Water etching on autoglass

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CleverUserName

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A friend of mine has very heavy water spots on her autoglass. It is very difficult to see while driving at night, the glare is horrendous.

It's is a '11 prius.

I thought it was mineral scale, so I tried some of the strong cleaning vinegar that Heinz makes. I would say it is better, but not by much. I think the glass has been etched.

Since an acid solution didn't work, What can I use to "polish" this away? I was thinking some of the headlight restore polish might work.

Or am I totally off base with my approach? What should I do?
 
Originally Posted By: shokhead
Ajax{or something like that}. I've read it cuts the grime the reg glass cleaning can't.


Whoa!! It’s not grime. That’s too abrasive, AJAX isn’t an optical grade cleaner. I think it’ll scratch the [censored] out of the windshield.

I think I either need a stronger acid or an optical grade polishing compound. Maybe some toothpaste would work?
 
Originally Posted By: CleverUserName
Originally Posted By: shokhead
Ajax{or something like that}. I've read it cuts the grime the reg glass cleaning can't.


Whoa!! It’s not grime. That’s too abrasive, AJAX isn’t an optical grade cleaner. I think it’ll scratch the [censored] out of the windshield.

I think I either need a stronger acid or an optical grade polishing compound. Maybe some toothpaste would work?


You'd be surprised at how hard glass can be. Toothpaste won't make a dent.

Ceramic polish is usually necessary but comes with the risk of making the picture "wavy" if done wrong.
 
I keep a can of cerium oxide on my shelf just for such a purpose. I even had new glass installed that was etched.

My cerium oxide kit came with a felt wheel you attach to a drill. I found this unwieldy to use and polish by hand. Once polished, I'll give it a good treatment of Rain-X.
 
Glass place here in town told me to use #0000 steel wool and a good glass cleaner for lubrication, only go in one directions and don't press down to hard. It didn't get it all out but made it much better.
 
Originally Posted By: CleverUserName
Originally Posted By: shokhead
Ajax{or something like that}. I've read it cuts the grime the reg glass cleaning can't.


Whoa!! It’s not grime. That’s too abrasive, AJAX isn’t an optical grade cleaner. I think it’ll scratch the [censored] out of the windshield.

I think I either need a stronger acid or an optical grade polishing compound. Maybe some toothpaste would work?


Won't hurt glass one bit.
 
Originally Posted By: boom10ful
I use barkeeper's friend. Doesn't scratch the glass and removes water etching.

Yes, that also.
 
I've used Griot's Garage glass polish with my Griots DA polisher and a glass polish pad.

Works great!
 
I have spent 6 hours correcting glass before, it is one of the hardest things to fix on a car and one of the most misunderstood pieces to fix. One thing is for sure, if you have etched glass, (not minerals on top of the glass), you are going to need a polisher and a lot of time.
 
Originally Posted By: FastEddie
I have spent 6 hours correcting glass before, it is one of the hardest things to fix on a car and one of the most misunderstood pieces to fix. One thing is for sure, if you have etched glass, (not minerals on top of the glass), you are going to need a polisher and a lot of time.



Is it etched? I don’t know, but I thought a strong vinegar solution @ 6% acidity seems like it should have removed any mineral deposits.

Maybe I need to do a 3rd application.
 
Originally Posted By: CleverUserName
Originally Posted By: FastEddie
I have spent 6 hours correcting glass before, it is one of the hardest things to fix on a car and one of the most misunderstood pieces to fix. One thing is for sure, if you have etched glass, (not minerals on top of the glass), you are going to need a polisher and a lot of time.



Is it etched? I don’t know, but I thought a strong vinegar solution @ 6% acidity seems like it should have removed any mineral deposits.

Maybe I need to do a 3rd application.

Just hope it isn't etched, but it sounds like it is. Most suggestions from people refer to removing above surface deposits, etching is a while different animal and a total pain to remove if the etching is deep. I have seen etching so bad the glass had to be replaced to make it perfect.
 
Originally Posted By: zorobabel
Is this topic about the little pits caused by gravel and sand, or something different?


The other people who have replied were able to figure out the topic. Reading is fundamental as they say...
 
Originally Posted By: zorobabel
The concept of glass being dissolved by water seemed hard to swallow...


I believe acid rain and other environmental pollutants could etch Glass. I’m sure if you lived in Flint Michigan and washed your car with their polluted water it would cause damage to the glass or paint. No water is “pure” unless it’s distilled or filtered through reverse osmosis, and both these processes completely demineralize the water anyway so it’s not natural water anymore. It’s a reagent, or H2O.

I think the etching in question was caused by some kind of detergent or other chemical which was in the water used to wash to car. It could have dried on the glass and sunlight burned it onto the surface. I don’t know how it got there, I’m just trying to figure out how to get rid of it without replacing the windshield.
 
Thanks for the explanation, I've done some reading since my first post. I've seen Cerium Oxide mentioned in other places, not sure how safe it is for a DIY-er.
 
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