Any glass experts here?

[Joe Angrisani]

Well that's not it. Seen many crappy brands and gimmicks over the years. Just wanted to eliminate a possibility.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I agree it's an issue with wax, but I don't believe there's any damage. You'll get the same effect if you try to wax your windshield, ala poor-man's Rain-X (DAMHIKT). Try giving it several good scrubs with some alcohol (keep that away from your wiper blades) and see if that helps clear it up. It will disappear over time, regardless.

I'm eagerly awaiting how he resolves this. I can imagine with all the things he's tried cleaning the windshield with, that if it were simply a film of wax, he wouldn't have removed it already.

[Scott Shepherd]

No luck with the Bon Ami. After scrubbing it around for a few minutes, I wiped it off, then sprayed water on it to finish wiping it off. As I wiped the water off with a paper towel, you could see the pattern form in the light as the thin film of water evaporated. Once dry, the pattern is gone, but that's the problem, it only appears when there a thin film of water on the window.

So no luck with Bon Ami Bar Keepers Friend was right next to it, so I bought that too. I'll give that a try next.

I don't know what it is or what happened, but whatever it is, it's really tough.

[ray hampton]

did anyone mention cleaning the inside of the windshield and windows,I am afraid that I forgot what I clean my windshield with

[Jim Rimmer]

Don't know if it will help your problem but I used to clean my car windows with crumpled up newspaper. Maybe brown paper bags - they polish a wood finish.

[Marty Paulus]

What about trying a buffer with a polishing compound like FinessiT by 3M? We use it on the boats to polish the gel coat and clear coat on the cars. Do not use rubbing compound as it is too coarse.

[Dan Hintz]

I take it the alcohol didn't work for you?

[Kevin Stanbary]

Griot's Garage has a number of glass cleaning products as well as some polishes. I've had good luck with their products in the past. Might be worth it to call them with your problem and see if they can recommend something.

[Scott Shepherd]

Dan, the alcohol didn't phase it either.

Here's a photo of the back window, first thing in the morning with dew or frost or something on it. Notice the pattern. Long patterns, like foamy soap that hit it from being dropped from above. Compare that to the pattern on the front glass I posted earlier and you'll see a pattern that is much shorter, like foamy soap dropped on a more horizontal surface.

When the windows are defrosted, you can't see any of these patterns I'm showing photos of. They are nice and clear when there is no water on them.

photo copy 2.JPG

[Walter Plummer]

MY grandfather was cab driver and swore by Coke and newsprint to clean anything off a windshield. That said, windshields and newsprint are different now. I put Rain-x on when the glass was to hot and made a streaked mess. The Rain-x website said to use Soft Scrub to remove it and it worked. My last shot I saw on one of the car shows on tv. http://www.autogeek.net/dia-glass-clay.html I have not used the product yet but I plan on it when it warms up some. Good luck.

[Scott Shepherd]

I've tried Coke several times. No luck.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I think it's safe to say you've thoroughly covered the "cleaning" aspect. I really can't imagine that it's any kind of a film or wax that remains on the glass. Wax simply isn't that durable on a non-porous surface. I can't help but think that maybe the mixture strength at the car wash was too strong and it has damaged a UV coating on the glass. What have you tried in the way of polishes? I'd try some plastic polish, or another thing that i use on plastic which is Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. It's fine enough to shine and restore plastic, so it shouldn't scratch.

Have you contacted the car wash?

[Chuck Wintle]

maybe the glass was slightly etched? i know the eastwood auto (online) sell a glass polishing kit.

[Gary Redden]

When I used to detail cars in my younger days, we would scrape the windows on them with a razor blade. It would always remove any hard water spots and any other "stuff" that was on them to include rain-x. You would be really surprised how good a just it does. That is what I would do.

Gary

[Kevin W Johnson]

Scott,

Any luck on this?