swirly windows

[Chonke]

What do you guys recommend to clear up windows that are swirly? They dont look bad, but at night you can easily see swirls like unpolished paint when there are lights. Its only my car that does this, so im wondering if you guys have had any luck removing these swirls without any wetsanding

[07stanggt]

Have you clay bared the glass yet ??

[TheBurninator]

You would need a glass polish and polishing pads.

[Chris@Adams]

You can use the 4" Focus pads & polish on your glass just like you would your paint. However if the swirls are deep at all you probably won't be able you remove them, but you will make them look better.

[Ricky Bobby]

^^^Bingo.  To truly correct glass you need cerium oxide.  But you can use orange polish and the 4" pads to clean it up and it may make a small improvement.

[TheBurninator]

You can use the 4" Focus pads & polish on your glass just like you would your paint. However if the swirls are deep at all you probably won't be able you remove them, but you will make them look better.

 

I've never been able to get a noticeable difference using a paint polish on glass.

[Team Adam's]

Glass is SUBSTANTIALLY harder than paint, so attempting to remove swirls or scratches from glass with our paint products is a bit like trying to put out a forest fire with squirt gun.

 

The only reason you'd ever take our polishes to glass is to 'scrub' the glass... it won't fix imperfections, but it will scrub off mineral deposits or stubborn residues.

 

To correct glass you need some pretty specialized products - a cerium oxide slurry and a bronze wool pad attached to a rotary polisher. Its a ridiculously messy process that slings a nasty black liquid EVERYWHERE and takes a fair amount of time to complete. There are a few 'consumer' level products out there that I've tested and they'll take out really light stuff, but aren't nearly as effective as cerium slurry and bronze wool.

 

For most people its a process best left to a pro with the right tools and experience - or in many cases its just cheaper to replace the glass. I know guys getting somewhere around $500 to fix a windshield, which could easily cover the cost of replacement. The only reason you'd repair is if its a rare, original, or unusual (hard to find) piece.

[KSRegalGS]

If your swirl marks are in the surface of the glass, this post will mean nothing.  But, I do notice swirl marks depending on how I last touched my glass.  I always start with a fresh microfiber towel and a little elbow grease.  A towel that looks clean isn't always clean.  You could be dragging latent product across the surface that leaves the hazing swirls to only be seen at night or with a foggy environment.  I haven't had much experience with Adams glass cleaner. I just picked up a bottle and haven't really used enough to experience it's cleaning ability.  (Distilled water in a spray bottle can go a long way as well...)  A lot of cleaning products on the market will leave a haze.  I also like to put a coat of wax on my windshield since I dont have any glass sealant at the moment.  I would still wax my windshield over using rain-x-esque products.  And as I mentioned, any residual product left behind will be noticed.  I always find those nasty swirl marks when I get to work and am not able to clean them.  DARN YOU PESKY SWIRLS!, DARN YOU!!!!!!!  

Edited March 11, 2015 by KSRegalGS

[PT3]

Maybe be an obvious question... But when you say 'swirly' do you mean the swirls actually IN the glass? Or is it simply poor cleaning methods/products?

 

I'm assuming you've already used Adams Glass Cleaner AND glass-specific micro-fiber towel?

 

Just making sure.... ; )

[Chonke]

Yeah i use adams glass cleaner and their glass microfiber towel. It kinda looks like the paint swirls everyone puts on the "before" picture of their detail write ups.

 

Its definitely not bad enough for me to drop a ton of cash into it, so i want to try cleaning it up myself.

 

I cant tell how deep it is, but ive already ran adams blue clay bar through the outside of the windshield. It didnt help the swirls. 

 

I do have a orange pad about 3 inches that i used yesterday from a lense restore kit. Of course i know that was made for plastic but has anyone tried it on a winshield? Last thing i want to do is make it worse.

[Ricky Bobby]

You can use the orange pad from the lens kit, it won't harm it one bit.

[Chonke]

You can use the orange pad from the lens kit, it won't harm it one bit.

 

thanks, ill give it a try tonight