# I think I may have caused swirls in my windscreen by polishing it?!



## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

Hi guys, hope this is in the correct place.* I think I have installed swirls in my windscreen by polishing it.
*

****edit***
this is a video of the swirls: 



***edit****

Last weekend I wanted to install the Gtechniq G1 glass coating. This was my first time with this coating, and the first time polishing windscreen, although I have polished paint before at an enthusiast level.

I 2 bucket method washed the windscreen, used surfex HD APC 10%, then used carpro TRIX, clay barred it with BH auto clay and Dodo juice Born slippy, then cleaned the glass with AG fast glass. I rinsed in-between steps also.

I then polished it to just clean it, I was not looking for defect removal, as there weren't many to my knowledge - also was aware of how hard it is to polish glass well. I polished with a das6 V2 DA, orange CG hex logic pad, and Gtechniq G4 (as recommended), doing a quarter of windscreen at a time, with 4-5 slow passes with minimal pressure (less than I would for paint).

I then wiped this down with IPA 1:1 with water. I then installed sealant as per instructions with no problems.

It was only at night I noticed problems. When *streetlights shine through the glass it reveals (literally thousands of) little swirl marks.* I call these swirl marks because they look exactly like paint swirls. I am really struggling to get a camera that shows them well enough for you guys to see. They are multi-directional and form a circle around the light like swirls do. I cannot feel the swirls with my nail, but there are others that I can - but these are big wiper-installed scratches that were already present before polishing.

I am now wondering whether* I have caused this *by polishing (incorrectly). My theories are:

- that possibly the _*pad was not fully clean*_ after being used on paint a while ago (although I did wash and brush out)
- maybe I have not used enough polish and *dry buffed*
- another theory is that maybe I have gone over one of the few rock chips on the screen and it has _*picked up a piece of glass from there and dragged it*_ all over the screen

The one thing to note is that there are _*NO SWIRLS where the wipers do not cover on the screen when wiping*_. However, I cannot work out how wipers can cause multi-directional scratches, and for me to only just notice them now. I have had this car for 2 years and done a lot of nighttime driving. Unless this 'cleaning' has just highlighted them to me. I am confused and a bit upset if I have damaged my glass.

The two questions I have are:

1. Do you think I have caused this and if so how?
2. Can/should I attempt to fix this? (I was looking at Ceriglass and Rayon pad and following instructions as per autogeek writeups?)

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, any feedback is much appreciated.

ps - the G1 coating is AWESOME on the motorway


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## S3 Chris (Jun 14, 2017)

To me it is the process that is flawed, you should apply G4 by hand, to polish glass properly you need a Rayon pad as you say. The Surfex HD and trix and fast glass steps are to me a bit of a waste of time and product. I think the hex pad has lifted some grit and caused the damage having had my dad "helpfully" put my car through an automated car wash after a filthy Mitsubishi L200 the damage to my windscreen and paint was incredible. I would look at your car insurance policy and see what the excess is for a new windscreen and get a new one installed to start again with new undamaged glass. Obviously this depends on how bad the rock chips are. The fact that the glass is now cleaner than ever may have highlighted the damage that was previously there just unseen .


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

First of all, thank you for the reply and feedback! Just some comments on the points you made:



ChrisHorner said:


> you should apply G4 by hand,


It states on the instructions that you can also apply with a DA, although I admit this would not have happened with hand polishing.



ChrisHorner said:


> to polish glass properly you need a Rayon pad


To be fair, I was not attempting to remove defects and was just cleaning the glass with polish so assumed an orange pad would suffice.



ChrisHorner said:


> I think the hex pad has lifted some grit and caused the damage having had my dad "helpfully" put my car through an automated car wash after a filthy Mitsubishi L200 the damage to my windscreen and paint was incredible.


Yes, this is looking quite likely isn't it. I feel getting a new windscreen will be my last resort, but I am thinking of trying the Ceriglass first on the passenger side as a test spot. I suppose we live and learn, cheers for the help!


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## Sawel (Aug 5, 2016)

You should have used a finishing pad rather than a medium cutting pad. Mistake 1

If you used 'Regular' BH clay in these cold temperatures then you might as well have used a brick.


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

Sawel said:


> You should have used a finishing pad rather than a medium cutting pad. Mistake 1
> 
> If you used 'Regular' BH clay in these cold temperatures then you might as well have used a brick.


I didn't think about the clay actually, and it was regular clay. What would be the solution? Warm the clay up in hot water? Or softer clay?

Would you try to correct this or do you think its a lost cause?


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## Sawel (Aug 5, 2016)

Framoman said:


> I didn't think about the clay actually, and it was regular clay. What would be the solution? Warm the clay up in hot water? Or softer clay?
> 
> Would you try to correct this or do you think its a lost cause?


In winter, you should be using clay which is classified as 'soft' because in cold temperatures it will be quite a bit firmer. In summer, the firmer clay will soften.










It's not a lost cause. However, you will need a lot of patience to remove even light scratches from glass with something like a CarPro Rayon pad with ceriglass. The product needs to be spritzed with water a lot to keep it active and needs to be worked a lot longer than a normal polish. It can and probably will leave behind it's own light marks in the glass which can then be removed with a finishing pad and ceriglass.


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Framoman said:


> The one thing to note is that there are _*NO SWIRLS where the wipers do not cover on the screen when wiping*_.


If there are no swirls where the wipers don't wipe the screen and you did clay and polish these areas just the same as the rest of the screen then I can't see how you caused the swirling. The swirling would need to be all over the screen and not just the swept area if you had caused it through cloying or polishing.

However, you will need to polish with a rayon pad and Ceri glass, as said above, it you want to lessen the swirling. A rotary will correct the glass quicker than a DA but you will need to keep checking the temperature of the glass and not let it heat up to any great extent.

Also be careful not to polish too heavily to chase out deeper scratches because you may suffer distorted vision in those areas after heavy polishing.

Alan W


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

why not take the car to a Pro detailer and ask them, 
without Seeing it we all are best guessing, 

it Could be that the sealant on the screen is causing it rather than the prep


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## polt (Oct 18, 2011)

andy__d said:


> why not take the car to a Pro detailer and ask them,
> without Seeing it we all are best guessing,
> 
> it Could be that the sealant on the screen is causing it rather than the prep


That's what I was thinking as instructions are to apply g1 with small circular motions. Going by the description of what he is seeing. Might be as simple as that. However for polishing glass and I have only done it once on an old Ford focus with ceriglass and carpro rayon pads and worked well, not brilliant as i am pretty much entry level.


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=418059


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

andy__d said:


> without Seeing it we all are best guessing,


Ok, so I've managed to get a semi-decent view of these scratches on Asda carpark of all places, here's the link:


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

Alan W said:


> If there are no swirls where the wipers don't wipe the screen and you did clay and polish these areas just the same as the rest of the screen then I can't see how you caused the swirling. The swirling would need to be all over the screen and not just the swept area if you had caused it through cloying or polishing.
> 
> However, you will need to polish with a rayon pad and Ceri glass, as said above, it you want to lessen the swirling. A rotary will correct the glass quicker than a DA but you will need to keep checking the temperature of the glass and not let it heat up to any great extent.
> 
> ...


That's what I thought, it's strange that it's not in the top left, however I suppose I did brush out my pad between each quarter so may have dislodged the grit for that last section.

Thanks for the advice. 



polt said:


> That's what I was thinking as instructions are to apply g1 with small circular motions. Going by the description of what he is seeing. Might be as simple as that. However for polishing glass and I have only done it once on an old Ford focus with ceriglass and carpro rayon pads and worked well, not brilliant as i am pretty much entry level.


Cheers for the advice, video link above of swirl marks that I have managed to capture.


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## polt (Oct 18, 2011)

Yeah video seems to show scratches in a larger circumference than you would use for putting product on. More consistent with rotation of polisher. Try using ceriglass and rayon pad. It will obviously remove the g1 but hopefully will recover a better windscreen view. 
How big is the chip in windscreen? Do you have windscreen replacement on insurance? Might be worth checking with the chip and scratches it might be worth considering if you cannot get them out.


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

polt said:


> Yeah video seems to show scratches in a larger circumference than you would use for putting product on. More consistent with rotation of polisher. Try using ceriglass and rayon pad. It will obviously remove the g1 but hopefully will recover a better windscreen view.
> How big is the chip in windscreen? Do you have windscreen replacement on insurance? Might be worth checking with the chip and scratches it might be worth considering if you cannot get them out.


There are a couple of chips, however they were assessed by a repair company not long after I got the car and were deemed repairable. However, the glue has fallen out of them now anyway. I do have windscreen replacement on insurance but it think they would just try to repair it again as it doesn't fit the criteria for replacement, unfortunately.


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## garage_dweller (Apr 10, 2018)

If you've got an icy windscreen I'd suggest pouring some boiling water on the screen, that should help things along 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mikesphotaes (Jul 24, 2016)

garage_dweller said:


> If you've got an icy windscreen I'd suggest pouring some boiling water on the screen, that should help things along
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Certainly the way to get a new windscreen, otherwise warm water is better or deicer spray.


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## Framoman (Feb 24, 2020)

Mikesphotaes said:


> Certainly the way to get a new windscreen, otherwise warm water is better or deicer spray.


I didn't get it for a second and was like is this a wind up hahaha



garage_dweller said:


> If you've got an icy windscreen I'd suggest pouring some boiling water on the screen, that should help things along
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You naughty man hahaha


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