Ammonia

[Red Regal T]

You guys are probably way ahead of me on this, but since I've had my Grand National, I noticed I would use various glass cleaners, think my windows were clean, but in direct sunlight, I would notice all this smearing. Use a different brand, same thing. Just pushing all this "smear" around. Figured maybe it was wax from the body running over the glass while washing and leaving a residue. I tried a bunch of different window cleaners and even tried wiping the windows with lacquer thinner. No progress. Anyway, I found the best thing to take off the smear was straight ammonia. Just poured some on a clean rag, and wiped the film off. Seemed to work well while glass cleaners did nothing.

Another thing, if any of you have water etch marks on your glass, (looks like dried water droplets that don't come off) you can get them off by putting muriatic acid on a rag and wiping your glass. Just keep rubbing it until the water etch marks and fallout is gone.

 

[gnfanatic]

hey John, does home depot sell that type of accid??


thanks
Ralph

 

[Red Regal T]

Yes, they do. It's about $3 a gallon. Enough to do a fleet.

 

[INEEDAGN]

Don't dare touch aftermarket window tint with ammonia or it WILL turn it purple. Some glass cleaners are ammonia based and do the same thing (windex is one of them.) I prefer alcohol based, in fact most of the time I use a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol available anywhere. Tried the 91% one time but had to dilute it because it seemed to dry too fast. I do them all once to get all the crap off, then take another clean towel and do them again, and it's perfect. Not trying to crap on your post, just thought you'd wanna know.

bob

 

[Pronto]

The alcohol will smell better too.

 

[Red Regal T]

Originally posted by INEEDAGN
Don't dare touch aftermarket window tint with ammonia or it WILL turn it purple. Some glass cleaners are ammonia based and do the same thing (windex is one of them.) I prefer alcohol based, in fact most of the time I use a bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol available anywhere. Tried the 91% one time but had to dilute it because it seemed to dry too fast. I do them all once to get all the crap off, then take another clean towel and do them again, and it's perfect. Not trying to crap on your post, just thought you'd wanna know.

bob

I thought my windows were clean, too. Clean em up in the garage and they look perfectly clear. You really have to look when the car is in direct sunlight to see the smearing. So maybe you think your glass is not smearing and it is. Using straight ammonia definitely eliminated the smear.

I will try the alcohol. Got plenty. I have two TRs afterall. I didn't get that far because the straight ammonia worked. I only tried a couple of window cleaners, that did nothing. How many should I have tried?

Those of you who haven't even noticed the smearing..........what can I say?............ you're good to go.

 

[INEEDAGN]

Hey, whatever works for you, use it! I just wanted you to know that ammonia is not good for aftermarket tint, though the good stuff may be more resistant. I wouldn't touch any tint with it myself. I used to detail for a new car dealership, and if those windows weren't clean, trust me, I would've heard about it. One time a customer came into the car wash and complained about a streak of water that had ran down from the mirrior. Problem was, it was raining outside! Had to get that thing PERFECT, only for them to back it right out in the rain. Bastards.

If my windshield isn't absolutely spotless on the inside, it drives me nuts. Especially when I just cleaned it , and someone has to touch it just to know that it's there.

bob

 

[Pronto]

I read somewhere once that some of the film that accumulates on the inside of the windows is from the plastic in the car "gassing out" and adhereing to the window. I don't know if it's true but I don't smoke and get a film on the inside of my windows for no reason I can figure out. That's with all my cars too.

 

[Vendor Defendor]

when do you do this? I am goign to try it but I wanted to know if I had to let my windshield cool down.

 

[FlyinGN]

thanks for the tip for the etching marks by the rain John

 

[Devil Car]

Originally posted by Pronto
I read somewhere once that some of the film that accumulates on the inside of the windows is from the plastic in the car "gassing out" and adhereing to the window. I don't know if it's true but I don't smoke and get a film on the inside of my windows for no reason I can figure out. That's with all my cars too.

Yes, some of the residue on the windows is from the plastic in the car. What is evaporating and adhering to your windows is plasticizer, which is used to make plastic more pliable and increase the temperature at which plastic become brittle (the glass transition temperature). In fact, products like Armor All include a plasticizer to make the plastic more pliable to prevent it from cracking...

Wow, to think I actually learned something in my Polymers and Composites class...

 

[Devil Car]

Originally posted by Pronto
I read somewhere once that some of the film that accumulates on the inside of the windows is from the plastic in the car "gassing out" and adhereing to the window. I don't know if it's true but I don't smoke and get a film on the inside of my windows for no reason I can figure out. That's with all my cars too.

Yes, some of the residue on the windows is from the plastic in the car. What is evaporating and adhering to your windows is plasticizer, which is used to make plastic more pliable and increase the temperature at which plastic become brittle (the glass transition temperature). In fact, products like Armor All include a plasticizer to make the plastic more pliable to prevent it from cracking...

Wow, to think I actually learned something in my Polymers and Composites class...

 

[INEEDAGN]

I had always heard that the armor all brand is bad to use and you should use something else. I use malco's PB-2. On my old station wagon the dash had dried and cracked. After using pb-2 a few times, it is soft again and you can push the corner all the way in and it will pop right back out. Love it. Any more insight from a plastic expert? Not many people seem to know this stuff