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Cleaning Windshield


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I have vertical streaks running down the windshield, I can only guess from the time before I painted the roof and I had the chalking running off of it.

I decided to rain x my windshield just in case I have another wiper problem. So I scrubbed it with a brush and dawn soap. Looked good but I then took glass cleaner to it all. Saw a few places which my wife determined were inside and she cleaned those. It was looking pristine.

Applied the rain x. Next morning all the vertical streaks were back. Is it possible that chalking could etch into the glass? How do I get rid of these streaks? Rubbing compound? Vinegar?

I haven't seen anything like it before, glass that couldn't be cleaned, outside of some of our work trucks years ago that were at power plants and ended up with etched windshields.

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Try some diluted vinegar and 0000 steel wool to clean the glass super clean. The fine steel wool does an amazing job.

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I do this on all my vehicles now - works great.  The hard part is finding the right grade of steel wool.

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Amazon is where I get my 0000 steel wool. Been using this method for longer than I can remember. My buddy was washing his windshield, up on a ladder.

I grabbed my ladder and took the other half of the windshield with steel wool in hand. Vinegar and water is great but plain car wash soap if fine too. In a couple of minutes my side was spotless while he was still trying to get the bugs off.

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I had a badly etched windshield from years of exposure to a salty Florida environment.   I used a professional glass polish, special glass pads and an orbital buffer.  

Lots of work, really improved the finish, however I never removed all the stains.   Ended up with a new windshield after the repair shop broke ours during service work.  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UQQNZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UQIUKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I use, used, paste wax, a heavy coat to fill the porosity voids in the glass surface. Buff, then a coat of RainX. 

Awesome Yellow to wash off, or dryer sheets to wipe off.  Using paste wax seems to cause a build up of filling the pours in/on the glass surface.  

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was going to use them when I got back to IL. Well I'm home in IL now, but the thing is my windshield shattered in Nasville TN so no need to worry about cleaning it anymore. 

Surrounded by semis and dump trucks, no where to go, hit a huge hole on 65, possibly also took debris. Not sure. Heard a big pop similar to a rock hitting the windshield. It's spider cracking from driver side top corner and one crack is more than halfway down the windshield.

So I went from cleaning to insurance and replacement. Searching the forum on windshield replacements now.

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23 hours ago, FishAR said:

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was going to use them when I got back to IL. Well I'm home in IL now, but the thing is my windshield shattered in Nasville TN so no need to worry about cleaning it anymore. 

Surrounded by semis and dump trucks, no where to go, hit a huge hole on 65, possibly also took debris. Not sure. Heard a big pop similar to a rock hitting the windshield. It's spider cracking from driver side top corner and one crack is more than halfway down the windshield.

So I went from cleaning to insurance and replacement. Searching the forum on windshield replacements now.

One problem solves another. 😧  Good luck.

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State Farm is getting Coach Glass to replace my windshield This pleases me, not arguing or trying to send safelite out, or anything like that.

$500 deductible.

Coach glass is going to contact me to work out the when and how.

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