Buffing the Spots Away

This update tackles a problem that surfaced on my recently purchased 2008 Honda Pilot, but it should apply to any car. The windows, particularly the back windows with factory tint, were badly spotted. These spots, noticeable primarily in sunlight, didn't disappear when using some liquid products designed to remove various deposits. This led me to believe the spots were perhaps the result of acid rain.

Bar Keepers Friend and my old pal, the 6" orbital polisher.

I searched online and found plenty of advice including using extra fine steel wool (not worth the risk) to remove the spots. There were also some special glass polishers as well, but they were pricey for a product I'd seldom use. I decided to try Bar Keepers Friend (BKF) Liquid—not the powder—which I already had. It was recommended on the BKF website for this task.

I applied the BKF to a clean side window with my polisher and spent about 5 minutes slowly going over the glass. I did not treat the windshield, because I didn't want to get the BKF in all the microscopic chips. I also didn't do the side mirrors, since they might scratch more easily than the glass windows.

BEFORE: These spots wouldn't clean off with anything, or so I thought.

DURING: I spent a couple minutes on the task by this point and saw an improvement.

AFTER: I spent a few more minutes with the polisher and ended up with this.

Overall, this was an easy task and the glass looks great again.

Mentioned in this post:

Shiny Happy Trim: Part II

I received my refinished OE windshield trim from Stainless Trim Works a few weeks ago and it is installed on the car.

I think it really looks great and I'm glad I used the thicker, better quality OE pieces. Of course, the cost to refinish is high since there's so much time involved in the refinishing process. STW did a great job though (and my pix don't come close to doing justice to these pieces.)

Shiny Happy Trim

I bought repro window trim for the front and rear glass. The trim was installed last year and frankly it fit fine.



But all the trim will have to come off to reseal the front and rear glass because they are leaking. So I started thinking that I would send out the original trim to have it straightened and polished...



The original trim is thicker, stronger, doesn't have sharp edges, and it clearly fits better, particularly around the corners and the curves of the window openings.



The original trim is also original Ford stuff, and it's nice to keep the car original if possible for things like this.



I put the original trim in a PVC pipe and shipped it out to Colorado to get straightened and polished, which might take two months. Not sure about the cost, but it was already nearly $50 for the pipe and the shipping! I believe it is at least $15 per foot...



The photos here show the repro corners that I don't really like that much upon close inspection. And the final photo shows the original trim cleaned up and ready to ship in the pipe.

If the Glass Fits...

I hired a pro to install the glass. I paid $125 per windshield for labor. A tip is to keep the old clips. The new clips today are thin and are not springy enough to hold the stainless trim very well. My trim was from Mustangs Unlimited and fit well for repros (but haven't done the front yet.) The seals had Licensed by Ford labels on them and they were good too. The rear shelf is still under construction, but notice that it is metal welded to the frame. In fact the panel behind the rear seat is metal too, for a little fire supression...