Fine Pits in Glass

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cowboyLS

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Was out of town and short on time, so hopped into a tunnel autowash to clean the gal up (I know, epic fail).

Now darned near all my glass is micro-pitted. Can't feel anything with your finger but you can sure tell when the sun shines directly through any of them (windshield, rear, sideview, windows, everything).

Any suggestions? Many TIA.
 
Silver_LS said:
got full coverage? :shifty:
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Yesh :D
I guess the only good thing was that I delayed getting my windshield replaced. If it was a brand new windshield that got scratched up, I'd go on a shooting spree :shifty:
 
cowboyLS said:
Yesh :D
I guess the only good thing was that I delayed getting my windshield replaced. If it was a brand new windshield that got scratched up, I'd go on a shooting spree :shifty:
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is the glass pitted or is it scratched?

i dont see how a car wash could cause pitting in the glass.
 
1LoudLS said:
is the glass pitted or is it scratched?
i dont see how a car wash could cause pitting in the glass.
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Sorry, meant pitted. It was a tunnel type carwash that has those "soft" cloth strips and rollers. Probably sand left over from washing a whole bunch of filthy cars.

I'll be trying some cerium oxide slurry to polish them off. Already experimented on the passenger sideview using Mother's chrome polish and it already made a world of difference.
 
cowboyLS said:
Probably sand left over from washing a whole bunch of filthy cars.
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if it was from the car wash, then you would have scratches, not pits (unless something in the wash was shooting sand directly at your car)
 
1LoudLS said:
if it was from the car wash, then you would have scratches, not pits (unless something in the wash was shooting sand directly at your car)
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That's the part that has me confused. Yes, there are some light scratches, but a whole lot of pits. And having detailed the car no too long before, I am 100% sure that they weren't there before. That and I definitely didn't do any off-roading or driving behind construction vehicles.
 
cowboyLS said:
I'll be trying some cerium oxide slurry to polish them off. .
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Sounds like you are on the right path. that's really the only thing I can think of or recommend. Just remember if using a rotary polisher (And hopefully with a rayon glass polishing pad), that you REALLY need to keep an eye on how hot the glass gets, as it can warp.

I hear lake country has just come out with some glass polishing pads, but I have not used them yet.

Hate to say it, but you did it to yourself by visiting a tunnel wash. If need be, the most I will do when I cannot wash my car properly is to visit a DIY bay and just remove what I can with the rinse setting on the pressure washer.
 
As far as pitting vs. scratching, is there a probability of acid rain in your area?
 
if you can't feel them by hand it is from the sun, the sun slowly deteriorate the glass and the only way of fixing this is replacing it. I know it sucks!
 
pektel said:
If need be, the most I will do when I cannot wash my car properly is to visit a DIY bay and just remove what I can with the rinse setting on the pressure washer.
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That or a 100% touch-free spray wash. I am fortunate to have one local to me, which is perfect for the winter time and spraying down the undercarriage. Then I can come home and have a much more successful ONR cleaning.
 
Agreed. The only thing that bugs me about touchless washes is the chemicals they use can very easily strip any protection the paint may be wearing.
 
pektel said:
Agreed. The only thing that bugs me about touchless washes is the chemicals they use can very easily strip any protection the paint may be wearing.
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Does this go for those self-serve bay washes as well? As far as I can tell, they seem to use the exact same chemicals, so you might as well save the trouble and go through a touchless wash (for the same price no less).
 
As long as you only use Rinse on the self service, you should be safe. Just make sure to let the hose spray against the ground or wall for a bit till you're sure its just water.

I am guilty of useing the touchless, I only hand washed the LS maybe 5 times this summer. I didn't apply any wax either. Maybe I will do that tomorrow since it will be mostly cloudy, and take some pictures Thursday :D

Is mid 60's to cold to wax a car?
 
Silver_LS said:
As long as you only use Rinse on the self service, you should be safe. Just make sure to let the hose spray against the ground or wall for a bit till you're sure its just water.

I am guilty of useing the touchless, I only hand washed the LS maybe 5 times this summer. I didn't apply any wax either. Maybe I will do that tomorrow since it will be mostly cloudy, and take some pictures Thursday :D

Is mid 60's to cold to wax a car?
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I've waxed in upper 40's/lower 50's before. The only downside is at those temps, it takes longer for the solvents to evaporate (the wax takes a little longer to cure). I detail in the wintertime as well. I doubt the garage gets above 60, and I wax in there all the time.
 
cowboyLS said:
Does this go for those self-serve bay washes as well? As far as I can tell, they seem to use the exact same chemicals, so you might as well save the trouble and go through a touchless wash (for the same price no less).
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They may. I would NEVER wash my car at either location. Here's my take on touchless wash tunnels:

There are 2 ways to remove grime from the car:

1) Traditional "touch" wash, by physically agitating the contamination, then rinsing it away.

2) Step up the strength/harshness of the wash solution, so it will dissolve the grime on it's own, without agitation.

The problem I potentially see with the second form is the touchless bays use such a harsh chemical (I have heard hydroflouric acid mentioned on several occasions), then a base neutralizer, then rinse. I doubt that this even removes all the grime, and I'm positive something like that would remove any wax protection you may have applied beforehand. The other potential issue is water reclamation. Most places have to either pay to dispose of the used water (not a likely option), or reclaim it (run it through a filtration system) for reuse. Depending on the filtration system, dirt particles could pass through and be sent through for reuse. "Sandblasting" comes to mind here.

I don't have definitive proof of the comments above. But I choose to err on the side of caution.

As far as the touchleess tunnel and diy bays using the same chemicals, I will check with some suppliers and see what they say. The thing is, if touchless chemicals were safe, why wouldn't we just use them all the time? Why bother with traditional washes if there would be some magic spray that would just eat the grime off the car, and you just rinse it off? Just my thoughts, and I very well could be wrong.
 
pektel said:
(I have heard hydroflouric acid mentioned on several occasions)
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Mother of pearl--if that's true, it's no wonder his glass is pitted; HF has to be stored in plastic containers because it attacks glass...
 
pektel said:
As far as the touchleess tunnel and diy bays using the same chemicals, I will check with some suppliers and see what they say. The thing is, if touchless chemicals were safe, why wouldn't we just use them all the time? Why bother with traditional washes if there would be some magic spray that would just eat the grime off the car, and you just rinse it off? Just my thoughts, and I very well could be wrong.
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Are you familiar with Junkman? He has a cool video he did on this very topic...although he was knocking more on the places that have guys at the end of the touchless tunnel with dirty rags to dry everything. Touchless really does not get the vehicle "clean" it just gets the surface grime off like any other foam gun. Physical contact is the only way to get it totally clean.
 
did you try washing your car again? is it a buildup maybe?
 
JoshMcMadMac said:
Are you familiar with Junkman? He has a cool video he did on this very topic...although he was knocking more on the places that have guys at the end of the touchless tunnel with dirty rags to dry everything. Touchless really does not get the vehicle "clean" it just gets the surface grime off like any other foam gun. Physical contact is the only way to get it totally clean.
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Sure am. He's pretty funny. I mean, he's knowledgeable, he just makes me laugh when I watch his videos.
 
ViC said:
did you try washing your car again? is it a buildup maybe?
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Definitely not a buildup. First tried cleaning the tiny spots off with Invisible Glass and then analytical grade (99.999%) IPA. No dice.

Mother's chrome polish did stop the pits from sparkling in direct light though. Not looking forward to cerium oxide - messy and a bit of a PITA.
 
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