[iroblesui]

Anyone have any advice to remove a stubborn etched in hand print? Prior to me buying the car from a BMW dealership they replaced the rear glass and in doing so left behind a nasty hand print.

So far I’ve tried metal polish, clay bar, dawn dish soap, and regular polish and nothing has worked. Thinking about possibly having the glass polished but open to any suggestions lol. This is driving me nuts having to see it alongside the rest of a clean car.

[eff32fl]

Maybe whoever left the hand print had some kind of adhesive on their hand during replacement. Try heating it up a bit then try rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone.

[toxik]

i have glass polish and to me it seems like it mainly refinishes than it repairs, so if you wanted get the surface smoother and have less friction for water or wiper blades… that’s the route i’d go. also in my experience without the proper glass specific polishing pads, you’re not gonna have the polish penetrate the glass well enough.

i previously had wiper stutter issues which i think were cause by oils stuck to my glass, it was hard to find something that worked. I tried a combination of various cleaners, steel wool (0000 grade), clay bar, and eventually glass polish. I think the combination of all of those did the trick but I didn’t have any visible embedded oils like you have. My windshield is also pretty beat up so I didn’t care if any of those processes would damage it, steel wool was the one i was worried about most but i didn’t see any damage on or scratches after using it.

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

Maybe whoever left the hand print had some kind of adhesive on their hand during replacement. Try heating it up a bit then try rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone.

Good idea I will try with goo gone next lol I even tried water spot remover from griots but no luck

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by toxik

i have glass polish and to me it seems like it mainly refinishes than it repairs, so if you wanted get the surface smoother and have less friction for water or wiper blades… that’s the route i’d go. also in my experience without the proper glass specific polishing pads, you’re not gonna have the polish penetrate the glass well enough.

i previously had wiper stutter issues which i think were cause by oils stuck to my glass, it was hard to find something that worked. I tried a combination of various cleaners, steel wool (0000 grade), clay bar, and eventually glass polish. I think the combination of all of those did the trick but I didn’t have any visible embedded oils like you have. My windshield is also pretty beat up so I didn’t care if any of those processes would damage it, steel wool was the one i was worried about most but i didn’t see any damage on or scratches after using it.

I thought about steel wool 0000, did you use anything to lubricate the surface when you used it? Thankfully my windshield is perfect but the rear glass has 3 of these hand prints in various spots almost want to have it replaced at this point even when I clean the window really well it still appears dirty under the light somehow

[keithyo88]

might be worth a try to go back to BMW and ask what they used during install. am guessing they used an adhesive to connect window to car body, and other chemical(s) to clean and/or protect both sides of the glass. another option is to just pay to get that one spot cleaned. I spent a lot of time trying to remove 2 layers of film from inside of rear window, 2004 Benz, steaming, airplane chemicals, everything, and the $200 was really worth it.

[toxik]

Originally Posted by iroblesui

I thought about steel wool 0000, did you use anything to lubricate the surface when you used it? Thankfully my windshield is perfect but the rear glass has 3 of these hand prints in various spots almost want to have it replaced at this point even when I clean the window really well it still appears dirty under the light somehow

i honestly don’t remember if i used lubricant but i don’t think i did. have you tried using a heatgun? i cant imagine the glass is permanently etched with hand prints

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by toxik

i honestly don’t remember if i used lubricant but i don’t think i did. have you tried using a heatgun? i cant imagine the glass is permanently etched with hand prints

Haven’t used a heat gun yet probably don’t help that it’s so damn hot during the summer here in California probably made it even worse if anything

[Billfitz]

Try this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNNW2N24

I use it to polish my windshield every spring, followed with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IX9RJM

[Fredo]

Wanna try Mr Clean Magic Eraser pads?

[iroblesui]

Update: goo gone and rubbing alcohol had no effect at all

Might just throw the whole car away at this point

[ashkanvafaee2]

Maybe the smudge is on the other side? lol

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by ashkanvafaee2

Maybe the smudge is on the other side? lol

Trust me I thought the same thing but it’s on the outside. It’s ontop of the de froster lines

[Fredo]

How about some paint thinner?

[Livetodrive]

Why not just ask the dealer to remove the handprint?

[lllRazorlll]

Originally Posted by toxik

i have glass polish and to me it seems like it mainly refinishes than it repairs, so if you wanted get the surface smoother and have less friction for water or wiper blades… that’s the route i’d go. also in my experience without the proper glass specific polishing pads, you’re not gonna have the polish penetrate the glass well enough.

i previously had wiper stutter issues which i think were cause by oils stuck to my glass, it was hard to find something that worked. I tried a combination of various cleaners, steel wool (0000 grade), clay bar, and eventually glass polish. I think the combination of all of those did the trick but I didn’t have any visible embedded oils like you have. My windshield is also pretty beat up so I didn’t care if any of those processes would damage it, steel wool was the one i was worried about most but i didn’t see any damage on or scratches after using it.

Interesting, on my last car I also had issues with windshield wipers chattering which was pretty annoying. I found that replacing the wipers every so often solved the problem.

I wonder how much of it is attributed to the glass itself. When there's a glare, you can see where the wipers have been, almost like it is etched into the glass. Not sure if this is one of the cost cutting measures implemented on F3X but I saw this on both of my cars. The side glass is also relatively easy to scratch, and I feel like they don't make 'em like they used to, as I also speak from my experience from my E46 days

Also, @iroblesui, what service did you have done at the dealer

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by lllRazorlll

Interesting, on my last car I also had issues with windshield wipers chattering which was pretty annoying. I found that replacing the wipers every so often solved the problem.

I wonder how much of it is attributed to the glass itself. When there's a glare, you can see where the wipers have been, almost like it is etched into the glass. Not sure if this is one of the cost cutting measures implemented on F3X but I saw this on both of my cars. The side glass is also relatively easy to scratch, and I feel like they don't make 'em like they used to, as I also speak from my experience from my E46 days

Also, @iroblesui, what service did you have done at the dealer

The glass was replaced before I purchased the car, in the maintenance records given to me by the dealer that they completed (oil change, fluid fills, brakes etc) there was a maintenance completed stating the rear defrost was not functional and that they replaced the rear glass and that the defrost was functional afterwards. I would contact the dealer but I purchased the car over 8 months ago and the dealer is 3 hours away so I’m thinking they wouldn’t even bother especially since the glass isn’t OEM for some odd reason

[lllRazorlll]

Originally Posted by iroblesui

The glass was replaced before I purchased the car, in the maintenance records given to me by the dealer that they completed (oil change, fluid fills, brakes etc) there was a maintenance completed stating the rear defrost was not functional and that they replaced the rear glass and that the defrost was functional afterwards. I would contact the dealer but I purchased the car over 8 months ago and the dealer is 3 hours away so I’m thinking they wouldn’t even bother especially since the glass isn’t OEM for some odd reason

Cheaper to buy non-OEM. What if you use a sharp razor and try scraping it? Are you sure it's on the outside? Try cleaning the inside of the window

[iroblesui]

Originally Posted by lllRazorlll

Cheaper to buy non-OEM. What if you use a sharp razor and try scraping it? Are you sure it's on the outside? Try cleaning the inside of the window

I tried a razor and still nothing lol it’s almost like when the glass was manufactured someone stuck their hand on it or something. I tried cleaning the inside of the window even my detailed tried two different times cleaning the inside and had no luck. More than likely gonna try having him polish the glass and see what happens next.