Glass Help (with a Twist) -- New `08 Ford

[AdamCKach]

For my father`s retirement, we gave him an `08 Sport Trac Adrenalin because he always told us that when he retired, he wanted his "little red truck." It`s not an F-100, but we think he`ll have more fun driving this, considering it has all those creature comforts that a 50-year-old F-100 would not (not that we won`t try to get our hands on one, though).







I washed it with Dawn and applied Werkstatt Prime + Acrylic Jett (the normal new vehicle preparation for me; I did not clay it because I was short on time), including the rims, Werkstatt rubber protectant to the tires, etc.



The glass, however, from sitting on a dealer`s lot in Central PA (middle PA is notorious for acidic rain from the midwest) is spotted but not yet etched. For example, when I blow on it, creating condensation, I can see TONS of little spots. I tried my normal fixes--water/vinegar + claybar, paper towels soaked in undiluted vinegar, and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser with undiluted vinegar, and they would not come off. I can only assume it was on the lot for a few weeks, considering the economy.



I`m looking for a solution that my father can do himself. I`d leave him with my PC and a light polish, but he`s never used the PC before and I am afraid he`d cause more damage than repair.



Are there any by-hand glass cleaning products, or other methods I overlooked, that he can do without damaging the paint, glass, etc.? (This is the vicarious help part!) Alternatively, I may be able to sneak a visit in a coming weekend and handle it myself. But, I hate to drive 200 miles only to clean some glass.



Thanks gurus.

[Lumadar]

Have you tried cleaner wax? Give it a shot

[BigAl3]

i`ve had good results with scratchx and a foam applictor on windows. you can also use the PC as well if desired...

[BlueLibby04]

I had good luck with the PC and megs #83 on a megs cutting pad. Had tons of spots on my Jeeps windows and they came right off.



Im sure many different things will work though.

[AdamCKach]

How will ScratchX interact with Ford`s tint? I ask because when drying one of the small rear windows, I must have caught a piece of debris in the microfiber and made a scratch on (through?) the factory tint. It`s not noticeable to normal folks, but I`d imagine that if I use something too harsh on the glass, it will be noticeable by all.

[Lumadar]

Factory tint is ALWAYS built INSIDE of the glass, NEVER as an exterior film. So you either scratched aftermarket tint, or the glass itself...

[BigAl3]

How will ScratchX interact with Ford`s tint? I ask because when drying one of the small rear windows, I must have caught a piece of debris in the microfiber and made a scratch on (through?) the factory tint. It`s not noticeable to normal folks, but I`d imagine that if I use something too harsh on the glass, it will be noticeable by all.

i use it on the exterior windows and not the interior (i have tinted windows inside) obviously since the outside is where the waterspots, etc., are. like anything else, do a small test spot and go from there...

[qwertydude]

You`re pretty much not gonna damage it with a paint polish. The abrasives are too soft. People often use steel wool on glass. I don`t want to use anything that aggressive. But I will go so far as chrome polish.

[Awsomeshine]

Nice Truck I would sell my wife for one of those, well only if it was a V8??????

[HBR]

Nice Truck I would sell my wife for one of those, well only if it was a V8??????

I`ll need a pic

[AdamCKach]

Nice Truck I would sell my wife for one of those, well only if it was a V8??????

It is--4.6L V8 from the `stang GTs. When you crank it (as well as rev it), it sounds exactly like a GT.



As for the glass, I must have scratched the exterior of the glass, then. The tint is factory.



Thanks for the tips, folks. I have one more day here--tomorrow--to try to correct it. Then, Pop is on his own. Hopefully, though, I`ll be able to take care of it.

[PhatHoodDetail]

believe it or not rightlook sells a a glass/chrome cleaner that works very good. i use it all the time, sometimes if glass is real heavy with vapor/smoke sediments ill break that out before i clean the glass just to save some elbow time. it also removes hard water stains fairly quick without being too abrasive. try that and see if it works. good luck

[twitch]

Not certain about the spotting issue but my friend has a SportTrac with the heating element in the glass. Sometimes it`s visible depending on the angle in which you are looking. Could it be possible that this is something you are seeing?



Personally I think it would drive me nuts if I had this in my windshield because I can`t stand anything on mine when driving.



Oh and sweet looking truck man! That thing is NICE

[JohnKleven]

The car is so new, I`d take it back to the dealership, and make sure they pay a glass shop to polish it. If not use a little bit of wheel acid on some steel wool, scrub it for about 10 seconds and rinse. Should take care of the problem. If the problem is more severe, use 3M`s Perfect it 3000 line extra duty rubbing compound with a microfiber rag, should take care of it.







John