
4. A glass polishing 3” pad on Flex 3” rotary with CarPro glass polish
And the window still has water spots! I know glass is supposed to be hard to polish but I really didn’t think waterspots on glass could be this hard to remove. Am I missing a step here chemically? I think my pictures got turned to the side not sure why but you can still see the before and after. They’re almost gone but not quite. Any suggestions would be awesome, thanks.
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Meguiar's M105 has worked for me... easier to use on glass for me than paint... don't hardly ever use it on paint anymore.
 
00 Steel wool might work. Try it dry 1st. If that doesn’t work use it with whatever “lube” of your choice, most people reach for glass cleaner. Whatever you use for lube will make it more aggressive and then it might remove them.

If that doesn’t work try Kaboom Bathroom Cleaner, the 1 that’s for hard water spots. Just make sure to keep it on the glass and not anywhere else.

If you try the steel wool make sure not to get the 0000, it’s useless.

If it still doesn’t work order some McKee’s Glass Restorer and do a product review.
 
3D Eraser Gel and a magic eraser pad from your grocery isle. It will likely take 2 attempts but they will come off. From there, polish with a DA and coat. I've had to get similar ones off a car before. 3D's product can get worked in an dwell for about 1 minute per application then you must rinse it off good but you can repeat things.

Just keep in mind these spots are likely etched in and the glass is likely old and worn thus a couple coats of a good glass coating will do wonders.
 
Thanks for the replies. I will start with some of the fine steel wool. As for the Ceriglass, I bought it with the special glass pads. I got to first use it in one of the roadshow classes. The weird thing to me is it’s a Lexus with details on the service records and the paint looks fine. What did the detailers skip the windows or what?
Also the magic eraser will also get a try just to experiment with what works best and believe me if I can get them gone all the way I will Be coating the glass for sure! Thanks again for the input!
 
Washmitt said:
Thanks for the replies. I will start with some of the fine steel wool. As for the Ceriglass, I bought it with the special glass pads.
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Note, that even with Ceriglass and the rayon pad, it still takes a lot of time and elbow grease to correct any defects in the glass, as this material is very very hard. I mean you really have to put your full weight into pushing down the machine and the pad on the surface to actually make an impact, and even then it might take you a full work day to correct even just the front windshield and make all the seemingly superficial defects (like wiper trails) disappear.

That said I have yet to encounter waterspotting on glass that's so bad, that it needs this amount of effort to correct, and I personally would try some dedicated and heavy duty water spot remover (which works chemically) first, to remove these, before trying to polish them off the hard way.

Also, when trying the steel wool, 1. use only the finest, like 0000, and 2. make sure to try it in an inconspicuous place first, because even that might scratch, mar or haze up the glass surface, especially if it's coated with something, you didn't even know was there.
 
I had the same ones on a 93 Cadillac DeVille and nothing removed them. I figured the water spots somehow got into the factory tint. If they won’t come off with Ceriglass and a rayon pad you might have to learn to love them or take it to someone that does glass for a living.
 
So yeah about the pressure etc. I actually tore the pad from the Velcro. The rayon one with the cerifglass....it’s super hot here too so I think that contributed. I too thought this seemed like too much effort. Paying gigs came up so I had to pause on the project and haven’t tried kaboom or other chemical water spot remover or the steel wool yet. Still appreciate all the info and I knew glass takes forever to polish but you put it in a good perspective of a potential days long project to actually achieve some good results.
 
Washmitt said:
So yeah about the pressure etc. I actually tore the pad from the Velcro. The rayon one with the cerifglass....it’s super hot here too so I think that contributed.
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Ceriglass dries out it no time even with moderate ambient temperatures, so in hot weather you have no chance to work with it. That said, you can prevent it from drying out and dusting off the surface by spritzing some water onto the pad or onto the surface frequently (and with "frequently" I mean it, like every 30 seconds max, maybe even less). However, this will result in tiny compound droplets flung around all over, and will create a mess - so, if you opt for this method, you better cover up the rest of the car with a very thin plastic film/foil prior to starting with the glass polishing process. Or be prepared to have to thoroughly wash it aftwards. Thankfully Ceriglass droplets won't stain even rubber parts, but they will still be a btch to get off, both from the paint and the rubber seal, unless of course you prevent them from getting there in the first place.
 
I'd go for something like Optimum MDR (mineral deposit remover) or even Meg's wheel brightener at a softer dilution to try and dissolve out whatever is stuck to the glass.

Hopefully you ran out your supply of v32 so you can replace it with a real compound.
 
if you have a 3 inch polisher or even a 5 or 6 inch get some pads you dont want anymore and use CARPRO spotless as the "polish" and then polish it away nice and slow. it should remove them with no issues. i call it "acid polishing" and do it ALOT as waterspots are a huge issue where i live in SoCal
 
Cruzscarwash said:
if you have a 3 inch polisher or even a 5 or 6 inch get some pads you dont want anymore and use CARPRO spotless as the "polish" and then polish it away nice and slow. it should remove them with no issues. i call it "acid polishing" and do it ALOT as waterspots are a huge issue where i live in SoCal
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3” foam cutting pad, HF DA, what speed?
 
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