Needs recommendations for polish and pads for windshield

[joebruin77]

This weekend, I plan on using my DA polisher to polish and clean my windshield. I have never polished glass before, and I need recommendations for both the polish and the pad. I have on hand Meguiar's Ultimate Polish as well as Ultimate Compound. I assume the compound would be too abrasive so thought the Ultimate Polish would be the way to go. Or are there glass-specific polishes I should use instead?

And what do people suggest about the pad? I was thinking of using a light polishing pad, one that has barely any "cutting" ability. I use the hex-logic pads and was thinking of either a white or blue pad.

I welcome any recommendations/suggestions, esp from those with experience polishing the windshield with a DA polisher.

Thank you,
joebruin77

 

[SlyOne]

First post! I got my new model 3 and noticed the wipers were horrible. Lots of streaking and skipping on windshield. I used megs ultimate polish and a standard orange pad, using cross-hatch pattern. Made huge difference. After I applied two coats of rain-x and is now great. Cancelled my mobile ranger appointment for wiper hitting body.

 

[joebruin77]

First post! I got my new model 3 and noticed the wipers were horrible. Lots of streaking and skipping on windshield. I used megs ultimate polish and a standard orange pad, using cross-hatch pattern. Made huge difference. After I applied two coats of rain-x and is now great. Cancelled my mobile ranger appointment for wiper hitting body.

Welcome and congrats on your M3 and your first post!

And thanks for the reply. Good to know Ultimate Polish and a standard orange cutting pad did the trick. My wipers work fine. I made the rookie mistake of using a standard MF towel on glass so now I have all these little lint fibers all over the windshield, so I am trying to find a way to remove them without risking scratching the glass.

Thanks again.

 

[TrooperCA]

I've never polished my glass. I only hit it with the clay bar and that's about it. I heard in the past that people use steel wool to clean their windshield as well. Not sure about the density of the wool though.

Also, the manual says to not put any kind of sealant on the windshield as it will cause the wipers to make noises (i've noticed this to be true in my case).

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Clay bar or equivalent is the way to go on glass. Polishing is overkill.

 

[SlyOne]

I've never polished my glass. I only hit it with the clay bar and that's about it. I heard in the past that people use steel wool to clean their windshield as well. Not sure about the density of the wool though.

Also, the manual says to not put any kind of sealant on the windshield as it will cause the wipers to make noises (i've noticed this to be true in my case).

I certainly wouldn’t use any steel wool, but polishing glass is quite common although a clay bar does usually do the trick. Mine must have had some overspray on it as it was almost tacky. As for applying a sealant, you could get wiper noise from using a ceramic or polymer sealant on windshield, fortunately cheap old rain-x does well (which happens to be on sale at amazon right now).

 

[JBailey895]

I was going to ceramic-coat my windshield this weekend, and am concerned after reading the above, but also heard good things about rain-x, so may try that first. Is it the "windshield treatment" https://www.amazon.com/Rain-X-50802...f=sr_1_6?keywords=rainx&qid=1579210407&sr=8-6

and/or
https://www.amazon.com/Rain-X-50712...G5TSG9JMHV9&psc=1&refRID=Q5HYHDE3JG5TSG9JMHV9

Both are reasonably priced on Amazon, as mentioned above.

 

[AC2DC]

I've had my Model 3 for about a month, and there is a specked coating on the windshield, and also the roof glass, that I've been unable to clean off. Is it overspray from paint or other manufacturing? In a certain light, I can see 6" circular clean areas on the roof, with the fine speckles all across the other glass. I've wondered if those were suction cup marks? My wipers seem to work fine. but in certain lights, the windshield looks "dusted". Would a clay bar or polishing compound help? Thanks for this discussion, it's been bothering me since I got the car.

 

[mswlogo]

I tried clay bar on my windshield (Griots made for glass) and it was not enough. Finally polished it and it’s been great since. Both Model 3 and X were terrible.

I used Griots Glass Polish with DA and Sealant.

You need to be a little careful with sealants though. They can cause wipers to chatter. This is because the blade grips the glass better. You might have to change blades if you use a sealant.

You could try polish alone but I got weird results on one car when I didn’t seal it after polishing it.

It is definitely worth pursuing getting the glass right and what Tesla ships is just awful.

Some folks have had luck with Bon Ami but make sure you get the right one that’s ok for glass.

 

[SlyOne]

I was going to ceramic-coat my windshield this weekend, and am concerned after reading the above, but also heard good things about rain-x, so may try that first. Is it the "windshield treatment" https://www.amazon.com/Rain-X-50802...f=sr_1_6?keywords=rainx&qid=1579210407&sr=8-6

and/or
https://www.amazon.com/Rain-X-50712...G5TSG9JMHV9&psc=1&refRID=Q5HYHDE3JG5TSG9JMHV9

Both are reasonably priced on Amazon, as mentioned above.

You want the windshield treatment, not the cleaner/repellant.

 

[jkoya]

I had water spots on my roof glass and rear windows. I used Pinnacle GlassWork Water Spot Remover from Autogeek. I first tried removing the spots by hand using a foam pad, but that did nothing. I then used my polisher with a Lake County CCS Orange Pad and the spots were removed quite easily. I decided to tape off the rest of the car and do all my windows. The Lake County CCS Orange pad was recommended by Autogeek. I followed it with Pinnacle GlassCoat Window Sealant with Rain Repellant and it works fine for me. I don't get the wiper chatter and the blades work fine. At freeway speeds, the water beads off the windshield without the wipers....