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Mineral build-up....


matthewlawe

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Is especially dangerous to drive when there is moisture in the air and when

driving into the sun. I also have a lot of this mineral build up on the back

glass and it is hard to see thru at night with rain.

I've tried two glass polishers from AutoZone(I forget which two) with

virtually no affect. I tried vinegar and rubbed that in with newspaper

(an old windows cleaning process) with some clearing but it still needs more.

Any successful products or technique would be most appreciated.

The clear looking rivlets on the windshield and before using the wipers

are the areas of the mineral build up.

post-30625-143138349895_thumb.jpg

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That has to be more than just a normal buildup from washing the car. You must have driven behind a truck leaking something. If its on the glass it's probably on the paint too.

Vinegar would have been my first choice for mineral deposits. Acetone or Lacquer thinner will remove just about anything without hurting the glass but it will certainly damage the paint if it gets on it and all plastic parts it touches as well.

I'm not recommending it. I'm just telling you about it. I would just test in a small area on the side somewhere to see if it works before going over the part of the glass you normally look through.

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Thanks Ronnie,

This has been a build up over the last 10 years while here in wet Florida. I did not

have this build up(perhaps some but not a problem when I had the Reatta in So.

California) and have noticed it getting worse over these last few years. It is not

afftecting my paint- I had the Reatta painted three years ago. I do my own washing

and always dry it off when I do so. I would attribute it to all the rain and moisture in

Florida.

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Like Ronnie said, vinegar will remove the mineral deposits. You could also try a clay bar. Mothers, Clay magic, Meguiars all have them. It's a special type of clay designed to remove deposits on paint. Works great on glass. I just used one to remove overspray on one of my windows. You just spray the surface with a lubricant like quick detailer and rub the surface with the clay. In your case, a vinegar solution would suffice.

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Guest Richard D

I have not tried this, so go easy. You might try a small amount of soft scrub in an area away from paint then hose it off real well. Use plenty of water and don't press too hard, I am not sure how much harder the glass is than the abrasive in soft scrub. I live in S. Florida too and have had no trouble with minerals on the glass.

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Matthew, There is a product that is sold by a company down in Florida. It is called DP high performance glass cleaner. Use this with a dual action polisher and it should clear up mildly etched water and deposit spots. The company is called Autogeek.net they are great to work with. Frank

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Try Bon Ami I have have used it since 1957 on windshields with great results and it hasnt scratched yet. Make a paste with water and scrub. It will come clean as new. Bill WEB 38

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There are 2 Bonami cleaners, "Powder cleaner" not for glass, and "Cleaning powder" which can be used on "some" glass, currently not recommed for auto glass.

Bon Ami 1886 Formula Cleaning Powder - 12 oz - 6 pack

"Not to be confused with the mainstream and widely distributed Bon Ami Powder Cleanser, Bon Ami still makes its 1886 formula, originally sold in a bar, but now in powder form. The easy-to-shake can contains gentle feldspar abrasive for polishing and soap for cleaning all hard surfaces. Use to defog windows and mirrors. This is the only Bon Ami powder that is recommended for use on glass. Because car makers now use some non-glass materials, Bon Ami no longer recommends the use of Cleaning Powder on auto glass. NASA even used Cleaning Powder to clean the windows on Skylab. Many allergists recommend original Bon Ami because the natural ingredients contain no detergent, bleach, perfume, or dye.

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I again thank you all for your input.

Simply put, I tried the the old method of vinegar. My next door

neighbor suggested soaking a shop towel in vinegar and letting

it set a few minutes. And, after researching the Autogeek.com

website recommended by olbuickman I used a microfiber cloth

to dry the area and rubbing hard. There was what appeared to be

some residual calicum/lime build up so I finished it off using a

dry clean microfiber cloth. My back glass is clear while the

windshield will require another application. However, the buildup

was removed sufficiently so I now do not have the dangerous

condition that I had previously. Success!

I did try a regular cloth but found the microfiber cloth to be more

effective with less elbow grease.

The Autogeek.net website is chock full of very good information.

Highly recommended.

Edited by matthewlawe (see edit history)
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  • 2 years later...

I was soaking the shower heads in CLR when I thought this just

may work on my Reatta windows especially the windshield.

It does. Most of the mineral buildup was on the windshield and

the top portion of the backglass with some deposits on the

door windows. I've not seen clear shiny windows in many

years.

Presoaking the glass did not seem to help as it did with the

vinegar. Microfiber cloths are a must and with some limited

elbow grease the deposits disappear. A residual milky haze

remained until a couple or more applications of Windex

with clean microfiber cloths finished the job. I am very pleased

with the results.

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Guest Mc_Reatta

The trick here is the use of a mild acid to dissolve the deposits which are called "salts" if you remember your high school chemistry. Whether you prefer CLR or Lime Away, vinegar, or a citric acid, they all will dissolve these salts.

The best window cleaner is vinegar 1/4 cup, alcohol 1/4 cup, Cornstarch 1 tablespoon, and a drop or two of detergent mixed in 2 cups of water.

You should use newsprint to remove and polish the glass once you get the salts dissolved so they won't scratch anything.

Something with the chemicals the paper is treated with works wonders.

If this doesn't get them clean, you probably need to get a razor blade and start scraping.

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I had a something similar on my new truck..... appeared to be from a label that had been placed on the inside of the windshield. Only appeared on cool mornings.

I tried one of the label remover types.... "goo gone" and there are others and it worked.

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  • 4 years later...

I've tried all of the above suggestions with just limited results.

A few days ago I stumbled upon a YouTube demonstration of

using fine(000) steel wool to remove the very stubborn build up.

I spent 10 minutes on the windshield using the fine(000) steel

wool and was able to completely remove all traces of build up.

On a clear cold and wet morning I drove East into the sun and

not a trace of build up hampered my view. Problem solved. The

windshield is as smooth to the touch as the day it was installed.

 

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I see this is an old post.....

I have used the steel wool but apparently forgot about it when I answered the post 4 years ago.

also have a tube of "windshield cleaning compound" made by Pylon Mfg in Deerfield Beach Fl.... it is in a 3.5 oz tube and called STRIP IT.

I just checked the Pylon web page and their main product is windshield wipers .....I did not see a link to the STRIP IT product on their site.

Checked Ebay and there is a 3.5 tube there for $14.95 

 

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