Lazy man's way to remove water spots - aka non-abrasive pad to attach to drill

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Lazy man's way to remove water spots - aka non-abrasive pad to attach to drill

timmmay

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#265592 29-Jan-2020 20:41

I got a kit to help clean water spots off glass - mostly my old car's windows, but if it works well maybe the new car if it needs it, and the shower (which isn't bad). It uses a paste and a non-abrasive pad that you have to rub for quite a while. I wondered if my drill can be used to to that rubbing, saving me some effort. Does anyone know a way to get something like this onto the end of my drill?

I also have a small and 1/3 sheet sander, if that's easier to do.

Here's what the pad looks like.

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#2409887 29-Jan-2020 21:13

Use a orbital sander instead, drill will go too fast at the outside edge and do nothing in the middle. I use a scotchbrite pad on my sander with WD40 to remove rust off things and its probably the most effective non acid way to get things cleaned up I have found.

Richard rich.ms

Smix

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#2409889 29-Jan-2020 21:15

Could you use something like a headlight restoration drill attachment?

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toolpro-toolpro-headlight-polishing-kit/385468.html

timmmay

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#2409896 29-Jan-2020 21:19

richms:

Use a orbital sander instead, drill will go too fast at the outside edge and do nothing in the middle. I use a scotchbrite pad on my sander with WD40 to remove rust off things and its probably the most effective non acid way to get things cleaned up I have found.

I don't have one of those.

Smix:

Could you use something like a headlight restoration drill attachment?

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toolpro-toolpro-headlight-polishing-kit/385468.html

I saw them, not sure. Possibly not abrasive enough.

scuwp

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#2409902 29-Jan-2020 21:25

Lazy mans way = pay a professional to do it.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

JaseNZ

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#2409904 29-Jan-2020 21:27

I got this from aliexpress , Have used them all over the place, Used the finer disc and with toothpaste shower glass came up clear as hell and got rid of all water spots.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32963126151.html?spm=2114.13010708.0.0.3a994c4dDBeNvU

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding : Ice cream man , Ice cream man

richms

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#2409908 29-Jan-2020 21:31

Goes too fast, and friction makes heat and drys compounds out quickly.

Richard rich.ms

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Loismustdye

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#2409909 29-Jan-2020 21:32

Shower glass?
The place we bought had terrible hard water spots on the shower, both from the water in this area of town and because the previous owners had no idea what “cleaning” meant.

Initially the shower tiger thing from wet n forget worked a treat to clear it off to start with (it was almost opaque to start with). Followed that up with barkeepers friend powder on a scouring pad every couple of months to maintain it.
Both aren’t cheap, but worked much better than the various vinegar/citric acid/ crc solutions I found online.

Edit: it didn’t take too much effort or time, I wouldn’t be kind of reluctant using a drill or similar for fear of slipping and shattering the glass

richms

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#2409910 29-Jan-2020 21:33

timmmay:

I don't have one of those.

Also

timmmay:

I also have a small and 1/3 sheet sander, if that's easier to do.

????

Richard rich.ms

richms

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#2409911 29-Jan-2020 21:35

I have this one https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-1-4-sheet-finishing-sander-240w_p00270098 - its noisy, shakes a lot, and the clips are junk on it, but if you get a pad between the surface and the sander and push hard it will show when its starting to shift but changing where the pressure is on it will make it move back or rotate back to position sometimes.

Richard rich.ms

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#2409919 29-Jan-2020 21:55

What is your problem?

Water marks can be various things, positive like soap scum or calcium from hard water or negative etch marking into the glass. Once the glass is etched I doubt that you will get it looking like new again. I've tried cleaning our shower glass when I took the shower screen out to replace the sealant. I used a fine polish from Novus and got the glass looking clean but you could still see the faint outline of the marks. Maybe a progression of polish grades might work but it might cost more in time than new glass.

MadEngineer

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#2409949 29-Jan-2020 23:41

I have this vitroglaze.co.nz

Rinse and wipe and done.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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timmmay

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#2409965 30-Jan-2020 07:08

@richms when you said orbital sander I assume you mean some kind of round sander? I only have a mouse sander that's the shape of an iron, or a 1/3 sheet sander that's flat. Neither of those seem like they're called orbital...

scuwp:

Lazy mans way = pay a professional to do it.

Already bought the kit!

JaseNZ:

I got this from aliexpress , Have used them all over the place, Used the finer disc and with toothpaste shower glass came up clear as hell and got rid of all water spots.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32963126151.html?spm=2114.13010708.0.0.3a994c4dDBeNvU

That could work :)

Bung: What is your problem?

Water marks can be various things, positive like soap scum or calcium from hard water or negative etch marking into the glass. Once the glass is etched I doubt that you will get it looking like new again. I've tried cleaning our shower glass when I took the shower screen out to replace the sealant. I used a fine polish from Novus and got the glass looking clean but you could still see the faint outline of the marks. Maybe a progression of polish grades might work but it might cost more in time than new glass.

Glass on my older car has lots of water spots. Not really a problem but wondered if I could remove them.

MadEngineer: I have this
vitroglaze.co.nz

Rinse and wipe and done.

We have something like that on the shower, but not on the cars. I think the shower one has worn off, it's been about 6-7 years since it was put on.

traderstu

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#2410080 30-Jan-2020 11:17

I've had a bit of experience cleaning water marked glass. Definitely go for an attachment for your drill - the aliexpress one above should be fine. For bigger jobs something like this Ozito sander is good. If you use the right cleaning product you wont have any problems with it drying out. Regardless of the size of the job, it takes a while to do, depending on the type of spots, so a power tool makes it much easier. Use the slow speed.

Only use WHITE pads. Other colours could possibly cause scratching on the glass. If you need more pads go to a specialist cleaners supply outlet - they will confirm this. I don't think you will be able to buy round pads off the shelf. I found that it was cost effective to buy a big floor polishing pad an cut 4 or 5 small circles from it the right size to suit the disc pad.

There are lots of products that say they will clean glass and don't. There are other products that are not designed for cleaning glass that will cause scratching, so be careful. Toughened glass (this is used in your car and your shower) is particularly prone to scratching. Even using the best products does not guarantee complete removal (as someone mentioned above) but you will certainly improve the appearance. Don't over do it. Too much pressure and scrubbing can leave the glass with a hazy appearance.

There are 2 products that I would recommend. Glass Science Glass Scrub used to be available from Repco. This one seems to have been developed specifically for autoglass, but works equally well on flat glass. I can't find it on their website now so you may have to hunt it down. The other one is Restorex. Some good info on their website.I don't want this post to sound like an advertisement, but my experience is that if you don't use the right gear you will either waste your time because what you are using doesn't work, or you will end up damaging your glass because the products you are using are too aggressive.

timmmay

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#2410137 30-Jan-2020 12:50

Thanks Trader Stu. I got C-Thru from Mitre Ten that reviewed well. I'll give it a go on a less important piece of glass on my old car, on a window I don't look out of.

jonathan18

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#2410168 30-Jan-2020 13:22

Please post back here as to how well the product works on your car; I've got spots on my car's windscreen that I'd like to get rid of, but have been unsure of the best product/approach to achieve this, so appreciate you being a guinea pig! How have you decided to apply it?

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