D120 Glass Cleaner Problems

So wanted to update everyone on my dilemma. I did a Charger last night where the paint was completely trashed. Started with a waterless wash, then re-coated with the wash for claying. I did a coat of compound and a coat of 151. I sprayed the dustings off after each coat with my compressor. The windows were pretty dirty afterwards so I spritzed a little bit of the glass cleaner on the windows, then followed up with a damp GG cloth and used a separate cloth to buff any remaining streaks out.

The problem returned. It was very hard to buff and very sticky. I also noticed there was a large amount of static build-up when I was cleaning them. I could have probably stuck the towel to the window if I wanted to.

It has to be one of two things, the overspray from the WW since I did it twice. When I spray the a pillar, it would get on the windshield. Or, the dustings that weren't removed from the compressor or a combo of both. I did touch the windshield with the compound and wax but only a slight touching from doing the roof. Anyone had the extreme static build-up issue?
 
hmmm... have you tried anything else other than that towel? maybe a different towel?? or try a new and different spray bottle (if the spray bottle was used for anything else other than glass cleaner)? seems really weird because i diluted my glass cleaner with regular tap water and used a microfiber towel i had laying around and seems fine. definitely subbed in to learn what it was.
 
Maybe the polishing dust from whatever you are using is causing a film when you wipe down the glass at the end of your detail process. I've used gallons of D120 and never experienced the issues you are describing. But, if you are having the same issue over and over there is obviously SOMETHING that is causing the glass cleaner to react strangely on the surface.

Also, we use regular tap water and never have streaking issues or any other issues with the glass cleaner.
 
Bumping this for an update. I had another complaint about the film left over on the windshield. When rain hits the windshield, it becomes one sheet of water that sticks to it and the wipers do pretty much nothing to help. Since the other issues, I have refilled my bottle twice so it has to be one of two things:

1. Bad product
2. GG glass towels aren't removing all of the product from the windshield

I am guessing I need to try a different towel and see what happens.
 
Glass Cleaner can only do so much. If there is something on the glass after normal cleaning you can try claying, using a paint cleaner on the glass or a water spot remover product (Mothers, Duragloss), or step up to Ceriglass to really clean it.
 
I think it's somewhere else in the process.

Perhaps you should go back to basics. Wash a car with a simple shampoo like Hyper Wash; waterless washes may include gloss enhancers and other products that may interfere with proper cleaning. For the same reason, use a body shop-safe lubricant while claying, such as Meguiars M34, and clay the glass just like you do the paint.

As others have mentioned, perhaps your towels are the culprits. Are you washing them with a microfiber cleaner or a "free and clear" laundry detergent? Rinsing twice? Have you added vinegar to the first rinse?

Have you tried polishing the glass with a body shop-safe cleaner (a compound like M04 or M105 would work well)?

D120 is a really effective cleaner for dirty glass. As an alternative test, how about just using it to clean a dirty windshield without all the detailing steps? Assuming your waffle-weave towels are good and clean, it should get the windshield squeaky clean, and free of any of the annoyances you've described.
 
Maybe to eliminate the towels as a source of problems, try the above test with a disposable product like brown paper towels, blue Scott shop towels or a woven cellulose towel like Kimberly-Clark WypAlls. The brown and blue ones won't work as well as the WypAlls or microfiber rags, but should get the windshield clean.
 
The most recent car was hand-washed and I didn't use a WW. Same thing with one I did about two months ago. I wash my glass towels with my other MF towels. Warm water, detergent, and 2 OZ of MF detergent. My cycle is set on extra rinse. I haven't ever added vinegar to a wash before. The glass didn't really require a polish, it was a newer car and pretty well-maintained. I have a car tonight that I am doing an exterior on. I will use one of my waffle weaves vs the GG glass towel and see what happens. It has to either be the product or the towels at this point.
 
Any possibility it has nothing to do with you and is a local airborne (or rain-borne) contaminant? Other than switching from WW to a more innocuous clay lube, I don't see how any part of your process is repeatedly causing a film.
 
You can rule things out by using Sprayway Glass Cleaner and paper towels. These are not likely to be contaminated and this will at least rule out airborne. I have lived around trees and what they drop does not come off easily with just glass cleaner.
 
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