Spotted Windows

[digger]

Hi, this is Digger, on Snoopy-C. I've been trying to clean my cruiser's windows, and am having some difficulty. The boat has been used in salt conditions, but mostly in eastern Washington. I thought that there were hard water spots, but I now am thinking that the spots are more like pits. The only thing I've been able to address the spots with is the ceramic stove-top cleaners, and huge amounts of elbow grease to clear the spots. I could wash the whole boat by the time one window is cleaned up. Are there any solutions that any of you have employed with similar problems? Thank you for any input.

[Sea Wolf]

Digger- I'll bet those pits are from sand and/or gravel from road travel or a sandstorm --does the wind blow that hard in Eastern Washington? (I know it blows like H___ along the Columbia Gorge!

Sounds like the ceramic stove top cleaner it doing it's job and must have a very hard polishing compound in it to buff out glass. Could you use a buffing wheel on an electric drill or buffing machine? The big limitation on some compounds is that the speed and heat of a relatively fast buffing wheel dries the compound out before it can do its job. A slow one works best, say 300-500 rpm, approx. Just a thought! Joe.

[digger]

The spots on the glass aren't really pits, like tiny spots. They are more like etched blobs about 3/16 inch water spots. I've tried vinegar, etc. trying to remove them -- razor blades-- nothing really touches them except polishing them out. More input is needed. I tried a car buffer, with compound, but that doesn't really seem to work. The ceramic polish does seem to work, if I had a power buffer about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. My hands and fingers are about done in from karata-kid work practices. My own kids are grown so I don't have any slave labor available, and my wife has problem shoulders, so I can't coerce her. Help folks.....I'm sure the water spot etches are common enough. Thanks

[TyBoo]

Try this here Barkeeper's Friend stuff. I found it at Fred Meyer on the shelf with the kitchen cleaners. Works real good on common water stains. It is also the best thing you'll ever find for cleaning the gelcoat. Try a little bit on the inside of the transom where the cruddy stain always appears beneath the motor mount bracket and steering. Unbelievable. Just wipe it on with a wet towel, and rinse it off. Very little scrubbing needed.

One word of caution, though. Be prepared to wax over any areas of the gelcoat you clean, because it will remove any wax that is there. I used it on some gelcoat stains on the TyBoo22 once, and it cleaned so well that the surrounding areas looked dingy. Ended up washing the whole boat with it, and waxing for two days.

[digger]

Thanks for the input guys.......I'll see if I can chase down the barkeepers friend per Mike.............at least it'll go with the beer I may have to consume to get the windows up to snuff.

[digger]

T :Thank you Mike........that Barkeeper's Friend does the job. Worked great with much less elbow grease on the spots. Oh, I'd suggest not to get it on the window film. My door had some pretty spotty tint, so I figured that I'd try the stuff on the tint.......took some kind of coating of the tint, but didn't take the tint plastic off. Cleaned it up real nice though, so I put some raineze on the plastic to recoat it.

The Barkeeper's Friend has a permanent ride on Snoopy-C.