Permanent water spots on my windows? what gives?
 

I have waterspot-like marks all over my side and rear windows. But not on the front?

I bought the car recently (used) and i noticed the little marks even when the car was clean but not that much..

Now, recently.. I had the car tinted at a shop that does great work (supposedly) but now the spots are far more visible with black tint behind it. I tried everything to clean the window, windex, plain soap, water, goo-gone, rubbing alchohol.. nothing helps.

I ossumed that it may be the shops fault? perhaps the windows weren't cleaned from the inside before they slapped the tint there.. but then i look and i have these marks in parts where there is no tint sitting on it.. like on the rear glass in the corners and the very top where the glass is factory tinted but i have these damn things and they don't come off..


any idea what could have caused this? how can i get this removed or minimize the appearence of these waterspots?
it's not that noticeable but i can see if from 3-4 feet away when the car is clean and standing in direct sunlight.


thanks

dip a towel in some white vinegar and rub the water spots. i did that on some stubborn water marks on my side mirrors and it came off fine. good luck

You'll need something abrasive. Try Autoglym glass polish. If you don't want to order online try meg's scratch-x. It'll work, trust me.

the vinegar should dissolve any calcium left by the water. but i guess using a glass polish would work too

Can you tell if the spots are on the inside or outside of the glass? I would bet that they're on the outside though.

1) Try the vinegar first.

2) If that fails, use a mild off-the-shelf glass polish (Autoglym, Zaino, Duragloss, etc) and some elbow grease. You have etching in this case.

Are you treating your front windshield glass with something like Rain-X? Just wondering since that doesn't have spots. After you get rid of the spots on the side windows treat them with a rain repellent too. I know on my car that kind of stuff has prevented water spots from forming where it was applied. Good luck.

i really can't tell if they are on the inside or the outside but they seem to be on the outside.. yet, i spent quite a bit of time today rubbing the hell out of my windows, scrubbing them with the things i mentioned above.. that would surely remove ANY sort of dirt.. at least i'd think so.

But if i look closely, or at an angle, the stuff seems to be on the outside. so weird.

I will try all the things you guys mentioned. The car has a 100k miles and the person i got it from had it for 8k miles or so. I have not asked if he noticed the spots but who would know what the car was subjected to in it's past life? but then again, what in the hell could have caused something like this?

and i don't treat my front windshield with anything at all..


thanks for all the feedback guys

no problem. i hate water spots as well. it's even more visible on a dark gray max :(

You better hope the water spots aren't on the inside underneath the tint now.

it definitely seems to be on the outside of the window..

i have a couple of tiny bubbles in the tint and the water spots look to be on the window and the bubbles are far behind them..
but who knows?


i tried vinegar and it didn't work at all.

i'm going to try some sort of polish or wax next, if that doesn't work.. i will probably go back to the tint shop and see what they say 1st.
the spots look to be on the outside but what's weird is that my front windshield doesn't have any of these marks and the front just happens not to have any tint either..?

the water spots are whole streaks that are all over the place.. they are very consistent, like every 1/4" of the glass..

this is too weird

Try glass polish or even a regular paint polish if you have any. Forget about wax - t won't even dent glass problems. What products do you have on hand? Maybe I can make a suggestion.

Paint polishes are usually okay to use as long as they're not really strong, since glass is a lot harder than paint.

i THINK you can clay your windows. don't know if that would help, but i remember reading about claying windows to get crap off.

Yeah, you can clay your windows....won't help with his problem though.

Considering that you have some swvere water spots, you might want to consider Zaino Z12 or any of the other forementioned glass polishes.

If that doesn't work, you might want to consider heading to a glass shop and having them professionally polish it using aluminum oxide or cesium oxide.

use a steel wool.. grade 0000.. very fine... it will remove it all...

thanks for the feedback guys. I'll keep you all updated, (not that most of you care :D ) but still..

i haven't gotten around to using some window polish, i haven't even bought it.. but it's been raining and cold as hell, plus i've been real busy. I'm going to give it a shot.

anyone else have any comments about the steel wool? I am really scared of messing up my windows permanently.

thanks

I haven't tried it, but yes apparently 0000 steel wool (make sure it's that fine!) used with the window cleaner of your choice is highly recommended for thoroughly cleaning glass.

I don't know though, if it will abrade away damaged, etched glass, or is simply a very strong way of cleaning it. It's probably worth a try before polishing it though. Bundles of 0000 steel wool should only be a couple bucks or so.

:sprint: steel wool works like a charm, wont hurt the windows at all.

The others are right on target with their suggestions. I was in the same boat as you when I got my '97 Maxima. And I tried everything I could think of, even Scotch Brite scrub pads with window cleaning products. 0000 steel wool w/window cleaner as lube works well for minor waterspots. But a dedicated glass polish really works amazing. I personally use Duragloss Nu-glass. Leaves the glass spot free and sparkling.
Maybe your windshield doesn't have the spots because it has been Rain X'd in the past. Some people only use Rain X on the windshield, and not their other windows. Also, people tend to clean their windshields more than other glass.
Once you get the water spots off, I highly recommend using Rain X or other glass treatment on ALL of your exterior glass. This really helps prevent them from coming back. Also, clean your windows very often. I carry a squeegee in my trunk and use it everytime my glass gets wet (even morning dew). 2 1/2 years of being spot free with this car!

Dave

yup, yup,..........

thanks, you just gave me some confidence, lol

I still haven't gotten a chance to do this as it either rains or it's windy and cold as hell.. sucks not having a garage.

where can i get this wool? hardware stores?

yeah, all hardware stores should have them, make sure its 0000

They are not water spots and can't be cleaned!!
 

Lots of cars have these spots. I read elsewhere that they are caused by the class being tempered. Possibly BUT I have a 2002 Pathfinder and NEVER had these spots since I bought the car brand new -- within the last year these spots have appeared on my back window. I've started to notice lots of cars with this -- some side windows too. My car has always been kept in my garage too. I think there is something in the glass (when it's made) and the windows are getting exposure to something in the environment or the atmosphere and it's causing these spots to appear. Hopefully dealerships (thus car makers) are getting enough complaints that they are getting scientists to look into it. Very mysterious.

Found a solution to permanent water spots
 

So I know this thread is ancient, but thot I'd post anyway. Took some doing and multiple tries, but was able to get 97% of the water spots off my windows. Like the original poster, I purchased a car used. Spots on ALL windows and if you looked close it was even in the paint job [tho the dealer did a decent wax job to hide it for a while]. Acid rain or whatever, it was a pain.

WARNING: LOTS OF ELBOW GREASE REQUIRED

Simply used windex and 3000 [yes thousand] grit sponge orbital sanding pads. they were 6" and I cut in quarters to get the most out of them. And off I went in little circles. Over and over and over and over.... I mean each window took about 15-20 slow and small passes. I changed out the pads REALLY frequently. Did about two passes on each window wiped clean. Then maybe one more pass with the pad, then changed it out. DID NOT USE THE ORBITAL SANDER. Was too afraid to try that. Good old elbow grease.

So like I said, not perfect but they are 97% clear. You can see a couple of areas that didn't come out, but I'm sure that was due to fatigue and user error on my part. But, all in all I'm extremely happy with the results!

I recommend ceriglass. It can remove light scratches and stubborn water spots.