The most stubborn water spots, and how I got them out! Pics included

[1990stanggt]

I have had horrible water spots on the quarter windows and side windows of my Mustang for as long as I can remember, even when it was my dad's car in '98. I've tried steel wool, vinegar, and pretty much every other remedy that is known. I found a thread here awhile back about some Zaino Z-12 Clear-View Glass Polish and it had all sorts of good reviews. Unfortunately, none of the threads had pics. So to hopefully help someone else who has water spots that are as stubborn as mine, I took some pics before and after. Keep in mind, these are the ORIGINAL windows from 1990, and the spots have been there for a LONG time. The pictures aren't great, but, once I start working on the glass you can EASILY see the difference. In this pic, I had only made a pass around the outside perimeter of the glass, as you can easily see:

Then I started working in small areas of the glass. After about an hour and a half this is where I was, you can really see how well this stuff works here:

Making progress! :banana:

Finished Product:

I have to say that this stuff worked, however, it is a TOTAL PITA to apply by hand. It probably took me a total of 2 1/2 to 3 hours to do this ONE quarter window. However, the results speak for themselves, this stuff really works! It only cost like $12 shipped from the zaino website. If you have spots you can't get out, this stuff can probably do it.

Luckily for me, I only have the other side quarter window and the driver's side window left to do, all the other glass in the car has been replaced and isn't spotted. I will polish those as well, but it will be FAR less time consuming. Anyway, this is sort of an ongoing project to repair/restore my car as much as possible this coming summer. It has been my daily driver for years, but I finally have two other forms of transportation so I can work on it much more this summer.

BTW, here is the driver's side window, it's next

I'm hoping to repair the quarter window moulding this summer as well, it will be a long process but, once it's done it will look so much better. You can tell from the pics how deteriorated the moulding is.

 

[FromGTtoSVT]

nice work, id say its time for some new moldings too!!!

 

[1990stanggt]

Yea, problem is all you can buy is moulding covers for these cars, and they look horrible. The only choice is to either replace the entire quarter window, or restore the original mouldings, and at $450 a pop for a NOS quarter window, I won't be replacing them. The way most fix them is by slowly sanding and priming to build up the dips and then put a final coat of flat black on them. We'll see how it goes later this summer!

 

[Kevin the Clean 1]

1990stanggt,

Thanks buddy for posting some pictures & telling us how this stuff worked. :beer: I have seen this (water spot / film layer) on old car windows before & always thought is was pretty permanent. I have always wondered if the Zaino Z-12 Clear-View Glass Polish really worked. Now I know it does. I can only imagine how it can & will work with my Porter-Cable machine.

Anyone know which pads (for my Porter-Cable) I need to buy with this Zaino Z-12... ?

 

[1990stanggt]

Kevin,

Glad I could help another member out! The Zaino stuff should fix your water spots and with that PC, you'll be set! I'm hoping to pick one up myself this summer to do some paint correction.