Polishing glass question

[java]

I compounded my windshield using a wool pad and rotary to remove any traces of Gtechniq G1. Then I use CarPro Eraser, Kleanstrip Prep-All, 3M Wax & Grease remover, and Gtechniq Panel Wipe to remove any polishing oils or anything that was left over from compounding. Now every time it rains or get wet the windshield still beads water.

My question is can polish glass be clean and still bead water?

How can I tell if the windshield is perfectly clean or free of any polishing oils?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Lordy, after using 4 prep products, I hope you've removed any polishing oils. What compound did you use?

What is your concern, are you planning to coat the windshield with something else?

I think it's possible if you polished the glass well that you could have beading even if there is no coating or polishing oils.

 

[Avi@CarPro]

Hi, normal polish is not good enough for glass polishing, you need to use glass polish compound , like Ceriglass with glass pads ( rayon wool) and polisher
when the glass is fully hydrophilic , no beadings, means all coat is gone.

 

[java]

Lordy, after using 4 prep products, I hope you've removed any polishing oils. What compound did you use?

What is your concern, are you planning to coat the windshield with something else?

I think it's possible if you polished the glass well that you could have beading even if there is no coating or polishing oils.

Thanks for the reply!

I tried what prep cleaning product that my friend and I had available.

The compound wad Meguiars M101 & M105. The Gtechniq G1 was applied over 2 years old ago. Still holding up good.

I want put another coating on the windshield and work with a clean start. I also tried Duragloss Squeaky Clean.

I was thinking the same thing, If I polish the windshield that good I may be doing all this cleaning prep for nothing.

 

[java]

Hi, normal polish is not good enough for glass polishing, you need to use glass polish compound , like Ceriglass with glass pads ( rayon wool) and polisher
when the glass is fully hydrophilic , no beadings, means all coat is gone.

Thanks for the reply!

I read a lot of horror stories with people distorting there glass using Ceriglass or Cerium Oxide. I'm not brave enough to try something that I may have to replace if I mess things up.

 

[Boudin]

Carpro Clearcut works great on glass too, follow with essense then apply coating.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[TTQ B4U]

I compounded my windshield using a wool pad and rotary to remove any traces of Gtechniq G1. Then I use CarPro Eraser, Kleanstrip Prep-All, 3M Wax & Grease remover, and Gtechniq Panel Wipe to remove any polishing oils or anything that was left over from compounding. Now every time it rains or get wet the windshield still beads water.

My question is can polish glass be clean and still bead water?

How can I tell if the windshield is perfectly clean or free of any polishing oils?

What was your main goal of this to clear scratches or prep for clean/coating it?

Scratch wise, Ceriglass with the proper corresponding pad will be required to remove light scratches and wiper trails, etc. Been there done it and won't do it again. Was a complete PIA and not worth it. IMO, just smash the windshield and let insurance kick in. Did I say that?

Anyway, in terms of water behavior, yes, once FULLY clean, that is polished with something like a good compound or polish and then wiped, the water should cling to the windshield like glue and form a very thick looking sheet of water that you could cut with a water blade. It won't sheet or bead but rather clings to it. If you see any areas still beading then re polish those. I did a video a while back and will see if I can find and link you to it. If all you're doing is cleaning it and prepping for a coating, just use any good compound or polish with a foam pad. I have super firm yellow hexlogic pads I've had for years that I dedicate to glass cleaning.

Once you wash and rinse it after that just dry it and coat with something like McKee's 37 glass. I've tried just about all of the various coatings and McKee's is my go-to one for ease of use and zero issues in terms of wiper chatter, etc. Works great.

 

[java]

Carpro Clearcut works great on glass too, follow with essense then apply coating.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

That look good. Look like you used the Griot's Boss polisher. What pad or pads did you use?

 

[java]

What was your main goal of this to clear scratches or prep for clean/coating it?

Scratch wise, Ceriglass with the proper corresponding pad will be required to remove light scratches and wiper trails, etc. Been there done it and won't do it again. Was a complete PIA and not worth it. IMO, just smash the windshield and let insurance kick in. Did I say that?

Anyway, in terms of water behavior, yes, once FULLY clean, that is polished with something like a good compound or polish and then wiped, the water should cling to the windshield like glue and form a very thick looking sheet of water that you could cut with a water blade. It won't sheet or bead but rather clings to it. If you see any areas still beading then re polish those. I did a video a while back and will see if I can find and link you to it. If all you're doing is cleaning it and prepping for a coating, just use any good compound or polish with a foam pad. I have super firm yellow hexlogic pads I've had for years that I dedicate to glass cleaning.

Once you wash and rinse it after that just dry it and coat with something like McKee's 37 glass. I've tried just about all of the various coatings and McKee's is my go-to one for ease of use and zero issues in terms of wiper chatter, etc. Works great.

Main goal was to clean and prep for a new coating.

I figure the Meguiars M101 and M105 with a wool pad on a rotary would remove the 2 years plus old coating. I guess not. But it did remove all of the water marks.

 

[Boudin]

That look good. Look like you used the Griot's Boss polisher. What pad or pads did you use?

Boss Microfiber Fast Cutting pad with Clearcut, then Correcting pad with Essence, then Cquartz UK 3.0. The pictures posted are just after Clearcut.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[bolts]

Carpro Clearcut works great on glass too, follow with essense then apply coating.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

yes that looked like my glass. i used griots fast correcting cream with a lake country foamed wool pad and it cleaned it all up but i had to work it in for a bit since the window hasnt been cleaned in years. turned out great just a little hard to get around the corners.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

I recently had the bad idea to polish my windshield with a 3 inch wool pad and Wolfgang Perfekt Glass Polish. The wool pad was new and it covered my car in wool bits and it slung polish all over the place. My first experience with wool pads was not a good one. I’m going back to microfiber pads. Also it didn’t cut through the road film.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Scratch wise, Ceriglass with the proper corresponding pad will be required to remove light scratches and wiper trails, etc. Been there done it and won't do it again.

I successfully removed the wiper trails that had been on the windshield of my DTS using Meguiars M100.

Before:

M100 with Megs microfiber pad and HFDA.

After:

It did a phenomenal job! It wasn’t even alot of work either. Maybe I got lucky? I’ll take it, because my windshield had been bugging the heck out me.

 

[Bill D]

Wow that’s pretty remarkable! Just with M100. I have M101. I wonder if it does the same thing. Next time I come across a windshield in need of polishing, I’m going to try it. I have old surbuf pads I can try first before getting MF pads.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Wow that’s pretty remarkable! Just with M100. I have M101. I wonder if it does the same thing. Next time I come across a windshield in need of polishing, I’m going to try it. I have old surbuf pads I can try first before getting MF pads.

I’ve never tried M101. I went with M100 because you can really feel the grit when you rub the compound between your fingers. I felt like it might be up for the task and it worked.

 

[Bill D]

From that description, M101 sounds similar. It’s the only product I got total results from even working by hand. I’d be very surprised if it couldn’t work on glass since M100 did so well.

 

[Eldorado2k]

The polishing with M100 definitely got rid of any beading on my windshield. This is what it looked like this morning.

I didn’t have a coating on it before, but it did bead prior to polishing it, the way all glass normally does.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm pretty surprised a paint polish got those trails out--and when did Meg's start making blue polishes?

 

[itsgn]

Thanks for the reply!

I read a lot of horror stories with people distorting there glass using Ceriglass or Cerium Oxide. I'm not brave enough to try something that I may have to replace if I mess things up.

That's virtually impossible, unless you're using it on a rotary buffer and you keep buffing at the exact same place for minutes, without moving the buffer even a tiny bit. Glass is extremely hard, and even with ceriglass and ample pressure it takes a lot of time until you can actually abrade a significant amount of it. As long as you're using a relatively large pad (so anything above 4 inches) and using some common sense, not tracing just the scratches exactly, but working also the surrounding area, it will be impossible for you to create any distortions in the glass this way.

 

[java]

I recently had the bad idea to polish my windshield with a 3 inch wool pad and Wolfgang Perfekt Glass Polish. The wool pad was new and it covered my car in wool bits and it slung polish all over the place. My first experience with wool pads was not a good one. I’m going back to microfiber pads. Also it didn’t cut through the road film.

My first time with a wool pad I did my friend car with a velcro 3M 9" wool pad, me, the car, and everything around was covered in wool fibers. Once it broke in it wasn't to bad.