AutoDetailing
Chemical Guys Water Spot Remover bleached my mirror
It wasn’t my first time using Chemical Guys Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover, but this time it bleached the edges of my mirror—even though I followed all the instructions.
I just wanted to let you know that it may not be safe for mirrors.
Discussion
That's a bummer, most water spot removers are pretty serious. I ended up ruining the bottom few inches of a window on our house with carpro spotless as I let it sit for too long.
How long was too long? I've had no accidents but now I feel like I need to be more careful with spotless
I'm not sure it was probably two years ago. I knew the risk, especially with residential winds vs auto. It worked on the others though haha, just be very careful with the stuff!
Will do my man thank you for the warning.
some mirrors have a protective layer over the glass and can be easily damaged. The damage pattern is interesting, is that where the most dwell time was before it was removed?
Yes, o think the same. It seems those were the areas with the thickest layer as I used circular motions when applying to the mirror.
To be fair, it did a fabulous job on regular glass - 100% of the spots were gone. I will keep using it there.
even on regular glass like the windshield don't let it dwell for long: spray and wipe. Repeated treatments are much safer.
Do not use this trash. This fucked up my front windshield to where I had to replace the whole thing just because it was so blurry I could not see anything.
damn, did you let it dry? Or try to do the entire windshield at one time?
I diluted a bit and rubbed on my windshield and immediately hit it with pressure washer and it left the same residue/etching as op to where you could barely see enough to drive. This was not while the car was hot and I was in do it yourself carwash so it was in the shade.
Thats crazy, i always speak badly about CG products, I do like their car soaps but that water spot remover has worked pretty well for me so far. It even worked better than steel wool, window polish etc... I used to work in a detail shop where we would use aluminum brightener with water and keep it wet to remove them so I damaged a few cars early on. But now you have me rethinking this chemical guys water spot remover.
I got water spots on a 12 inch touchscreen in my truck and am To afraid to use anything on it.
Warm water on a quality microfiber with a little vinegar should clean it without ruining the screen. Then dry it right away with another microfiber cloth. That's how I clean mine.
Use tablet/laptop cleaners on that.
I am NOT a fan of CG, but this is one of their better working products.
I assume their label doesn't reflect their posted directions on their website?
"Directions: Shake well. The surface must be cool to the touch. Do NOT use it on a hot surface or directly in the sun. Always test on a small, inconspicuous area first. Do not use on mirrors."
Their bottles usually haven't had their most up-to-date directions and disclaimers. I wished their products have QR codes.
Interesting, I thought this stuff was a godsend
It is. The label says to not use it on mirrors.
Side mirrors have an aluminum or silver coating to make the glass reflective. The acid has reacted with the metal coating to produce what you see here. If removing water spots from a mirror in the future, always start with a less aggressive method. Household vinegar would be a slower and much safer option. I own a detailing company and have had to replace a few mirrors from my guys using too aggressive of products on them. You may be able to salvage that mirror by polishing the hazy areas. It won’t make it any worse.
This stuff worked on my windows on a 4Runner and I’m glad I spared my mirrors. I also used it to remove water spots from the plastic roof rack covers and then immediately followed with Premium Black from McGuire’s and quick detailer to stop the reaction according to the instructions.
Please post about the repair so we can learn from your misfortune. Good luck and sorry about the mirrors.
You did that. User error.
IMO they are a marketing company that sells tacky labels, multi colored over priced diluted liquids and silly names.
Get a rag with some compound and remove the water spots that way
I had to replace my whole windshield because of this stuff. Totally my fault. Lesson learned.
I had the bottle leaning against the windshield on a wiper blade, it dripped out the top, completely annihilated a spot on my windshield. Yeah. Sucks
You can just put polish on this btw, same thing happened to me
I threw some meguiar's scratch x on a microfiber and was able to buff out the cloudiness from a side mirror. YMMV
Doesn't vinegar work for water spots?
Sure does and a fraction of the cost
How is it with whatever sealants I may have on the clear coat already?
I use Griot’s 3 in 1 ceramic and don’t want that stripped, but also don’t want water spots or my mirrors/glass getting etched.
Sucks that’s why I just polish mine out
Yep had this happen to me as well had to get new side mirrors for my rig
It's called "chemical" guys for a reason. Already sounds like something I don't want to put on my cars.
This is good reminder for folks to to:
Chemical Guys Water Spot Remover contains contains ammonium bifluoride which produces hydrofluoric acid, which will etch silica-based glass (most glass). That is the active ingredient used in dedicated glass-etching agents and commercial chemicals used to 'frost' glass because it produces the HF at a constant/predictable rate. It also has Sulfuric Acid in it. It's a particularly nasty blend of chemicals and I personally would not recommend using it on any car. I have seen many folks ruin their sideview mirrors with it and unfortunately that now includes you. It can also ruin your windows, sunroof glass, etc. There are lots of complaints on these forums and others about permanent damage done by that product.
We really need to do a class action lawsuit. Damn 20 dollar bottle cost me over 300 dollars to replace my glass.
A Glass action lawsuit
That's fucking genius, thank you. :)
Chemicals are very poorly regulated in general, and that goes for household chemicals as well, not just detailing chemicals. Every product from the well known brands has an SDS sheet though, and it's ultimately the customer's responsibility to review that in order to determine what PPE is necessary, as well as safe application. If you're unsure about a particular ingredient, take a second and look it up. I know the reality of the situation is that most customers will just glance at the bottle and carry on, but they do so at their own risk.
Where it gets shadier though is when companies like CG specifically advertise their product as being safe for this or safe for that when it clearly isn't, but I'm sure there is a technicality or fine print disclaimer that allows them to make those claims with impunity. If the bottle says it can be used on a certain surface, of course most people are going to trust it's safe.
At the end of the day it's about knowing what's in the products we use. There are lots of other chemicals we can buy that when used improperly cause problems, such as bleach, and the burden is always going to be on the user to navigate that.
You won’t win because CG likely has disclaimers on their bottles.
What product do you recommend then? Something that actually works on water spots.
Griots water spot remover works well. Read the directions, wear gloves, you'll be fine.
Griot's is the best.
https://preview.redd.it/x8vx7l10jqbf1.jpeg?width=1425&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8148afa2f29f6f5958db8fc6c57a131e0a9cde76
So it’s just as toxic🤦♂️😂
Most of the reputable chemical companies make good water spot removers that are safe to use, Gyeon WaterSpot, CarPro Spotless, and Labocosmetica makes a few different ones.
You can also buy car wash shampoos that will safely remove light water spotting such as CarPro Descale, Koch Chemie Rs, Labocosmetica Purifica, etc.
For the most part these products are just lighter, safer acids such as Phosphoric acid along with a blend of alcohol, a surfactant, and water. That type of product will not etch glass under any normal circumstances and is far safer - they are designed for cleaning rather than containing a chemical used specifically for etching.
Carpro reset and descale are GREAT shampoos that will not destroy your finish. I only buy their products now even though they are pricey; they are definitely worth the quality and peace of mind. Chemical guys is pure garbage, I won't even use it on my beater Camry.
CarPro Spotless and Spotless 2.0 are only good if the water spots are 7 minutes old.
I know CG get a lot of flack and it’s a funny trending meme, but they’ve got one of the best water spot removers out there.
EDIT: Oops, I shouldn’t have provided my opinion about products I’ve actually tried, it’s apparently irrelevant to the topic of discussion.
I’ve always just used a vinegar water solution maybe like 1:10 ratio
If glass; cerium oxide and water.
If paint; polish.
Abrasives only eat where you rub them. Skip the acids.
Most OTC car polish is weak stuff that won't damage glass. It's good enough to hand polish light to medium water spotting. I only need cerium oxide for some heavy duty glass correction, which is very rare.
Side mirrors, I'd start off with vinegar. A lot of side mirrors are coating over plastic rather than actual glass
Use a cutting compound and a microfiber pad. If you're really skilled at glass polish, use a rayon pad
DIY Detail water spot remover. Their YouTube channel has videos on how to use it.
Tiny polisher
My uncle washed his cars constantly at least once a week, no joke he used dawn dish soap... It doesn't leave spots and removes grease and tree sap... Plus a bottle lasts forever and it's only like a few bucks.
I'm sure someone on here will know why not to use it but he used it religiously and his cars always looked great.
To say never use any CG product is a little much , I use a number of there product that I like and work very well.
Nobody is saying all their products are dangerous, but many choose to not support a company that has a long history of questionable business practices, especially when there are always much better alternatives for less money. Many of their products are just very poor value and ineffective. They are literally just a marketing company selling you white label generic chemicals with a ~10x markup for their brand, and with little regard for the safety of you or your vehicle. It's also why many of their products are actually the exact same chemical with a color or scent change. That is bottom of the barrel as far as chemicals go, and they are owned by an unrelated investment group solely concerned about profits. The easiest way to discourage that behavior, for those that disagree with it, is to not give them your money and instead give it to actual chemical companies who are passionate about detailing and put an emphasis on quality and safety.
If you like their products then go ahead and keep using them, just know you're paying for 90% brand and 10% generic chemical. If you would prefer a different value proposition, there are many available.
What are the words in your post? 1. Never buy CG products. Your words, not mine so the turnaround and say nobody is saying all their products are dangerous is just spewing BS. There was no sense in reading any further because it’s all just blah blah blah.