8 Nov 2015

And Then, Poor Visibility….

I've been busy hence the silence. Some may say blessed silence. Others may say, busy with wot? believe it or not, three days cleaning the car windscreen.

I chanced to be out and about after dark and noticed, in the light of oncoming cars, streaks all along the windscreen. Wash an' wipe is the answer, right? Not this time as adding water to the streaks an' lights made visibility pretty damn poor. Actually, pretty damn scarily poor. This became a cause for concern when it started raining lightly and the only way I could get any idea of what was going on out front was to run the wipers at full speed. So poor was the visibility I pulled over at a convenience store and got me a bottle of screen cleaner.

After twenty minutes of spraying and wiping I came to the conclusion it wasn't working. Intensive rubbing on just one small area of one streak did nothing.

Let me say that I discovered the next day that these streaks are invisible in daylight but become visible when activating the screen sprays and wipers and once the water is wiped away they disappear again. Whole different deal on a rainy night with heave approaching traffic.

Long story a tad longer, I got home and next day gave the problem a little thought. That's right; thought, NOT Google. This is what I thought. Some time ago I washed the car using a lazy shampoo with added wax. I may have under diluted and, as it was a warm sunny day, when I hosed him off I neglected to give the roof just one more rinse thus allowing the remaining shampoo and wax to run off the roof and 'bake' onto, almost into, the glass.

Guess what? I tried an area with both windscreen cleaner and also good ol' vinegar, worked in with a pan scourer. Guess what? Didn't shift it. Not a hint. Luckily, no scourer scratches resulted from this, possibly over zealous, test.

I'm now happy to report the screen, after many, many hours a rubbin' an' a buffin', resulting in red-raw, aching hands and arms, although she's not one to complain – that was a joke. She complains all the time -  rendering typing impossible, the screen is ninety percent back to clear visibility. It's also now obvious to me that I should've started with the ten percent directly in front of the drivers head…

How did I achieve this? A tube of metal polish I had in the shed. Yes, I did check, as best I could, it wasn't packed with any sort of abrasive stuff and I also did a test patch. She was heading for a shower anyway - that was another joke. It was tough, repetitive going but it worked and could be worth a go for any of you possibly facing similar visible/invisible windscreen streaking.

Finally, isn't it sad that on this day we remember all those who lost their lives in combat through the ages we then turn on the news to see that there are still vast numbers of people out there apparently determined to keep our planet the blood-soaked stone it's become. A blood-soaked stone hurtling towards the end. Who will be the last man standing to ask what it was all about? Who will offer an answer?

Quote;  Mitch Hedberg.

"I know a lot about cars, man. I can look at any car's headlights and tell you exactly which way it's coming."

4 comments:

Ripper said...

How to clean a waxed windscreen in a couple of minutes:

Go to Asda.
Buy a bottle of 'Elbow Grease' general purpose cleaner
Spray onto windscreen
Leave for 30 secs
Wipe off then rinse really well

This stuff is magic. I use it to degrease engines, yet its still gentle enough to spray on oil/grease stained clothes prior to washing. While you're at it, give the edges of the wiper blades a clean with it too. They are the main cause of streaking.

Mac said...

Ripper,
Thank you very big for that information.
I'll save the last 10% until I have some and then report back.
Thanks again my friend.

Ripper said...

No problem Mac, happy to help. I have some more good info for you too which you may/may not more effective in the future.

If you are using one of those shampoo/wax combos, they are pretty crap as far as actual protection of paintwork is concerned. The old fashioned way is the best - wash car, then leather dry and wax - the best stuff is Carnauba wax, or Liquid Diamond. If using Carnauba wax, less is more. Apply it very thinly, you will get a mirror finish with a hard shell protective layer. An application will last for about 3 months. If you're really obsessed with clean paint, go over it with a clay bar before waxing.

For the glass inside, Tesco sell a Spontex microfibre cloth with a rough/smooth side. You just wet it with plain water and wipe the glass, first with the rough side then finish with the smooth. There's no drying or smearing. In fact you can do the dash and most of the interior with that alone. You will be surprised at the dirt it picks up.

For metal polish I use some stuff called White Diamond, from fleabay. This is the stuff used by truckers on those huge polished alloy fuel tanks. That also leaves a protective layer which makes water just run off and protects against oxidisation.

I have a.. shall we say.. unusual paint job to look after, so I've done my research and tried a lot of stuff. These are the best things I've found so far.

www.creations.parga.com/100_0029_sm.jpg
www.creations.parga.com/100_0037_s.jpg
www.creations.parga.com/100_0045_s.jpg
www.creations.parga.com/100_0052_s.jpg

Mac said...

Ripper,
Thanks again and please refer to the next post.