Removal of dried water rings from windscreen
Discussion
To set the scene, I treat my car glass with either autoglym Fast Glass or DodoJ Clearly Menthol. I use microfibre cloths. My routine is to snow foam the car then rinse and dry. Optionally 2 bucket wash then rinse then dry with clean cloths. I don't touch the glass until the body work is done. Thats when either the fast glass or clearly menthol leap into action.
So my problem is that neither of these two products is removing faint rings of (I presume) limescale or other deposits on the glass. You can only see them when they reflect the sun at a certain angle. But I know they are there!
So basically I'm looking for advice on a product will remove these marks. Perhaps either a glass polish or a product that has some stronger limescale dissolving ability? Or simply a technique or something? I saw in other threads about using a clay bar on the windscreen. Have people had good results from this? One thing I will say... I've tried really rubbing hard on some of the marks, with both microfibre wrapped against a finger and also paper towels PLUS copious amounts of glass cleaner. But this barely makes any difference to the marks. They seem to be very firmly attached to the surface of the glass and also very shallow so that merely rubbing with something fails to 'erode' them. If that makes sense. Hence my suspicion that I need something more akin to dissolving via chemical reaction.
So my problem is that neither of these two products is removing faint rings of (I presume) limescale or other deposits on the glass. You can only see them when they reflect the sun at a certain angle. But I know they are there!
So basically I'm looking for advice on a product will remove these marks. Perhaps either a glass polish or a product that has some stronger limescale dissolving ability? Or simply a technique or something? I saw in other threads about using a clay bar on the windscreen. Have people had good results from this? One thing I will say... I've tried really rubbing hard on some of the marks, with both microfibre wrapped against a finger and also paper towels PLUS copious amounts of glass cleaner. But this barely makes any difference to the marks. They seem to be very firmly attached to the surface of the glass and also very shallow so that merely rubbing with something fails to 'erode' them. If that makes sense. Hence my suspicion that I need something more akin to dissolving via chemical reaction.
Max Protect's hard water spot remover is truly excellent if you're after a non abrasive solution. I've no idea what's in it, but it's much better than normal household limescale removers.
technogogo said:
Good advice. I'm also hoping for advice on dealing with the marks that I have.
Just wash the car again 
Not ideal if you have recently done it though.In future I suggest just washing it as you would the rest of the car rather than treat it as a separate entity and it will be fine.
When I wash my car the final process is to rinse it with water that is passed through a deioniser (looks like a scuba tank).
No matter how much water is left on the car once I've rinsed it and even in direct sunlight there are no water marks anywhere and I don't need to leather the paintwork thus removing any chance of more fine scratches.
The tank cost me about 100 and I've had to change the sand within once in two years at a cost of 40.
This photo was taken last Saturday around midday having just washed the car and rinsed it.
No matter how much water is left on the car once I've rinsed it and even in direct sunlight there are no water marks anywhere and I don't need to leather the paintwork thus removing any chance of more fine scratches.
The tank cost me about 100 and I've had to change the sand within once in two years at a cost of 40.
This photo was taken last Saturday around midday having just washed the car and rinsed it.
You need to use something mildly acidic to remove the rings which are hardness from the water, similar to kettle scale. You could try vinegar first, as it is quite mild or if you are careful to avoid your paint, liquid kettle descaler or Cilit bang.
Have you tried Autoglym paste glass cleaner or even switching the wipers on for a couple of sweeps as soon as you have rinsed the car? I use one of those silicon blade scrapers and a drying towel before it has chance to dry plus I try not to wash my car in hot sunshine.HTH
Have you tried Autoglym paste glass cleaner or even switching the wipers on for a couple of sweeps as soon as you have rinsed the car? I use one of those silicon blade scrapers and a drying towel before it has chance to dry plus I try not to wash my car in hot sunshine.HTH
kev b said:
You need to use something mildly acidic to remove the rings which are hardness from the water, similar to kettle scale. You could try vinegar first, as it is quite mild or if you are careful to avoid your paint, liquid kettle descaler or Cilit bang.
Have you tried Autoglym paste glass cleaner or even switching the wipers on for a couple of sweeps as soon as you have rinsed the car? I use one of those silicon blade scrapers and a drying towel before it has chance to dry plus I try not to wash my car in hot sunshine.HTH
But you can wash your car in hot sunshine if you have the right gear Have you tried Autoglym paste glass cleaner or even switching the wipers on for a couple of sweeps as soon as you have rinsed the car? I use one of those silicon blade scrapers and a drying towel before it has chance to dry plus I try not to wash my car in hot sunshine.HTH
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