Help! my windows are a wreck!

-
mshred

mshred

The Green Manalishi
Joined
May 2, 2008
Messages
3,269
Reaction score
157
hey guys,
last year when i took out my back window i cleaned it really well and used some varsol on it to get off the grease that was on it (dont know how it got there but it got there)...i stored it over the winter wrapped up in cardboard...i took it out today to put it in and i can hardly see through the thing!!! it is so hazy i feel like im wearing 80 year old glasses lookin through it...i tried to use glass cleaner of different varieties on it and nothing worked...the window is now in, i mean im sure theres someway to fix it (theres gotta be...) considering it was fine when i put it away last year....any suggestions of how i can get this stuff off? it looks like hazy water stains everywhere...i was thinking maybe trying salt and vinegar or fantastic, but i figured id ask here before i go ruining it even further...any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks
Matthew
 
a fine steel wool may work... try it on a small area first.... Used that to clean up glass that had overspray on it when I was workin at the bodyshop last summer. Put pressure on it but dont press to hard cause you can still scratch it.
 
Was it stored in a heated area, unheated, or sometimes heated? I've seen them delaminate while being stored (not MOPAR but brand f) so it does happen.

Larry
 
Scrubbing bubbles would be a fairly cheap product to try, and you probably have it under your sink anyway... In my experience, it takes off ANY sort of nastiness :D
 
That is a weird deal. Have you tried wetting the glass with cleaner then scraping with a razor blade? Keep the surface wet at all times when scraping. There is some stuff you can get from auto glass dealer that removes glaze. I have used it on water spots on auto glass before and it removes them. Acid rain is the cause of those.
 
I can tell you be very careful using a razor blade, I learned the hard way it can scratch the glass.
 
my window is not a laminate window, so it is not delaminating...also, i am in no way going to take a razor blade or steel wool to my window- i dont have the guts to take that chance...and the reason i put it in regardless of this is because i need a window regardless of how it looks and i am too cheap and way too broke to lay down 300bucks on a new one...i think im going to take mullinaxs idea of going to a glass place and getting some dehazing stuff, but first i will try some other methods and see what happens
 
Seriously, find 000 or 0000 grade steel wool, it is very fine and will not scratch the glass. Works wonders on chrome too. It will scratch your paint.
BTW inspections stickers are removed with a razor blade, just need to be careful. Use good quality stuff, not rusty old chipped razor blades.
 
i am with the steel wool guys.0000 will polish chrome and stainless. you can use it with a spray bottle of simple green and water. if that dont clean it its toast
 
All safety glass used in American cars is laminated (including those made and sold in Canada) and will delaminate, hence the white haze you see around the edges of some windows. Use any dish detergent (dawn, etc) in water and use a new sharpe razor blade. Wet the window with the soap solution and with the blade lying almost parallel to the glass, scrape it gently. Won't hurt the glass unless you get too much angle on the blade and it chatters then it MAY leave a mark. Do a small area at a time and wipe it dry to see your progress.

Larry
 
hey guys, i tried a bunch more stuff as well as talking to a glass guy...he said more than likely my glass is toast because i used varsol to clean it last year and there is heavy oils in varsol that will etch the glass....funny thing though is that i cleaned it off with glass cleaner after varsol and did the same with my front window last year and its not the same problem, its fine....i think im gonna try the steel wool....its my best bet now
 
The rumor is that glass polishing with Cerium Oxide powder is the way to go for stuff like this. I have some cerium oxide powder, but haven't had the chance to actually use it. Do some google searching on it and see what you think if the steel wool doesn't do it.

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/glass.htm
 
mshred said:
hey guys, i tried a bunch more stuff as well as talking to a glass guy...he said more than likely my glass is toast because i used varsol to clean it last year and there is heavy oils in varsol that will etch the glass....funny thing though is that i cleaned it off with glass cleaner after varsol and did the same with my front window last year and its not the same problem, its fine....i think im gonna try the steel wool....its my best bet now
Click to expand...

Unfortunately tempered glass is a pores material and will soak up oils and moisture. If you look at the outer edge of a window where the seal goes, you will notice they are almost always discolored, that is because the moisture can't evaporate from under the rubber. I left a back glass laying outside next to a bush for a few years not knowing it will destroy it and when I went to clean it up it was all splotchy and you couldn't see out of it. My glass guy said he comes across this a lot with old cars because people don't think the glass can get damaged unless it gets broke.

I have an extra clear back glass but not a tinted one. I'd sell it cheap but the shipping would probably be more than I want for the glass.

lhearold said:
All safety glass used in American cars is laminated (including those made and sold in Canada) and will delaminate, hence the white haze you see around the edges of some windows. Use any dish detergent (dawn, etc) in water and use a new sharpe razor blade. Wet the window with the soap solution and with the blade lying almost parallel to the glass, scrape it gently. Won't hurt the glass unless you get too much angle on the blade and it chatters then it MAY leave a mark. Do a small area at a time and wipe it dry to see your progress.

Larry
Click to expand...


Only your windshield is laminated, your side and back windows are tempered.
 
lhearold said:
Use any dish detergent (dawn, etc) in water and use a new sharpe razor blade. Wet the window with the soap solution and with the blade lying almost parallel to the glass, scrape it gently. Won't hurt the glass unless you get too much angle on the blade and it chatters then it MAY leave a mark. Do a small area at a time and wipe it dry to see your progress.

Larry
Click to expand...

That's a better explanation of how to use the razor. I should have explained a little better than that. I worked in a glass shop for two years and I just about used a razor on glass everyday. Try cleaning a window or mirror without a razor and you will be there awhile. Keep it wet is the key and also the angle of the blade.

Truthfully.... what you got mshred sounds like it's not going to come off with a razor anyhow. The steel wool sound more in order for what you are dealing with sounds like. My mom had some stuff on her windshield and she had a guy work on getting it off with steel wool. Scratched the **** out of it!!! I asked her my didn't she call me or let me know about it. She said she didn't want me to bother with it. Windshield had to be replaced. You know how mothers are sometimes.
 
Suggest maybe one of the polycarbonate headlight cleaning kits. That's essentially the way our shop used to buff out aircraft windshields. Yeah, I know you're working with glass and not poly, but if it won't scratch poly, you can be sure it won't scratch glass. You get to use a power tool, but it is time consuming to do that much glass.
 
I was just going to suggest the same thing. You can get it from any auto paint store. I think the only problem might be at night you might see some swirling in the glass. Try the lens cleaning solution first.
 
its fixed! thanks for all the suggestions guys...i ended up trying the plastic lens cleaning stuff which did squat...my best friend and his brother are car detailing gods (they are the first ones i called but they didnt answer) so i went over there and he gave me a gallon of 3M stuff called one step cleaner wax...this stuff is for paint but he told me if it wont scratch paint why would it hurt a window? he used it a bunch of times for foggy windows and it worked great...i was little skeptical since it wasnt for glass, but low and behold my window looks flippin brand new again! im gonna use on the front window too just to get it all super clean when its done goin in! definatly a load off my shoulders- i can breathe a sigh of releif now
 
mshred said:
its fixed! thanks for all the suggestions guys...i ended up trying the plastic lens cleaning stuff which did squat...my best friend and his brother are car detailing gods (they are the first ones i called but they didnt answer) so i went over there and he gave me a gallon of 3M stuff called one step cleaner wax...this stuff is for paint but he told me if it wont scratch paint why would it hurt a window? he used it a bunch of times for foggy windows and it worked great...i was little skeptical since it wasnt for glass, but low and behold my window looks flippin brand new again! im gonna use on the front window too just to get it all super clean when its done goin in! definatly a load off my shoulders- i can breathe a sigh of releif now
Click to expand...

Glad you got it fixed! You will find that 3M stuff works on a lot of things.... I do anyways. lol
 
lol...well i guess im not the only one
 
I wondered when someone would spell out the real solution. Been reading all the replys and taking it all in. Myself i have used the 3M buffing compound with much success. I can remove a glass from the field and bring it in the shop. Place it on the foam covered horses and scrape all the black stuff off the edges with a razor. I promote the desolving of this stuff with laquer thinner then wipe the excess off. I then squirt on some 3M buffing compound and go to work on it with my Dewalt variable speed buffer equiped with a foam pad. This does an excellant job. Be aware that they make various grits of the buffing compound and i use the final glaze. Comes in a black plastic bottle at your local body and paint store. Try this next time.
Small Block
 
Small Block said:
I wondered when someone would spell out the real solution. Been reading all the replys and taking it all in. Myself i have used the 3M buffing compound with much success. I can remove a glass from the field and bring it in the shop. Place it on the foam covered horses and scrape all the black stuff off the edges with a razor. I promote the desolving of this stuff with laquer thinner then wipe the excess off. I then squirt on some 3M buffing compound and go to work on it with my Dewalt variable speed buffer equiped with a foam pad. This does an excellant job. Be aware that they make various grits of the buffing compound and i use the final glaze. Comes in a black plastic bottle at your local body and paint store. Try this next time.
Small Block
Click to expand...

thats what i used, the final stage one in the black plastic bottle...apparently its not cheap stuff, and now i know why...it works!
 
mshred said:
thats what i used, the final stage one in the black plastic bottle...apparently its not cheap stuff, and now i know why...it works!
Click to expand...

It's $30 a quart here but it does make clear coat shine like new money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top