water stains on windows

[Chubby Bunny]

Hi all; our recently purchased 1998 22' Cruiser has a very light but uniform coat of (salt)water stains on the pilothouse windows. Certainly not worth replacing the windows but annoying nevertheless.

Anybody know a way to remove these stains? After several washings and dryings, I'm not seeing much of an improvement with plain old boat wash.

[Sea Wolf]

Chubby Bunny-

Several solutions of varying degrees of success.

1. Easy/mild one- Try vinegar, it's weak, but will dissolve some calcium and other stains.

2. Bon Ami is next-a bit stronger and mildly abrasive. Will remove some stains.

3. The Bartenders Friend (Helper?) - very abrasive, but less so than Ajax, which will definitely scratch your windows. Be careful with the Bartender's Buddy- might scratch some things, probably not glass. Will grind off a lot of bad stuff. Great on non-skid stains. Used on gel coat, requires re-waxing. Good all-around polishing agent for fairly hard surfaces. Test a small area first.

Joe. (TOOOOOOOOOO much coffee today!!!)

[thataway]

Another possibility is the "Clay" that auto body shops use for removing over spray from glass. I have found this very effective in removing mineral stains from windows.

[sailor-d]

CB

I had that problem when I bought my '91. I called various glass shops for a remedy. I think I finally hit on it; thoroughly clean the windows with windex or a vinegar solution and scrape with a razor blade (the ones with a rigid side) held at a low angle. It works cleaning gunge from a ceramic cooktop with no scratches and worked well on my windows - just have to be careful. Hope it works for you.

cheers - Dave

[oldgrowth]

[Byrdman]

Have also heard of using Coke. The acid or something in the beverage is suppose to cut things a bit. I need to try this myself with my 1985 boat... and I always have apple cider viniger around... in fact.... jut mix it 50/50 with the coke...and you have a wonderful BBQ spray for the grill. We have been using that for over 5 generations in our family. Good stuff.

[lloyds]

The ports used on sailboats are a similar material and I had good luck with Brasso. I know it is intended for use on boating metals but it worked real good for the window. When I bought the boat the windows had been neglected and were totally fogged over. A little Brasso on a soft cloth and some rubbing and they cleared right up.

[drjohn71a]

Lime Elim or CRS are common household acidic mineral removal agents. The best boat products for that include Oxalic Acid. Star brite used to have an oxalic acid product. I would avoid abrasive products such as Brasso.

John

[digger]

The Barkeepers Friend is the only thing that worked for me. Tyboo suggested it to me. Try it on one window, and you'll be sold. Don't use it on the inside because they have tinted film. Good luck. Ron, aka "digger" on Snoopy-C

[True Story]

Trust Tyboo!. 10-4 on Barkeepers Friend. Wet rag, liberal amount of BF and elbow grease completely removed the stains and shined up the windows. I tried several non-abrasive approaches to removing these stains with zero effect.

[Wayne McCown]

Where can one buy Barkeeper's Friend?

[Flip]

Walmart has it as many Supermarkets good luck

[Wayne McCown]

Do I look for it in the liquor section, or ??

[DaveS]

[Wayne McCown]

THANKS!! (I won't drink it!)