Clay bar for glasses?

[Nuccio]

Hello

can clay bar used safely on glass?

i've noticed that my windshield is full of contaminants (it seems)

so i would know that something to clay glass does exist?

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

Yes you can clay any smooth surface. Been claying glass windshields for years now and it makes a huge difference. After cleaning glass, I then will clay ( started using clay towels) before using a glass polish before applying a glass coating on glass.

But either way claying your glass is a great way of getting a clear and safty windshield. Remember the smoother your glass is the harder it is for any contaminants to be able to stick or have any change to bond.

[The Guz]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I clay them while claying the car. I also seal the glass with D156 (ultimate quik wax). I have had no problems do it this way.

[davey g-force]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I do the same thing as Michael.

[Buck91]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I would assume it would remove any wax is pretty readily but will it remove Rain X / aquapel / etc?

[Murr1525]

I don't know about removing, but usually need a glass cleaner after anyway, or at least I do.

[bkm]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I usually use #000 steel wool on glass. Glass has about the same or more hardness as the mild steel in steel wool, so the steel wool will aggressively scrub hard water spots and other defects without scratching the glass. I can't guarantee it won't scratch, but I haven't had it do so. I lubricate it with a detail spray, glass cleaner, or water and alcohol. M105 is fairly aggressive on clearcoat, but glass is much harder than clearcoat or paint. M105 works good to clean glass, but I don't like to get compound on the window trim, so steel wool usually gets the nod. Clay works nicely too, but it is slower than steel wool. I would clay the glass if I were claying the car. But none of these methods will repair pitting and etching. Once the windshield is pitted enough, usually after 75,000 miles or so, it needs to be replaced. I've kept windshields as long as 120k miles, but it was stupid. The improvement of a new windshield is well worth it.

[DasBurninator]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I have been using Larry's method for cleaning up glass and it seems to work really well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVUtdlzrktI

For minor pitting a dedicated glass polish works really well, but it is not for the faint of heart.

[bkm]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

Great video. That was very informative and well-made.

I am not familiar with glass polish but it seems that if anything actually polished the glass down to remove pitting, it would almost certainly distort the glass by making it uneven thickness. You would see the distortion especially looking at a higher angle of incidence. As it is most automotive glass has poor optical quality.

I cannot see using anything that would actually cut the glass, but only something that would be softer than the glass, but remove contaminants. The steel scraper used in the video, a razor blade, steel wool, a scotchbrite pad, clay or an aggressive (for paint) compound should work. I think clay works more like a razor blade in that it doesn't use abrasives, but an "edge" that shears the contaminant off rather than grinding it down and wiping it away. I may try a glass polish because I believe they are just an aggressive compound like M105, maybe even a little more aggressive, but I doubt they will actually cut glass.

[bkm]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I confirmed the Griots glass polish used in the video is not a polish, it is actually a cleaner. It does not cut glass, remove scratches, or pitting.

[DasBurninator]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I am not familiar with glass polish but it seems that if anything actually polished the glass down to remove pitting, it would almost certainly distort the glass by making it uneven thickness. You would see the distortion especially looking at a higher angle of incidence. As it is most automotive glass has poor optical quality.

I've never had any issues with unevenness or wavy looking glass. Keep the polisher moving and use lots of water after each pass. The only time I have really noticed wavy glass is on cheap non-oem replacement glass.

You won't be removing any deeper pitting or scratches, but fine scratches left by windshield wipers and smaller pitting gets removed. There are a few writeups on this.

There are a fe

[DasBurninator]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I confirmed the Griots glass polish used in the video is not a polish, it is actually a cleaner. It does not cut glass, remove scratches, or pitting.

No, but cerium oxide does polish glass.

[The Guz]

Re: Clay bar for glasses?

I agree that video from Larry is great. Like Das mentioned cerium oxide will polish glass. CarPro Ceriglass comes to mind.

If you are looking for something that will remove waterspots, minor etching or simply restoring the optical calrity of the glass, Detailer's Pro Glass Restorer works very well. It's a little grittier than M105.