RE: Cleaning Windshields

["Dan Sinclair" <sinclair@prospro.com>]

Steel wool can be used to clean glass, but it must be extremely fine.  As an
automotive detailer, our shop used a polish called Beauty Shine in
combination with steel wool to remove hard water spots from window glass and
mirrors.  Steel wool is often "graded" by number designation.  A zero grade
(0) is considered Fine, while double-zero (00), or triple-zero or (000)
would be considered Extra Fine and Super Fine for instance.  I would use 000
or finer.  The grades are not always uniform amongst brands through, so you
need to be careful.

If you're polishing automotive glass, test the steel wool and polish on a
small area of a rear window or C pillar window first, then look at the area
at an angle in sunlight to see if the polishing left spider-webbing or fine
scratches.

Side mirrors and windshields demand a little extra consideration, however,
because they are sometimes coated with special UV barriers and tints.
Additionally, scratches and pits on your windshield will often trap polishes
and compounds.  What used to be an inconspicuous pit may turn into a nasty
white blotch after it traps a bit of polish.  The detailing shop I worked
for stopped polishing windshields altogether after several customers
insisted that we added chips to their windshield when we polished them - we
used a sponge, a liquid polish and elbow grease...  My boss, explained how
the compound gets trapped in the pits, but being a small town businessman he
smiled politely as he wrote out a couple checks for new windshields then
discontinued that service.  To this day he gets requests to polish
windshields and he turns them away without hesitation.

-Dan

Dan Sinclair
1988 Audi 90, 71,000mi.
Pic and details at:
http://131.107.68.50/a4.org/registry/details.asp?car=761



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-quattro@audifans.com [mailto:owner-quattro@audifans.com]On
> Behalf Of Lawrence Bardfeld
> Sent: Monday, June 21, 1999 2:57 PM
> To: 'Quattro List'
> Subject: Cleaning Windshields
>
>
> A friend of mine, who is fairly knowledgeable about cars
> (ASE-certified mechanic, etc.), suggests that the best way to clean my
> car's windshield is using a mild cleaning solution and very fine steel
> wool (!!)  Is he trying to pull my leg (and scratch my windshield)?
>
> If this question has too little Audi or technical content to merit a
> reply on the list, please send any comments, guffaws, etc., to me
> privately at LB6116@pitcairn.com
>
> Larry Bardfeld
> 93 S4
> (and a couple of non-Audis)
>