A while back, someone asked about the best way to get water spots off their glass. I had suggested using steel wool or a razor blade and that got quite a few comments about scratching the glass.
I did not defend my comment at the time because while I had seen it done, I had not done it myself.
My 2014 Suabru Legacy which I took delivery just over 9 years ago has gotten so badly water spotted on the rear and side glass that when the sun hits the glass, even on a hazy day, I cannot see out for the glare. This is even if the glass has been cleaned.
So out I go with some #2 steel wool, a single edge razor blade in a metal handle that I got from Harbor Freight for $2 on sale IIRC, some glass cleaner, a bucket with some water, some vinegar, and some microfiber cloths and go to work.
I’ve always kept the windshield clean and Rain-X’d so it does not have any water spots on it except a little bit along the very top. I started on the back glass. I did the passenger side first using the steel wool and and window cleaner. Didn’t do much. Followed that with the cleaner and the razor blade. While using the razor blade, I used the steel wool to keep the glass wet between scraping. I scraped small areas at a time until I got the whole section done. Then I rinsed the window with water and a towel, then dried it with a silicone wiper blade and another towel. It worked, well good enough anyway.
And most important, no scratches at all. By good enough, there is still a faint outline of the spots and I suspect that is because with the acid rain and the minerals being there for 19 years, they have etched themselves into the glass. Before starting you could feel the roughness of the spots, now the glass is smooth.
Then I went to work on a rear side window. Now I have to admit that I did do a little cleaning on the rear glass from time to time, but not much. Side windows got zero cleaning except for rain and an occasional car wash.
I tried the same procedure on half of the glass on the drivers side rear door. Did not work as well. I got the glass smooth OK but the spots seemed to be etched in deeper. So I tried using vinegar instead of the window cleaner. Didn’t help either. So I tried using some compound. With enough rubbing in one little corner, it finally made a difference. I tried the compound on a section that had not been scrapped and the compound didn’t do anything.
I finished up by doing the other half of the rear glass, then compounded the rear glass, by hand BTW. It looks beautiful. I took a picture and will post the original at 20% and then a small section of the picture at 300%. I also took a picture of the tools and materials used except for the steel wool. Before I took the picture, the vinegar turned the steel wool to a pile of rust.
