Removing windscreen marring

Voodoomelon · 11-11-2014 1:01am #1

Hey all.
I've only noticed in the last few weeks a very annoying marring on my windscreen. It's very noticeable with the wet weather and dark evenings, looks to be water stains or something similar. The windscreen is original and coming up on 9 years old. Can this be removed?

mar1_zpsc8dcaa6d.jpg~original

As soon as it stops raining and the windscreen is warmer, it's invisible. But during the rain it's a nightmare.

I have a DA polisher, can these be used on glass effectively? Claying had no effect.
It's also on the outside by the way.

Thanks.

randy hickey · 11-11-2014 8:41am

I get that effect sometimes when I've done a quick Tango wash.Give yer windscreen a good wipedown with some IPA on a micro fibre and that should sort it.

Gordy6040 · 11-11-2014 11:38am

speaking of wind screens, let me hi jack the thread for a moment.
my wifes car has a permanant mark where the wiper blades were allowed to get to worn down.

Anyone any experience of this ? I reckon its a new screen job myself...

vectra · 11-11-2014 11:58am

@ Voodoomelon
Next time it rains lightly get a can of coke and pour it down your windscreen.
Put on wipers and give a few wipes.
Repeat.

I can assure you that you will have what looks like a new windscreen.
Just done forget to wash the car afterwards.

Gordy6040 · 11-11-2014 12:21pm

@Vectra
That has to be the life hack of the day!

Curran · 11-11-2014 12:36pm

If Vectra's solution doesnt work Voodoomelon, then you can try using the DA, with a light pad and polish combo to see if it has any effect. There are specific glass pads and polishes, but you arent trying to correct scratches, so a fine polish should be enough.

Gordy6040; they damage you have will need proper glass pad and polish.

Voodoomelon · 11-11-2014 1:49pm

Thanks guys, will try the Coke first and report back.

vectra · 11-11-2014 3:15pm

only real Coca cola.
Nothing else.

I have no idea why but it is what works best.

keano25 · 12-11-2014 10:02am

I swear by halfords intensive glass cutter. Great stuff. Double it up with rain repellent and wow.

Don't get rain x. I have that too and always reach for the halfords stuff.

Voodoomelon · 13-11-2014 12:48am

Sooo, the Coke had no effect at all.

Poured it all over, worked the wipers a few times, then scrubbed it into the glass for a minute or two with an old cloth. No difference at all.

Time to get the polisher out!

vectra · 13-11-2014 2:21am

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Sooo, the Coke had no effect at all.

Poured it all over, worked the wipers a few times, then scrubbed it into the glass for a minute or two with an old cloth. No difference at all.

Time to get the polisher out!

Damn.
Must be something well stuck to it. Normally Coke shifts most crap.

keano25 · 13-11-2014 10:14am

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Sooo, the Coke had no effect at all.

Poured it all over, worked the wipers a few times, then scrubbed it into the glass for a minute or two with an old cloth. No difference at all.

Time to get the polisher out!

The glass cutter cures like polish, and you can machine off or take it off by hand. Great stuff.

Chimaera · 13-11-2014 12:49pm

I'd try the DA with the coarsest polish and hardest pad you have. Alternatively, if you're in less of a rush, I've had great results with a felt glass cutting pad and cerium oxide compound on the windscreen of my car.

Theboinkmaster · 14-11-2014 11:32am

vectra wrote: »

@ Voodoomelon
Next time it rains lightly get a can of coke and pour it down your windscreen.
Put on wipers and give a few wipes.
Repeat.

When i see posts like this i second guess drinking coke and what affect it must have on my insides

Chimaera · 14-11-2014 12:12pm

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

When i see posts like this i second guess drinking coke and what affect it must have on my insides

I wouldn't worry. It's no more acidic than fresh orange juice. The phosphoric acid in it has some useful properties for cleaning that other acids don't have (mainly being able to remove rust). A good chunk of your bodyweight is phosphates too.

_Kaiser_ · 14-11-2014 4:14pm

Be careful using that polisher

Previous owner (or someone on his behalf) of my car went at the windscreen with one of those by the looks of all the circular scratch marks and it's a pain at night.

Need to get it sorted as no doubt it'll fail an NCT like that.

Curran · 14-11-2014 5:03pm

Quite hard to that kind of damage, the circular scratches, with a polisher on glass....the biggest risk is heat generation which can warp the glass and results in distorted view through it.

_Kaiser_ · 14-11-2014 8:32pm

Curran wrote: »

Quite hard to that kind of damage, the circular scratches, with a polisher on glass....the biggest risk is heat generation which can warp the glass and results in distorted view through it.

What could cause it do you reckon?

Curran · 15-11-2014 3:56pm

Dont know...not sure a stone in a wash mitt would even do it.
Are the marks perfectly circular?

MetzgerMeister · 17-11-2014 11:56am

Voodoo - What you have on your windscreen is called water etching. I wouldn't be surprised if it's on all your windows. I got rid of this on a few cars using cerium oxide and a rayon pad on a D/A. I haven't tried using a normal pad and polish but personally, I wouldn't pour Coca Cola on my windscreen as it will make the wipers all sticky and other parts around the bottom of the screen sticky too.

vectra · 17-11-2014 1:19pm

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Voodoo - What you have on your windscreen is called water etching. I wouldn't be surprised if it's on all your windows. I got rid of this on a few cars using cerium oxide and a rayon pad on a D/A. I haven't tried using a normal pad and polish but personally, I wouldn't pour Coca Cola on my windscreen as it will make the wipers all sticky and other parts around the bottom of the screen sticky too.

That can be your personal opinion ( as in the 845 over other products

)
But you say you Wouldn't

I can only assume this means you never tried it?
if so how can you advise against something you know nothing about?
As for the cerium oxide and rayon pad?
Would you not consider that could do a lot more damage in the wrong hands compared to a can of coke?

I would advise against the cerium oxide and pad in a non qualified persons hands over other methods.

MetzgerMeister · 17-11-2014 1:21pm

Ah jaysus vectra :P

I said that I wouldn't because of the sticky situation afterwards :pac:

People can do whatever the hell they want!

Also, just reading back through the thread, Chimaera also suggested cerium oxide and rayon pad. Why didn't ya pull him up on it? Eh? eh? eh?

vectra · 17-11-2014 1:28pm

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Ah jaysus vectra :P

I said that I wouldn't because of the sticky situation afterwards :pac:

People can do whatever the hell they want!

Also, just reading back through the thread, Chimaera also suggested cerium oxide and rayon pad. Why didn't ya pull him up on it? Eh? eh? eh?

I understand but I also said to make sure to wash the car afterwards :P

bennyx_o · 21-11-2014 7:04pm

In the past I've used Barkeepers Friend on my windscreen with good results. Should be able to find it in Tesco. (Comes in powder and a spray - get the powder)

Put some on a damp microfibre and clean the windscreen, then clear it off with water.

Voodoomelon · 21-11-2014 8:49pm

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Voodoo - What you have on your windscreen is called water etching. I wouldn't be surprised if it's on all your windows.

Funnily enough, i've noticed it on the rear windows now too. I haven't got round to even looking at the car as currently dealing with a flood disaster, but will post back about the DA and see if it helps.

yop · 09-12-2014 5:53pm

Have the same dang thing now, and on a 190km commute these days its hell, I've tried cleancar window cleaner, vinegar, window cleaner, newspaper!! Driving me mad.
Are the wipers fecked I wonder? They have nearly 30,000 kms on them

vectra · 09-12-2014 9:15pm

yop wrote: »

Have the same dang thing now, and on a 190km commute these days its hell, I've tried cleancar window cleaner, vinegar, window cleaner, newspaper!! Driving me mad.
Are the wipers fecked I wonder? They have nearly 30,000 kms on them

Try the can of coke while it is raining.

Voodoomelon · 09-12-2014 10:54pm

Still haven't sorted this still, but will have all the tools out to replace secondary water pump in a few days so will whip the DA out and give it a go.

keano25 · 10-12-2014 12:25am

Have you tried intensive glass cutter?

Voodoomelon · 10-12-2014 12:26am

Nope, just the coke trick. Will try the polisher first then cutter if that fails.

keano25 · 10-12-2014 12:28am

Tut tut. Coke won't work. Without the right stuff the DA won't work.

Guess what works with the DA? That's right the glass cutter.

Lol.

vectra · 10-12-2014 2:45am

keano25 wrote: »

Tut tut. Coke won't work. .

Have you tried it?

Mycroft H · 10-12-2014 3:00am

Flash degreaser and one of those plastic green/yellow pot sponges. I'd try that before jumping for the glass cutters...

I used to get the same on the windscreen after parking in Intel. Used to always think it was something left by the industrial exhaust scrubbers.

keano25 · 10-12-2014 10:21am

vectra wrote: »

Have you tried it?

Yes. You may aswell be using battery acid.

vectra · 10-12-2014 10:35am

keano25 wrote: »

Yes. You may aswell be using battery acid.

Not a hope in hell would I use battery acid,
Are you nuts? :pac:

I did Courier driving many moons ago.
I racked up 264,000 miles in 1 year and 9 months in all sorts of weather. The Bottle of Coke tip I picked up along the way from other drivers.
I would never leave without one, It was simply brilliant at clearing the smearing on the windscreen.

keano25 · 10-12-2014 10:37am

vectra wrote: »

Have you tried it?

Yes. You may aswell be using battery acid.

keano25 · 10-12-2014 10:38am

Lol look at this

http://preventdisease.com/images/ph_Chart.jpg

vectra · 10-12-2014 11:40am

keano25 wrote: »

Lol look at this

http://preventdisease.com/images/ph_Chart.jpg

LOL
What has tooth enamel got to do with smeared windscreen??

keano25 · 10-12-2014 11:42am

1 in the difference between battery acid and coke

vectra · 10-12-2014 12:00pm

keano25 wrote: »

1 in the difference between battery acid and coke

Enjoy using Battery acid as I would not use it on my car.

I suggested coke
I used it as has many many others
If it did not work on your car then you must have a different issue with your screen.
I can only vouch for what worked for me.

I would still prefer to use coke on my windscreen than have the paintwork battered with salt from the roads. But hey. What has that got to do with it?

Chimaera · 10-12-2014 12:26pm

keano25 wrote: »

Lol look at this

http://preventdisease.com/images/ph_Chart.jpg

pH is a function of acid concentration, not of the acid itself. It's also calculated on a log scale so it's not a linear function of concentration.

Batteries use relatively concentrated sulphuric acid. It's not fit for consumption, and is never going to be found in foods. Its concentration in batteries is also much higher than the acids found in foodstuffs.

Please stop regurgitating ignorant crap like this and go educate yourself about chemistry!

yop · 10-12-2014 12:42pm

Tried the coke, blew away in the wind, neighbours car now cover in coke, told it was talc!
Thanks Vectra, your some langer!

ps... have no coke here, will ask the better half to get a can on her way home, up to the big smoke othewise this will be me with my head out the window driving!

Alanstrainor · 10-12-2014 12:52pm

The Coke trick has worked for me in the past, but my problem was slightly different I think. It cleared a stubborn residue from the windscreen that no amount of cleaning and polishing seemed to clear. Was stunned at how good it was.

My windscreen has similar, but not as bad, issues as Voodoo at the moment, but not having a DA, and not being too bothered means that I'll most likely just leave it!

vectra · 10-12-2014 2:09pm

yop wrote: »

Tried the coke, blew away in the wind, neighbours car now cover in coke, told it was talc!
Thanks Vectra, your some langer!

ps... have no coke here, will ask the better half to get a can on her way home, up to the big smoke othewise this will be me with my head out the window driving!

LOL

The trick is use it when it is drizzling
Pour slowly across the whole screen at the top allowing it to flow down the screen,
Once it is reaching the bottom use your wipes to give one wipe.
Repeat with the coke,
Repeat with wipers.

Should be job done.

And take no notice of the neighbours

yop · 10-12-2014 3:20pm

vectra wrote: »

LOL

The trick is use it when it is drizzling
Pour slowly across the whole screen at the top allowing it to flow down the screen,
Once it is reaching the bottom use your wipes to give one wipe.
Repeat with the coke,
Repeat with wipers.

Should be job done.

And take no notice of the neighbours

Will do chief, I'll ask the better half to get a few lines for me tonight.

My neighbour has big jabs, of course I have to notice.

yop · 11-12-2014 9:46am

Well spank my arse and call me Charlie, I can confirm that the Coke works!!!!! I was late home last night, threw it on the windscreen, didn't need much water due to the storm, gave it a wash, threw it on again and then a quick rinse.
And this morning was 100% streak, scum free!

Not a bit of glare on the 90km drive

Happy days. Thanks Vectra

vectra · 11-12-2014 10:49am

yop wrote: »

Well spank my arse and call me Charlie, I can confirm that the Coke works!!!!! I was late home last night, threw it on the windscreen, didn't need much water due to the storm, gave it a wash, threw it on again and then a quick rinse.
And this morning was 100% streak, scum free! Not a bit of glare on the 90km drive

Happy days. Thanks Vectra

Now this evenings job is
"WASH THE CAR" :pac:

yop · 11-12-2014 2:58pm

vectra wrote: »

Now this evenings job is
"WASH THE CAR" :pac:

It will be washed on the road enroute to Dublin

bcmf · 23-12-2014 10:11pm

Coke worked a treat.
Driving home this eve in the lashing rain and the windscreen looked like a map of the rivers of the world!
2 cans of coke (its a big windscreen) and a trip to the local car wash and the world is in hd again.
Thanks Vectra!

Removing windscreen marring

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