GouxMan

I have only had my new Lexus for about a month. We just washed it for the third time, and I let my daughter start the job. By the time I got out to the car, there was bad water spotting all over the glass on the car. Neither water, soap or two kinds of Windex will take it off. I've never seen this kind of haze and spotting on glass before. I know we have hard water in our neighborhood, but I'm shocked at how bad this is, and I wonder if it is also on the paint. (it would be hard to see on the gold) Does anyone know a solution for this? Is there a product for water stained glass? Thanks, GouxMan

GouxMan

I went over to Edmunds and did a search for Water Stained Windshields. Here is and inventory of products discussed so far. Anyone used these on a Lexus, or have advice for a new car with water stains?

white vinegar/distilled water
Zaino Glass Polish
Rain X
Stoner Invisible Glass
Griots Garage Window Cleaner
Eagle 1
"Autoglass Water Spot Remover"
McGuaire's No. 2

Is there anything special about the Lexus glass that makes it more prone to this problem? I have not experienced this to such degree on any other cars.

Thanks in advance, GouxMan

Mean Gene

Goux - Ron430 & I discussed this last week- had the same problem as U seem to have. I've used both Zaino's glass cleaner & the Griot's Fine Glass Polish & they're about equal in performance but both work well. Generally, if they're spots caused by hard water, then the vinegar/water mix will remove them. I'd recommend either of the above mentioned products if the vinegar trick doesn't do it. Good luck!

RON430

Glass is strange stuff. MeanGene mentioned our previous discussions, still in progress. If anyone is interested, glass is mainly silicon dioxide but pure silicon dioxide is quartz. Glass has any of a considerable amount of other stuff, mostly metallic ions, that alter its properties. Water spots are not really my area of expertise but they can be caused by deposits from dried water or they can be interactions of solutes in the water with the glass. This is a really difficult problem because at room temperature, glass is actually a super cooled liquid and not a solid. I don't know why but the glass on the GS seems to be very prone to water spotting. I would guess the first thing to do is not let water dry on the glass, should help. If you get the spots, I have had a devil of a time getting them off. On my GS, they have to be cut off with some sort of polish. I got the new Griot polishes and they both seem to work fine, Gene says that the Zaino cleaner/polish also does a good job. In the good old days, bon ami worked pretty well for this. Bon ami has a lot of corn starch in it which is a fine polishing medium (if you see chrome spinners on aircraft that have a high polish, chances are it was corn starch that did it) but the bon ami bottle does not recommend it for use on glass or mirrors, so I chickened out using it.

I have mentioned an expert detailer that taught me a huge amount and his method for washing a car was quite a bit different than anything anyone else recommends. If you have a good protectant job, just pure water is all you need. He obviously new that the detergents would remove wax before anyone was too concerned about it. He had you take a small towel, soak it in water (never use a dry towel on your car for anything) and take a small section and apply the dripping wet towel. Take the towel back to the bucket, rinse it, then wring it out as thoroughly as possible, and go back to the section you just did. If the protectant is good, the second pass will remove any standing water and leave it clean and dry. Do the whole car one small section at a time. We now have special car wash agents that are much more kindly to protectants but, to tell you the truth, I am going back to the old style (got that dark blue color). If you wash the whole car at once, you are in a race to dry it before it spots, and I am losing the race. One of the hard parts about dark colors is that everything shows up. On a light color, you are right, they are still there, they are just not as noticeable. If there is something on the car that the water alone doesn't get off (and really most detergents don't work on anything that is not water soluble either) you need to go back and use something specific to get it off. I think the trick with the window glass is going to be to not let it get the potential for standing water.

Hey Gene - you never answered 1SICKLEX about what exactly a HEMI was. Wasn't into MOPAR back then so I couldn't fill in any of the details. Maybe we need to form an old codgers club. Entry test would require you to answer who made polyglass tires.

GS4Will

ron,

thanks for the input. always learn something new from reading your posts.

will

RON430

Hey Will, heck of a board, isn't it? Probably going to have the bilsteins mounted in a couple of weeks. Funny, a couple of guys I PM with are curious how they work with the stock springs. I guess we'll find out.

Ron

GS4Will

hey Ron, looking forward to the result myself. i guess i would call you as the "pioneer" on this suspension upgrade..

will

Mean Gene

Ron - Musta missed that "Hemi" question from 1SICK - was it back on the Racing Threads we were sharing with the Impala guys? Kinda miss the old "elephant" engine! BTW - was it Goodyear who made the polyglas line of tires? I had the old Uniroyal Tiger Paws with the red side stripe - COOL!!!!

RON430

Gene - it was right at the end of your "Just My Opinion" thread. Yeah, Goodyear made the Polyglasses. Tiger Paws had three red stripes, right? I remember the hubub when G60-15s came out, first Firestone on Mustangs and then Goodyear on the Camaros. You could light em up with a good small block and destroy them with a big block but man were they better than what we had before. Eventually went to polysteel. I think that the best tire I ever had was the Goodyear Wingfoot. Pricey but it really hooked up rain or shine. Friend at Goodyear told me it was too expensive to keep producing. But boy are things better today. Wish we had some of these new tires thirty years ago. I guess the codger club has at least two members.

gsexploits

Call your Lexus dealer. When I took delivery of my 430, it had water spots on it. They said they had some sort of a glass spot remover that could only be applied by a few people there (I saw them apply it and they used gloves, so it must be a pretty strong chemical). My guess is it was acid based.

Bottom line: spots were gone for good. And it was REALLY bad - all windows and most noticeably on sunroof.

If you can't find out at oyur local, I will try to find out at mine (Sacramento, CA).

GouxMan

The white vinegar and distilled water did the trick! I went to two auto parts places but could only find Rain X and the Stoner Invisible Glass. I bought the Stoner but have not tried it yet because the vinegar worked. I suppose I had an advantage in that the stains were only there for about 3 days. I tried the solution on our badly waterstained glass in the shower, and it only helped slightly. We have very hard water and the neighbors complain about their plumbing fixtures as well. Next up would be a product that would help prevent the waterstaining on the car glass. Any ideas? Will Rain X help that?
While I was at the auto parts store I picked up a chemically treated dry brush for cleaning the dust off the car, called "The Original California Car Brush". Guaranteed to not scratch the car. Anyone have experience with these? I'm sure they have them in other states by different names, as in "The Original New Hampshire Car Brush". Imagine that, tapping into civic pride to sell a product. Tch. Thanks... GouxMan

Mean Gene

Goux - I've got one of those under the name "The Original California Car Duster" but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing. It's great for that "first thing in the morning" coating of pollen/light dust that seems to cling to my black GS. Wouldn't use it one some heavy grime for fear of scratching things but it works well for a pre-Zaino application of Z-6. I got sold on using it when I saw several car shows in which classic cars were being wiped with them numerous things a day. Figured if those guys trusted the duster on those $1k+ paint jobs then they must be OK!! FWIW - I take mine out in the yard ( away from the car ) & shake it vigorously to remove as much debris as I can before using it the next time.

D-MAN63

Hey Gene, what do you use to clean your chrome rims? Do you put Z2 on it then when it dries you spray some Z6 for the final touch? I did that and damn, it adds extra 'bling' to it

RON430

Gene - California Car Duster seems worthwhile. I have seen them advertised at up to $30 for the pair (the large car one and a small dash one). Costco has the pair, with the cheap vinyl case for $11 if I remember correctly. With the dark blue it is required before you go anywhere. Got one set for the trunk, one for the garage. Been doing wallboard to to finish the garage and that has meant a lot of dust. Duster got it off the car, even though parked outside, but it does eventually put fine swirls in the Zaino. Probably going to give another coat of Zaino this weekend.

Glad to hear the vinegar worked, that is hard water related. Didn't do much to my waterspots. gsexploits - thanks very much for the info, I will check with the local Lexus dealership. I think RainX might improve things because it is a polymer coating that really doesn't want to let water bead up on it. Just want to make sure I get mine totally clean before I RainX, still, the Lexus coating is a great tip.

Mean Gene

Diesel - Yeah, I use some Z-2 & then finish them off with Z-6. I GUESS it's a "bling" thing?
Hey, Ron - When we gonna start our website "OldFarts.com?