Care to know How to remove waterspots from your auto glass?
When cleaning your car, there are a few major steps to check off your list.
- Wheels first (check)
- body next (check)
- rinse and dry (check)
- get a sparkling clean car (not so much).
So, what’s the problem? You’ve washed the car, why doesn’t it look super clean, especially around the glass? Two words: water spots.
What are hard water spots?
It’s frustrating to find that water that’s meant to be the ultimate cleaning solution could mess up your vehicle’s sparkle in this manner. Although it’s not just any water.
Hard water stains result from water that hasn’t undergone a softening process. This causes it to have trace amounts of minerals such as calcium and magnesium carbonate, which aren’t great for your car’s glass.
The stains could come from different sources such as hard water from your garden hose while you’re washing the car, rainwater (or acid rainwater), and a car wash with untreated water.
If this sort of water gets in contact with your car glass, over time, it will result in several tiny white marks defacing the front of your glass. This looks especially bad on the windshield because of the large surface area.
Sometimes a dirty car window can cover scratches or even cracks. In this case you should have examined the windshield by an auto glass expert.
Steps to get rid of hard spots from your car
Wash the car. This is just to remove loose dirt from the glass. It makes it easier to get rid of the hard water spots later. Wash and rinse all of the car’s glass thoroughly.
This is the use of an automobile clay bar (an engineered resin mixture) to remove such contaminants and stains from the car’s surfaces – the glass in this case. After the claying, the glass is dried with a rag.
Start by using tape to cover the areas where the glass meets paint on your car. Failure to do this could result in the paint getting scratched.
The glass is best polished with a felt pad. Most auto repair shops use a rotating polisher with a thick backing plate, a soft interface, and a felt pad. This is highly recommended and will fit the fragile, curved glass nicely.
You could probably get your hands on these at your local hardware store or by ordering one online. You’ll also need a small handheld polish block for the edges of the glass.
With a glass polishing product or cleaner, you can start polishing with the felt pads till they look clean.
The mechanism here is that the cleaner dissolves the water stains while they abrasive scrubs it off. Once this is done, grab some Windex and spray down the windshield or other glass. Then wipe the gunk off.
Polished glass is hydrophilic. You must apply a layer of the hydrophobic coat over it. This is sort of like sealing or waxing the glass. This can be done by applying synthetic wax over the glass.
When you use a hydrophobic product, it allows the glass to “keep itself clean”. It provides a better vision for the driver, especially when it rains. It also helps repel dirt and debris. Although over time, this coat will break down and require reapplication.
And that’s about it for getting hard spots off your glass as the experts do.
If you find that ordinary washing does not get the whitish film or acid rain spots off your car, then this is what you must do. Do try to start with your windshield as it’s the biggest and it’s the part the driver looks out of.
However, it is a little bit more technical than you think. You’re better off taking it to an auto repair shop for some professional treatment. They will have the proper equipment and chemicals to use.
Besides, applying wax or any coating on your windshield has to be done properly to avoid damaging the glass and further impacting visibility.
Preventing hard water spots from staining your auto glass
Not letting your car get stained is far better than having to go through the rigorous process of getting rid of the spots. And it’s relatively easy to avoid. You’d have to leave your car outside, under the rain for weeks before these stains will form.
Simply washing your car every week can help. Although using hard water to wash the car is a counterproductive process because over time, these sports will appear.
What to do?
- Avoid parking outside with no shade. A garage or a carport is an excellent option. Once you notice any whitish spots on your car, get rid of them as soon as possible. If you let this set, it’s going to take a lot more effort to get rid of.
- After washing and rinsing your car, make sure to use a rag to pat the glass dry.
- Treat your auto glass (windshield especially) with some glass water repellent. This can easily be found online or at a local store.
- Here's a tip for you – You could probably make a homemade version of this repellent. Simply mix 1 cup of filtered water and half a cup of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Spray this on the exterior of your clean, dry windshield to get a quick water-repellent coat.
- Ultimately, protect your car glass from hard water to prevent these spots from getting formed. If they do form, the steps discussed above can help you get rid of them.
Now you’re an expert on how to remove water spots from auto glass. Talking about things hydro, maybe you’d like to know more about hydraulic fluid things…
