Need some help..weird windshield film

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BTLew81

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Brand new Passat. Had some rain today and instead of beading up, the rain seemed to sheet or almost smear. I took some 205 to it by hand when I got home, but upon using some Meg's glass cleaner, it still seemed to smear and had a rainbow effect.

I know it's nothing major, but any insight or a cure? I've considered polishing it lightly with a white pad this weekend, but would love your feedback/insight.

Thanks.
 
Are you sure it doesn't have some factory coating on it like Lexus used to have on some windows? Have you checked your owner's manual?
 
I've used various detail sprays on my cars. Ultimate Quik Detailer comes to mind. I had a terrible build up on my windshield and I ended up using an all wheel and tire cleaner. If you have a carefully waxed car, be gentle and try to stay on the windshield if you decide to use it. I had great success with it. But check your manual as Setec mentioned.
 
I found a very reliable fix that combines a few things but has resulted in perfection for me and our vehicles.

What you will need:

  • Bar Keepers Friend. You'll find it in the cleaning supplies of a hardware or grocery. It's a cleanser of sort.
  • Microfiber pad or rags (3) - 2 pads and 1 Clean MF Rag
  • Denatured Alcohol
  • BLACKFIRE Crystal Seal Paint Sealant or Optimum Opti-Seal - I like Blackfire and fine it better overall for paint and for this fix

Proceedure:

  1. Start by washing and using a microfiber pad or a small peice of MF cut from a rag you may have with Bar Keepers Friend to scrub and strip the windshield of all the crap that is built up. This really does a great job of clearing off the debris, bugs, gum/sap, oils, etc.
  3. Wipe the glass dry and then use another peice of MF or another pad and wipe it down really good with Denatured Alcohol. This will insure 100% of everything left is gone. The glass will be completely virgin and clean. Wipe it dry completely and insure it's clean and streak free.
  5. Lastly, apply 2 coats of the sealers I've noted. They go on ultra thin and if you've not used them before, they are truely clear and essentially evaporate as they self level. If it's warm it will take just a minute, if it's below 50* it could take 5. After that grab a clean MF cloth and wipe / buff any excess left and you will have a completely sealed and squeak/skip proof windshield.

I've found that this technique is perfect and does not wear down easily like many other treatments. I do reapply it on a regular basis as I use both the above sealants on my car every 2-3 washes. They are so, so, so very nice and work great. Like liquid lube on your car if it's detailed and corrected. Work the same on windows.

Now the one difference you will notices is that the product does not "sheet" away water like a hydrophobic coating but it does bead up allowing the wipers to do their job without streaking or skipping.

Hope this helps you and do post back your results. I just did my wife's van and she noticed instantly that her wipers are nearly silent and seem to float across her windows. :cool:
 
BTLew81 said:
Found this thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...5-new-windshield-has-some-time-oily-film.html

This is exactly what I am experiencing, and it seems like this member did not find a solution. Frustrating. Thinking maybe a glass restorer like DP.
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Thats me, It still continued and never actually went away....also a VW...lol

I did however change my wipers, so at least in the rain I could see clearly and drive safe. But during washes or when it was pouring and the car was parked....it would just sheet, albeit very very very slowly (2-3 minutes to fully sheet off).

Since then I have sold the car, and could not be happier :P

I know that doesnt help, But i did try rubbing M205 and even ultimate compound by hand and had no luck. I wanted to try busting out the flex and polishing pad too, but after changing the wipers I didn't bother.
 
BTLew81 said:
it seems like this member did not find a solution.
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problem likely lies in the holding tank in his car. In my last car I had problems and removed the tank and was shocked to find it gummed up with crap. Best I could tell it was residue from the 2x and 3x versions of Rain X fluid.

After cleaning it out and switching back to the standard blue stuff and using my above process I've had zero issues with any of our vehicles.
 
Not encouraging...lol I may hit it with the buffer, as it seems like it is all windows. A hand polish and IPA wipe didnt seem to do much. Either polish or a strong paint cleaner. More annoying than anything.
 
My 14 RX350 had a similar issue. The crud was on the windshield and not the rest of the glass. It looked like someone spilled a coating and let it dry. Lexus corporate advised that they have no factory applied coating on the windshield but do on the side glass. They also said that some local dealerships may apply something and suggested I take it back to the dealer for inspection. I tried several glass cleaners and finally resorted to #205 with a polishing pad on my DA which worked like a charm.

Funny thing is that the paint, which was smooth and shiny, (baggie test smooth) felt grabby when initially polishing. I had to use 205 on the paint to loose that grabby feel.
 
That's exactly the look I have. Great description. I've also been told to try glass scrub, so I may go that route before 205.
 
Glass cleaner and fine steel wool should take care of the promblem,or barkeeper without steel wool and apply it with a terry cloth.
 
I went to a hardware store and found denatured alcohol - is that basically like lighter fluid? That must stink something awful. Besides using nitrile gloves - can that damage trim? Paint?
 
Just try to use glass cleaner and steelwool,no need to over think this and start applying all these products when maybe you don't have to.
 
irvsmith said:
I went to a hardware store and found denatured alcohol - is that basically like lighter fluid? That must stink something awful. Besides using nitrile gloves - can that damage trim? Paint?
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It's fine. It's aka methylated spirits and for the most part just plain alcohol (ethyl alcohol) You can mix it with some distilled water or really just wipe down the windshield ones you've hit it with bar keepers friend. It will not hurt anything and evaporates quickly. Odd fact....the smell is purposely added to prevent people who are strung out from ingesting it in an attempt to get a buzz......but go blind and kill themselves. Again, it's 70%+ pure alcohol. you'll find it used in a lot of home made go-green type window cleaners.
 
irvsmith said:
I went to a hardware store and found denatured alcohol - is that basically like lighter fluid? That must stink something awful. Besides using nitrile gloves - can that damage trim? Paint?
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No, it's just ethanol that's been made undrinkable.

GSKR said:
Just try to use glass cleaner and steelwool
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I'm sure you've done this dozens or hundreds of times, but I really can't recommend that the OP use steel wool on the windshield of a brand new car.
 
If you are going to try to strip whatever it is with a solvent, you should consider trying several options, rather than just alcohol. If whatever it is isn't alcohol (or water) soluble, you need to go a different direction.

I would suggest picking up some naptha, mineral spirits, as well as acetone from your hardware store. You can find them in the paint section. Just get three separate towels or old rags and try them separately. You shouldn't need steel wool.

Try each one and see if they work. If none of those work, you are likely going to have get physical with it with some Ceriglass and a fiber pad. For me, Ceriglass has been the only thing that REALLY cleans stubborn spots from glass.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
No, it's just ethanol that's been made undrinkable.



I'm sure you've done this dozens or hundreds of times, but I really can't recommend that the OP use steel wool on the windshield of a brand new car.
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Perfectly safe,but has to be fine steelwool it's done everyday at dealerships across the us to remove rail dust and stubborn grime.I wouldn't put him in harms way.
 
roguerobot said:
If you are going to try to strip whatever it is with a solvent, you should consider trying several options, rather than just alcohol. If whatever it is isn't alcohol (or water) soluble, you need to go a different direction.

I would suggest picking up some naptha, mineral spirits, as well as acetone from your hardware store. You can find them in the paint section. Just get three separate towels or old rags and try them separately. You shouldn't need steel wool.

Try each one and see if they work. If none of those work, you are likely going to have get physical with it with some Ceriglass and a fiber pad. For me, Ceriglass has been the only thing that REALLY cleans stubborn spots from glass.
Click to expand...
No acetone it will damage the windshield and make everything wavey looking from the inside.
 
GSKR said:
Perfectly safe,but has to be fine steelwool it's done everyday at dealerships across the us to remove rail dust and stubborn grime.I wouldn't put him in harms way.
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GSKR said:
No acetone it will damage the windshield and make everything wavey looking from the inside.
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Wait, steel wool can't damage glass but acetone can? IMO it's the other way around.

But don't listen to me:

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Count me on the "don't use steel wool on glass" gang...


I don't use steel wool on glass, never have and never recommend it.


I know there are a lot of guys and even detailers that recommend it but steel scratches glass. Just because you cannot visually see the scratches doesn't mean they are not there.

Plus there are a lot of glass polishes available that are safe, no risks at all.
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