Interior Windshield won't come clean

[mvaldes]

I've had good results with No Streek glass polish as long as it's applied as directed and removed with a microfiber towel. But, I'm not sure I've had the same film as you....

[jefferios]

I just use a Vinegar + Water mixture. Its cheap, easy to make 50/50 in a spray bottle, and it wont streak nor leave anything behind. its what all window washers use.

[jetfuel]

...what the weatherman said PLUS the newsprint......newsprint..LOL

jetfuel...I say newspaper...

[Suze]

The film on the windshield is off-gassing and mine didn't start this till about 8-9 months, too.


I'd pass on the news print (sorry guys, that's old school). News print makes dust! Try micro fiber towels and ditch the blue windex. How can something that color make anything clean?

Windex makes a clean cleaner that's good for the environment called Nature's Source. I've had good luck with it.



As for the Rainx, I agree, it's a pain. I use water to get the film off and reapply 3- 4 times over several days.

One more thing - never wash your micro fiber towels with regular laundry - always separate, to keep them dust-free.

[cubefx]

If nothing helps, use extreme measures!!!! Break the windshield and insurance will replace it for free! jk :-)

On the serious note, it is possible that you have minor freon leak and it creating the oily film on the windshield.

[jediknight36]

I have a $500 deductable on the insurance. Windex worked on my other car. The dry scrubbing only works for about a day. I will dry the clear windex. I barff at the smell of vinager. Last year All I heard were praises for Rain-X. WTH?

No smoking here. Probably the plastic thing. But the dealership didn't even want to clean it. I had to insist.

What the alcohol touched right away worked great, but it evaporated too quickly. And with asthma, not sure how well acetone will work but I might try it.

[Smart Enuf]

Let's look at this from a chemistry standpoint. From a Google search, it appears there's a line of reasoning that says the oily film is the result of phthalates offgassing from the plastics in your new smart (as in all new cars) and re-depositing on your windshield glass. See, e.g., United States Patent: 4313841. This seems to have a reasonable foundation in science and chemistry, so I'll assume this is correct.

According to that patent, commercial cleaners tend not to be good at removing the film because they don't dissolve the phthalates. From the patent, one of the formulations covered by the patent that seems to work is a mix of 50% acetone, 30% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), and 20% water. I didn't see this in the patent, but I'll assume these are volume percents, as that's standard when reporting liquid percentages.

The other formulations covered by the patent use MEK and other nastier solvents, so I'm going to stick with the acetone-based formulation for now. So, how can we make this ourselves? Go to your hardware store and buy some acetone. Then stop by your local drug store and buy a container of rubbing alcohol.

Using 70% Rubbing Alcohol

If you bought the standard rubbing alcohol used for your cuts, remember that most rubbing alcohol already comes as 70% by volume isopropanol (the remaining 30% being water). So one way to approximate the formulation in the patent (50%-30%-20% acetone/isoprop/water) is to blend 1 cup of acetone and 1 cup of 70% rubbing alcohol. If I did my math correctly, that should give you 50% acetone (1 cup acetone/2 cups total), 35% isopropanol (0.7 cup isoprop/2 cups), and 15% water (0.3 cup H20/2 cups total).

Using 99% Rubbing Alcohol

Finding a source of neat isopropanol (99-100% isopropanol) would get you closer to the patented formulation, but the measurement will be a bit tougher with standard kitchen measuring cups. You'll need to blend 1 cup acetone, 0.6 cup 99% rubbing alcohol, and 0.4 cup water. If you have a graduated cylinder, this would be easy, but there's the mix ratio above if you want to use 99% rubbing alcohol.

Put your mixture into a spray bottle and use like any glass cleaner. With acetone, good ventilation is always important, and use plenty of towels on the dash to soak up spills.

Your mileage may vary, and of course, I'm not suggesting you market the formulation described above, as that would be a potential violation of the patent. But home experimentation with the formulation should not run afoul of the patent.

[Mighty Mini]

Try "Invisible Glass" sold at Walmart and auto stores.

[Brabus007]

Originally Posted by Smart Enuf

Let's look at this from a chemistry standpoint. From a Google search, it appears there's a line of reasoning that says the oily film is the result of phthalates offgassing from the plastics in your new smart (as in all new cars) and re-depositing on your windshield glass. See, e.g., United States Patent: 4313841. This seems to have a reasonable foundation in science and chemistry, so I'll assume this is correct.

According to that patent, commercial cleaners tend not to be good at removing the film because they don't dissolve the phthalates. From the patent, one of the formulations covered by the patent that seems to work is a mix of 50% acetone, 30% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), and 20% water. I didn't see this in the patent, but I'll assume these are volume percents, as that's standard when reporting liquid percentages.

The other formulations covered by the patent use MEK and other nastier solvents, so I'm going to stick with the acetone-based formulation for now. So, how can we make this ourselves? Go to your hardware store and buy some acetone. Then stop by your local drug store and buy a container of rubbing alcohol.

Using 70% Rubbing Alcohol

If you bought the standard rubbing alcohol used for your cuts, remember that most rubbing alcohol already comes as 70% by volume isopropanol (the remaining 30% being water). So one way to approximate the formulation in the patent (50%-30%-20% acetone/isoprop/water) is to blend 1 cup of acetone and 1 cup of 70% rubbing alcohol. If I did my math correctly, that should give you 50% acetone (1 cup acetone/2 cups total), 35% isopropanol (0.7 cup isoprop/2 cups), and 15% water (0.3 cup H20/2 cups total).

Using 99% Rubbing Alcohol

Finding a source of neat isopropanol (99-100% isopropanol) would get you closer to the patented formulation, but the measurement will be a bit tougher with standard kitchen measuring cups. You'll need to blend 1 cup acetone, 0.6 cup 99% rubbing alcohol, and 0.4 cup water. If you have a graduated cylinder, this would be easy, but there's the mix ratio above if you want to use 99% rubbing alcohol.

Put your mixture into a spray bottle and use like any glass cleaner. With acetone, good ventilation is always important, and use plenty of towels on the dash to soak up spills.

Your mileage may vary, and of course, I'm not suggesting you market the formulation described above, as that would be a potential violation of the patent. But home experimentation with the formulation should not run afoul of the patent.

~Acetone~
I use to use Acetone in the mix of Nitro for my Race Car...!!!
Get your Rubber Gloves on, and Respirator... Proper ventilation is a must... Keep it away from most plastics... That's why it only comes in cans...

Health Effects of Acetone
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone/health_ace.html

[jediknight36]

Yea, I'm kinda worried about that mixture in the car...