When I cleaned the exterior glass, there were random stripes or striations that would appear until it completely dried. Kinda like permanent streaks. They would also show up on humid days. Not super obvious, as you can see in the previous post, my glass "looks" clean in dry conditions...but it isn't.
Under certain lighting you could clearly see the the stripes/grime (see before pix below). I thought maybe it was behind the interior tint, but found the same stripes on the rear windows that were factory tinted. So I obviously needed a bit more than the Sprayway glass cleaner...I started with windex (amonia), GTechnique water spot remover (vinegar), clay, and finally isopropyl alcohol...NOTHING WORKED. Suprisingly, not even a tiny bit of improvement.
So I had to go to the next level, which was polishing. But not so far as my earlier post on polishing out scratches from glass (Post #139, Pg.7). Instead I decided to try
Griot's Garage Fine Glass Polish. The video in the link below tells you HOW to use it, VERY EASY with a dual action buffer or equivalent.
https://www.griotsgarage.com/fine-gl...ish-16-ounces/
This worked exceptionally and I spent about 5 minutes per window (3 crosshatch passes). Below are BEFORE/AFTER pix of my exterior glass polishing (left side windows). I used the 6" polishing pads, but in hindsight I would use the 3" pads for the side windows and 6" pads for the rear window and windshield. The polish wipes off clean from the window seals, however I will observe them over the weeks to see if any white residue appears (like AIO, but that's probably b/c it's acrylic based whereas griot's glass polish is water based). I plan to coat the windows
Griot's Glass Sealant and add this to my maintenance routine.
[INSTALL UPDATE: 3" pads are the only way to go for the side windows. After application of the polish there is some white residue, but once cleaned it doesn’t reappear. I had to use a pick in sime cases to clean some of it. The Griot’s sealant is a bear, IMO. Part if it was the local humidity and temperature (60F, 70%). It states to apply, let dry and reapply second coat, wipe off. Given the alcohol base I thought the first coat would dry quickly (within 15-30m) and so it appeared. I applied a second coat and it started to bead a bit. Too much. I left it to dry about 12 hours and began wiping. Still not dry bc I was just moving it around. Washed my half dozen dedicated glass microfiber towels and over the next couple days wiped over and over, rewashed. Finally the excess was gone. I used super bright light to illuminate the glass and hunt for residue. Went over the glass with Sprayway which helped a lot. Also, you may want to clean the inside glass to avoid appearance of streaks on outside. It took longer to apply the sealant than polish all the glass. I wouldn’t do two coats next time and maybe wait until 80F+ weather, but we always have high humidity.]
[UPDATE 3FEB2024: The sealant works well in wet weather, even when driving around 45mph/72kmh. I haven't been annoyed by glair in day or night driving, which is a pleasant surprise. I guess 2 coats IS the way to go, just remove all the dried excess to enjoy it. Before polishing the windshield I drove an iX 5.0 loaner and the clarity of new glass stood out (secondarily, obviously, to all the technology). The polished glass rivals new glass and it's a welcome and tangible improvement., FWIW.]
FRONT LEFT GLASS:
BEFORE - YES, This is the cleanest I could get the glass pre-polish.
AFTER
REAR LEFT GLASS:
BEFORE - This is the cleanest I could get the glass pre-polish.
AFTER
