Dirty Felt Streaking Glass

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mark2dx

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Hello all!

It's common to see glass get streaked from rolling side windows up or down after a wash, but my side windows seem to get streaked even when water isn't present. Even worse, some of the streaking that occurs actually leads to micro-marring in vertical lines along the glass.

I'm thinking that the inside part of my window seal is holding onto some dirt that is causing this problem. The material appears to be more of a felt than a rubber, and I'm not sure how to tackle it.

I did a few searches here and on Google, and saw some recommendations for Duragloss #531 or Ultima Trim and Tire Guard - but I wasn't sure if that was more geared towards the rubber on the outside or the felt on the inside of these window seals.

Right now I have OPC, UTTG, and the Gummi protectant at my disposal. I'm open to try new products as well if it gets the job done :props:

Here's what my windows look like right now:

imag0078lg.jpg
 
In the past I have given them a blast with my steamer but I am sure you could use some mild cleaner and compressed air to get down in the crack. I have seen the felt fall out of this window seal in the past and the bare rubber cause the streaking issues.

Not sure how to fix the latter other then replacment.

Good Luck!
 
If it's got grit stuck in it you need to clean it. Try running a MF wet with APC solution between the glass and the felt (which you may or may not be able to do) and see how much dirt/particles comes off.
 
I take a plastic putty knife with an old towel and some Griots rubber cleaner and go around mine with the window all the way down. You'll be amazed at all the crap you'll clean out. You may have to do it two or three times, than put on your trim protectant. If you have a little outter flap, make sure you clean it out to.
 
Finemess said:
I take a plastic putty knife with an old towel and some Griots rubber cleaner and go around mine with the window all the way down. You'll be amazed at all the crap you'll clean out. You may have to do it two or three times, than put on your trim protectant. If you have a little outter flap, make sure you clean it out to.
Click to expand...

There you go.
 
Finemess said:
I take a plastic putty knife with an old towel and some Griots rubber cleaner and go around mine with the window all the way down. You'll be amazed at all the crap you'll clean out. You may have to do it two or three times, than put on your trim protectant. If you have a little outter flap, make sure you clean it out to.
Click to expand...

Awesome, I'll definitely give that a shot. Do you use the putty knife to push the towel down into the crevice were the window goes?

I don't have the Griot's product on hand, but I think diluted OPC should be a solid substitute - it's what I generally use to clean up my trim before applying UTTG.
 
Here's an update on how things have gone thus far:

imag0081gz.jpg


- OPC 1:10 Diluted
- Basic Microfiber: One coated in OPC, the other with water to wipe up any excess.

Lots and lots of caked on dirt inside of that rubber seal. I wasn't able to get the plastic putty knife until later tonight, so I went over both sides with my fingers for the time being - even so, there was still a drastic improvement.

Tomorrow I'll be going in with a putty knife and a can of compressed air. The end goal is to be able to pull my towel out of the seal and have it remain the same color :buffing:
 
mark2dx said:
Awesome, I'll definitely give that a shot. Do you use the putty knife to push the towel down into the crevice were the window goes?

I don't have the Griot's product on hand, but I think diluted OPC should be a solid substitute - it's what I generally use to clean up my trim before applying UTTG.
Click to expand...
Sorry I'm late, yes, looks like your getting the hang of it. :xyxthumbs:
 
Experts- Would a coating on the window help? For example, CQuartz, Aquapel, Opti-Coat?
 
Welp, the deed is done. Didn't get a chance to take pictures, but overall the following combo was a great success. I highly recommend doing this process on the same interval that you clay bar your car.

- Medium sized plastic putty knife
- 10 Small Microfibers (5x5 I believe)
- OPC 1:10 Dilution

The trick is to wrap the microfiber around the putty knife, coat the tip of your new "applicator" with OPC dilution, and then work the putty knife back and forth along the seal. This way you can clean both sides of the seals interior with each pass, and do as many passes as needed to get the desired results.

I didn't try to get the knife too far down into the door, as I feared I might press the glass up against the inside of the door panel. I imagine you could do this if you wanted to, I just wanted to play it safe.

The end result was an extremely clean weather strip for my driver and passenger windows. The windows themselves took no damage during this cleaning either, which I'm pretty happy about.

Here's my windows touched up with invisible glass after I cleaned the seals:

imag0082sh.jpg


imag0084ol.jpg


There are some extremely fine scratches still present in the glass, but these have been accumulating since 1994 - some things you just have to live with :dblthumb2:
 
Setec Astronomy said:
So did you clean it with the window up or down?
Click to expand...

Window all the way down. It was much easier to get the putty knife in this way, and I didn't have to worry about a wet/dirty seal rubbing up against the glass during the cleaning process.
 
great tip and I bet it would even work on the rest of the window track by working the scraper around entire track.
It might even solve the dirt line at the top of the window
 
Impressions said:
great tip and I bet it would even work on the rest of the window track by working the scraper around entire track.
It might even solve the dirt line at the top of the window
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. Next time I do a wash I'll be using the same technique all the way around the seal, including the top portion.
 
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