# Best product to stop ice bonding to glass?



## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

So what do people recommend for stopping ice bonding?

Nothing worse than taking an age to de-ice the car/van in the mornings! Anything that makes this process easier would be a big help.

G1 seems to get great reviews on here but theres not really much about it stopping ice build up, it does mention it helps on the G techniq website though.

Then there's G3, the 'max repellancy' option. Would this be a better option for stopping ice?

Any experiences/advice would be appreciated and any other products worth trying would be welcomed. :thumb:


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

I just pour tepid water over it and be done with it.


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

I went for the water option but last winter was ruthless! 

Sometimes it'd just instantly freeze again. :doublesho


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## bero1306 (Jan 24, 2011)

Heated front/rear screen for me.


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## BigLeeM (Jan 24, 2010)

Heated garage?


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

Van wont fit in the garage.

Plus, thats where my car stays all winter 

It's mostly for my berlingo van tbh, no flash gadgets in that thing lol.


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

You can't stop it if it's as bad as it was last winter but you can make it easier to clean by using window seal like nanolex or carlack, and believe I know it because I come from the country where we get -20 C every winter for at least 2 months


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

So these 'nano tech' glass treatments do make life easier then?


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## Kai Herb (Aug 8, 2007)

G5een said:


> So these 'nano tech' glass treatments do make life easier then?


They did for me , doesnt stop the ice forming but they do seem to clear quicker


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## Jarw101 (Jun 7, 2011)

bigmc said:


> I just pour tepid water over it and be done with it.


:doublesho :doublesho Ever had a cracked windscreen?


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## -Simon- (Oct 29, 2010)

Carlack on my screens certain sped up the process of clearing, although the ice still formed....


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## npinks (Feb 25, 2008)

Best I have seen is a chap who ran a cable to his car and put in a small kilowatt heater on the parcel shelf and his car was warm and defrosted when he came out


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

npinks said:


> Best I have seen is a chap who ran a cable to his car and put in a small kilowatt heater on the parcel shelf and his car was warm and defrosted when he came out


That's what I'm going to be doing this year.
I've got all the bits to fit a weatherproof external socket on the side of the house and a cheap extension lead to use with it.
I reckon it'll have the car warmed inside and the windows cleared within 5 minutes or so!


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## Alpina-d3 (Mar 16, 2011)

bigmc said:


> I just pour tepid water over it and be done with it.


^^^

I do this every winter, no cracked screens yet.


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Keep your screen as clean and clear as possible through the winter months and it will be easier to get the ice of but unless you have you car covered in some form you will get ice, it is unavoidable.


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

npinks said:


> Best I have seen is a chap who ran a cable to his car and put in a small kilowatt heater on the parcel shelf and his car was warm and defrosted when he came out





graeme_t said:


> That's what I'm going to be doing this year.
> I've got all the bits to fit a weatherproof external socket on the side of the house and a cheap extension lead to use with it.
> I reckon it'll have the car warmed inside and the windows cleared within 5 minutes or so!


that was me :wave:


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

That seems like more effort than clearing ice. :lol:


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## howie parks (Jun 5, 2006)

Love it ^


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

what get home from work park car on drive go to boot to get out Lunch bag and thermos 


whilst boot is open place heater on parcel shelf and run cable out of boot and stick int outside socket....


come morning come down for breakfast turn kettle on put bread in toaster and flick on switch from back door.....

scoff breakfast 

pick up lunch bag and thermos turn off and unplug heater

open boot place heater back in boot 

and sod off to work......


as opposed to getting out and attacking car with ice scraper and de icer :lol:


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Jarw101 said:


> :doublesho :doublesho Ever had a cracked windscreen?


Nope been doing it for years....infact as long as I have been driving and I passed my test back in 1994.

Glass is tougher than you would think....yeah if you pour boiling water on it you might have issues....but tepid/warm water is fine.

As for the Nano glass sealants....yes they do help....but what you find is the best way is with the warm water technique and treated glass the water beads off leaving a clear dry surface.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

andy monty said:


> what get home from work park car on drive go to boot to get out Lunch bag and thermos
> 
> whilst boot is open place heater on parcel shelf and run cable out of boot and stick int outside socket....
> 
> ...


Love it....awesome!!


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Getting back on topic -Gtechniq G1 is a god send in the winter months in helping to repel ice. I lost count of the number of times I was able to drive straight off, whilst everyone else was having to scrap their windscreens. The times it did ice up, you only have to brush it with your hands and it turns all powdery. Doesn't really form ice as such. Brilliant product.:thumb:


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## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

andy monty said:


> what get home from work park car on drive go to boot to get out Lunch bag and thermos
> 
> whilst boot is open place heater on parcel shelf and run cable out of boot and stick int outside socket....
> 
> ...


Brilliant :lol::thumb:


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Jarw101 said:


> :doublesho :doublesho Ever had a cracked windscreen?


No and not likely to with tepid water either, the reason they crack with hot water is called the Mpemba effect, hot liquids change temperature at a greater rate to tepid hence the rapid expansion and cracking of the glass.


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## Elliott19864 (May 11, 2008)

I used water last year too, found it alot better than deicer.

Only problem I found was don't leave it in the car when it hits -18 outside, tends to freeze!


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## npinks (Feb 25, 2008)

I know someone who left a can of pop in his car, it froze and part exploded it's a slushy mess


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## Radlin (Aug 18, 2011)

Surely the action of scraping the window would remove a glass seal product such as G1?


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Seal the Glass, and cold water when very bad.


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

G1 for sure :thumb:


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## nitro68 (Mar 18, 2010)

If you have a wall socket with 220V available, this is the best gear to use.
Modular system, so you can expand it with a engine heater, interior heater, timer, remote control, battery charger, etc.
I use the full package version for 3 years now, it is working perfect!
Live in Norway, I know what winters are.............. 

http://www.defa.com/heating3.php3?lang=3&ndid=


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## TubbyTwo (Apr 14, 2011)

Remote start  with heaters on full.

Eat breakfast, have a brew, then climb into a nice toasty car.

Assuming you have it parked on a Drive and not the road


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## nitro68 (Mar 18, 2010)

TubbyTwo said:


> Remote start  with heaters on full.
> 
> Eat breakfast, have a brew, then climb into a nice toasty car.
> 
> Assuming you have it parked on a Drive and not the road


At home it is in the garage.........  ,at work outside, but we have 220V available especialy for this purpose.
The remote is to program the timer, engine heatup starts 4 hours before leaving home.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Cling film on the window the night before. Just pul it off and dump it.


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## Bel (Mar 1, 2011)

Radlin said:


> Surely the action of scraping the window would remove a glass seal product such as G1?


I'll let somebody with more technical nous than me give the actual details, but he answer is no.

G1 forms a chemical bond with the glass that's very, very strong and very difficult to remove.

That's why it lasts so long even with the wipers going over it for months on end.


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## DesertDog (May 15, 2011)

The only ice we get round these parts are the blocks that go in the G&T


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## mattsk1 (Aug 8, 2007)

bigmc said:


> No and not likely to with tepid water either, the reason they crack with hot water is called the Mpemba effect, hot liquids change temperature at a greater rate to tepid hence the rapid expansion and cracking of the glass.


Indeed - the science behind the Mpemba Effect is that hot water apparently freezes more rapidly than cold(er) water, hence there is no advantage to using warm/hot water to de-ice a windscreen whilst there is the disadvantage of potentially cracking it (particularly if you have a major stone chip/repair or hairline stress fracture that might have gone undetected...!)

From Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect
"The Mpemba effect is the observation that warmer water sometimes freezes faster than colder water."

If I'm in a hurry in the morning I pour cold tap water from a plastic bottle over the windscreen before setting off, then use wipers to clear any remaining 'slush'. I'm sure lukewarm water would be as safe. And effective. Just nothing from the kettle after your morning brew please!

Regarding glass treatments: The consensus seems to be that use of a decent glass sealant will reduce ice build-up on windscreens, or at least make ice easier to remove, in part because the ice crystals cannot adhere as easily to the smoother surface of sealed glass. The new generation of nano formula glass treatments/sealants that most people are recommending on the forums are the Nanolex Premium or Urban sealant kits and the Gtechniq G1 Clearvision Smartglass or G3 Clearvision Glasscoat kits. These seem to have the effect of filling in the almost microscopic indentations you get on your windscreen from hitting grit/sand particles etc at speed, thus making the external surface smoother overall so nothing can stick - dirt, water droplets, ice….

Last winter I treated my car windows with Aquapel (from fleabay) which, while not one of the newer 'nano' technology products (it's actually a fluorinated compound) worked really well for over 8 months, and reduced ice build-up on the windscreen and made ice removal a lot easier. I found it to be better than the silicone-based treatments such as Rain-X, which tend to smear with wiper use, can fog up (in rainy weather!) and will wear off far more quickly with general wiper use. Will continue to use Aquapel until I run out but would strongly consider the Nanolex and Gtechniq products.

When I didn't have a bottle of water handy I used an old plastic card (credit card) as an ice scraper and that worked a treat. With the Aquapel coating it was more like scraping off a 'powder' than ice - plus you can keep a spare card in your wallet 

Bit of a long post there, hope it's of use.

:newbie:


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## DuncanMon (May 25, 2009)

I don't feel that having G1 / G3 / other glass sealants actually stop ice forming on snow sitting as easily on a windscreen but it definitely makes it easier to clear. When the temperature gets really low I can simply pour cold water over and it clears the ice then beads off. Whereas a car with unsealed glass the water can refreeze alot easier before moving off the glass.

This product looks perfect, albeit nowhere seems to have it for sale over here. Or anything similiar. Key things I would want are rechargeable in car, advanced (ish) timer, and the ability to not drain my car battery so it only charges when running.

http://www.windowheater.nl/


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## MatthewR (May 15, 2011)

andy monty said:


> what get home from work park car on drive go to boot to get out Lunch bag and thermos
> 
> whilst boot is open place heater on parcel shelf and run cable out of boot and stick int outside socket....
> 
> ...


Not read past here so forgive me if its been said.

I work for a building contractors that deals with insurance claims, we had one come through last winter where the policy holder did this and ended up burning his house down because the car was in the garage which caught fire.

be warned.


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

Cliox4 said:


> Not read past here so forgive me if its been said.
> 
> I work for a building contractors that deals with insurance claims, we had one come through last winter where the policy holder did this and ended up burning his house down because the car was in the garage which caught fire.
> 
> be warned.


:doublesho

I think that method is more hassle than it's worth anyway, be better off letting the car idle for five minutes while you have a brew at the window, probably be better for the engine to warm up a little too. My van isn't parked on the drive so it isn't practical anyway.

I think I'll got for the G1 to help repel the ice build up.

Not sure what last winter was like for some of you, but on some mornings cold water was frozen before I'd got to my van (30 second walk from the front door lol!).


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

G5een said:


> :doublesho
> 
> be better off letting the car idle for five minutes while you have a brew at the window,


that doesn't do the engine any good at all though.....


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## mattsk1 (Aug 8, 2007)

Good choice on the G1.

FYI There's also a new version of the Nanolex treatment that's been developed, Nanolex Ultra, which is said to combine the best properties of the Premium and Urban products, as mentioned on this thread:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=231143

Post-treatment, on that cold winter's morning, try bigmc's tepid/warm water in a bottle. A big bottle... then it won't have frozen on your walk to the car...
Or go with PaulN's clingfilm method on those really frosty nights and just rip it off and drive away. Keep a roll in the car or you'll forget or not be bothered to cover the windscreen the night before 

As for ice build-up, with the sealant on mine I definitely found it to be more 'crystallised powder-like' than the ice on my other, untreated, vehicle... Definitely easier to get off even without water. No real scraping, more like a quick brushing off :thumb:


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## Sirmally2 (Feb 28, 2011)

Ceramic heater and 5 minutes of your time :-D


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Radlin said:


> Surely the action of scraping the window would remove a glass seal product such as G1?


Sorry, thanked you but I meant to quote you

Scraping the windscreen does not remove the G1 as the ice is held sort of from the windscreen and it doesn't really form proper ice as I said previously.
G1 lasted 16,000 miles on our car which is stood outside all tear round:thumb:


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## RICH2508 (Jan 14, 2007)

I have used the warm water trick for years now, just to be effective nad stop it freezing over again you have to squeegee it off straight away tomleave the glass dry. I use a flexi blade left ovr from the days when I thought these were a good idea to dry the car off when washing!

I can clear all the windows on my car quicker than the heated screen just clears the windscreen on my wifes S-Max.


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## G5een (Aug 2, 2011)

andy monty said:


> that doesn't do the engine any good at all though.....


Pretty certain it'll be better for it than driving straight off in -20 degrees C tbh.


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

G5een said:


> Pretty certain it'll be better for it than driving straight off in -20 degrees C tbh.


I thought cold air was better for cars? It's denser and contains more oxygen (iirc)


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

Alpina-d3 said:


> ^^^
> 
> I do this every winter, no cracked screens yet.


same here, I tried to crack my screen last year as it was in need of replacement but had no Joy,

Warm water is easiest and quickest way:thumb:


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## Marcos999 (Aug 16, 2010)

andy monty said:


> that doesn't do the engine any good at all though.....


with a modern engine and good oil it won't hurt.


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## davidcraggs (Aug 1, 2007)

Has anyone tried Optiseal on their windows for this?


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## Markyt001 (Mar 23, 2007)

PaulN said:


> Cling film on the window the night before. Just pul it off and dump it.


Pallet wrap for me..cheaper and thicker!!!!! (just how i like my women!!!)


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