There is some coating on my windshield that I cannot get off, Please help

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Swamibob

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I just bought a nissan leaf with 20000 miles on it and either the dealer or previous owner applied some treatment that is giving me a very hazy, streaky look early in the morning after using wipers on a wet/dew covered windshield. It is vertical lines and it is not as hazy in the area where both wipers hit it so it is wearing off, but in the morning I can barely see through the haze until the defroster heats the windshield up, then it is totally clear. Here is a list of what i have tried.

vinegar
ethyl alcohol (vodka)
ammonia glass cleaner
spray away glass cleaner
klasse all in one
acetone
goof off
clay bar
isopropyl alcohol

Here are some pics of how it looks this morning right before the sun starts to glare on it. It does look worst than this when the sun is shining on it. On the external windshield view, you can see it the worst on the right side of the pic.

View attachment 37932

View attachment 37933

The only thing I was going to try is glass polish but I really don't want to have to resort to trying that unless it is the only way.

Anyone have any other ideas what this stuff is and how to get it off my windshield?
 
That looks like some leftover sheeting agent (an ingredient in car washes) that dried on the windshield, or possibly some hard water remnants. You could try some clay, but most likely you will need to polish it.

I see you are a new member, do you have any equipment/supplies?
 
I agree with Setec, probably a sheeting agent or hard water marks. I've seen this a lot when I get rental cars.

It looks like you've tried a lot of stuff. Did any show improvement?

I would tape off a 1'x1' (or smaller if working by hand) area and work that with Klasse again to see if there is really no improvement when compared to the area next to it. If not, up it to a mild polish like meguiars M205 or ultimate polish. If that does not work, consider a glass specific polish like Ceriglass (this would require a polisher or effectively cut glass.)

Some people have been known to use 0000 steel wool on glass as well, not my personal recommendation, but you could test a very small area out of the field of view to see it that works without leaving behind it's own scratches, the glass will need a thorough cleaning afterwards.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I see you are a new member, do you have any equipment/supplies?
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Audios S6 said:
It looks like you've tried a lot of stuff. Did any show improvement?

I would tape off a 1'x1' (or smaller if working by hand) area and work that with Klasse again to see if there is really no improvement when compared to the area next to it.
Click to expand...

Oh geeze, I guess I read too fast and didn't see the list of products. I agree that KAIO should probably work, you will need a terry applicator and some elbow grease. If that doesn't work, see below (ditto applicator and elbow grease), or if it's not convenient to get that, Meg's Ultimate Compound which can be had locally.

roguerobot said:
Give Duragloss Nu-Glass #751 a try.
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Light polish will work. I see this all the time. It's the only solution I've found.
 
Thanks for all the quick responses.

I have not tried replacing the wipers, but it does this when i just wash the car and then dry it. Until the windshield is completely dry you can see the vertical streaks. I do not believe it is hard water stains since I think one of the numerous products would take that off, for sure the klasse AIO should. I have tried 9 different products already. I have not tried mineral spirits or turpentine.... yet!

Also, the meguiars M205 or ultimate polish that was suggested Audios S6, is that a stronger polish than what is is Klasse AOI? Which is stronger/better?

I can't believe whatever is on here is this hard to get off from glass.

Swami
 
Swamibob said:
I can't believe whatever is on here is this hard to get off from glass.
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Believe it. I had this a few years ago from some shampoo I tried and did that to all my windows, and it was surprisingly hard to get off. It's going to take some elbow grease and an applicator with some bite. KAIO is very mild, since you're working with glass which is a hard substrate you can use a compound like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, which should cut harder.
 
Swamibob said:
Also, the meguiars M205 or ultimate polish that was suggested Audios S6, is that a stronger polish than what is is Klasse AOI? Which is stronger/better?
Click to expand...

KAIO is a chemical based cleaner, it does not have abrasives. M205/UP has abrasives, and will literally scratch it off the glass.

But don't worry, these abrasives won't scratch the glass itself. To abrade the glass, you need Ceriglass (to remove scratches in the glass)
 
You might want to try this.

[video=youtube_share;q4WwOrkgXlc"]Best Glass Cleaning Tricks: Bentley CGT - YouTube[/video]
 
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone. When I got home yesterday I pulled out the Klasse AIO again and tried focusing on a small spot for about 10 mins or so and although it did not get it all off from the area, I can tell an improvement. Since I do not want to spend hours and probably break my cordless drill in the process, I am thinking about ordering some Meguires Ultimate Compound to make this job much less painful. Do you guys think this will be the one to use, or do you think the ultimate polish would do the job about as well?
 
If you have to order something, I'd order the DG glass polish. If you are going to choose between Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound, if you are only going to use it on the glass, I'd go Compound, to make it easier on yourself. Those two should be available locally, or even the DG polish depending.
 
Here in the UK I use something called bar keepers friend stain remover. You get it in podwer form. It's amazing stuff it's really cheap. It removes just about anything even polish on plastic trims.

I had this problem when I bought a car so I clean the wipers with IPA and then scrubbed the screen with the bar keepers and perfect. No Skippy wipers.

See if you can get hold of any.

Ryan
 
I find BKF works wonders on greasy films as well as oxidation (tarnish or rust) as it is essentially corn starch and oxalic acid. I use it to clean rust of carbon steel as well as to renew non-stick pans' performance. For road grime on glass, it is effective, but requires a LOT of elbow grease followed by a good washing to get it off the car.
 
Thanx for the reminder about "BKF".

I always forget about it. The wife uses it often, but me...DUH!

Bill
 
I use it on our shower screen as it seems to be the only thing that touches the water spots. We have water harder than rocks so it feels so limescale is always an issue.

Can't go wrong with bar keepers though.
 
SameGuy said:
I find BKF works wonders on greasy films as well as oxidation (tarnish or rust) as it is essentially corn starch and oxalic acid. I use it to clean rust of carbon steel as well as to renew non-stick pans' performance. For road grime on glass, it is effective, but requires a LOT of elbow grease followed by a good washing to get it off the car.
Click to expand...
But then get get rid of any grease it does require a fair bit of work to make sure all is removed. I haven't found something it doesn't touch and I've been round most of the house too.
 
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