Got a 3 story HOA that I have been doing every month for the last year and a half with an ocean view. We did the construction clean on it. So I have been there from the very beginning to present.
Construction clean was done with NO scrapers, oil flowed the entire building on the exteriors. Glass is low-e, side 2.
Heres the problem:
It was brought to my attention that on every window where we use the waterfed poles, about one inch from the bottom frames there is a bunch of spotting all the way across the window.
Its a definite pattern though. I began to notice after it was pointed out though, while washing the windows, that where the window was taped off and the silicone was removed around the perimeter of the glass its extremely hydrophobic and the rest of the window is still hydrophillic.
So I switched over to fan jets, and spent some more time rinsing those areas. NO CHANGE.
I also tried making a second pass after it was dry and just hitting the very bottoms. NO CHANGE.
I also noticed that primarily on the ocean facing side it seems to be worse. So I assumed that it was due to the wind coming in off the water contaminating the beading water on the glass. I had to rule that out because I tested one window on the first floor that was hidden by the wind.
Does this problem ring a bell with anyone? Do any of you deal with something like this? Can anyone tell me why this is happening and what to do about it?
The only thing I can think of is:
Treat the glass and make it hydrophillic again OR
Get nose to glass on that area.
I have a few windows on a couple houses that have similar issues. On one I did the first clean. It had a ton of silicone on the bottom where the problem is. I haven’t really done anything other than do the job and then go back and use my wfp touch up method since it’s still faster than traditional on those windows.
Tony, I ALWAYS do quality control touch ups with your method. Ever since I seen your video, I bought 4 clamps and a ton of spray way. Works PERFECT.
That is, except on these windows. Reason why, the ocean air puts a film on the glass nearly immediately after its cleaned. When I go to touch up with the spray way, it does more harm than good. My client is very vigilant with the quality of the work, its been top notch up til now. They were even asking how much more it would be to ladder up.
Just that West facing side, this side is the most difficult. The sun hits it in the afternoon and reveals all. Even when we do squeegee work on the balconies, it would be absolutely perfect on the quality control check, and then 2 hours later you start to see streaks that just weren’t there before.
Only on the outsides too. When we would go back outside to spray way touch the streaks? Oh boy. Forget it. Gotta do the whole window. What seems to work is to do straight pulls with one pull (squeegee same size as width of glass) and detail the tops only. With only the tops showing some smudge with the marine layer seems to be a whole lot better than streaks in the middle of the pane.
There was a long thread on Masters about this. My theory is the last water to dry is the bottom inch. Because it is pure water it draws the minerals from the frame into the water Sun bakes it on and you have spotting. There is actually a name for this process. Can not remember it. Best remedy is touch up after job with bronze wool
I use the sprayway for touch ups also, but i am a little confused on which version you use Tony. I use the one with a white cap and yours has a colored cap. Are these the same?
What kind of ledges are present under the windows? Brick? Or maybe another type of stone or metal? I’m thinking when you wfp the glass, te dripping pure water from the brush splatter off of the bottom ledge on your final rinse.
What you are experiencing is the beginning of the hard water stain process. The condensation is forming along the bottoms from the AC, temp and humidty cocktail. As moisture makes dirt, soil, Metal Ions cling to the surface, attracting more moisture, dirt, repeat and build up. That is why it is showing more on the Ion-filled spray from the ocean.
Look closely and you can see the scale just starting to form. Light touch with bronze wool or green pad sponge, white pad, some form of mild abrasion to the affected areas as part of a regular maintenance program will help solve the problem…
In redneck english…You gonna have to put the WFP down about once a year and scrub the bejeezers out of the window edges to keep tha scale down
I did think about that. John is dead on though. Not sure if you can make out the ledges from the photos, but even the large miter windows have the same issue.
There is actually no scale at all. It is simply regular wfp spotting. Its hydrophobic on the entire perimeter of the window, like when they were taped off. That sort of pattern. So because of that, I would have to rule out condensation. Am I off on that one? Could it still be what you are describing even if the pattern is on the sides and top too?
Yes. Go by early in the morning on a hot, humid day where AC is running and you will see the pattern. Hard water stain does not start out as white scale, it starts as “shadowy spots” on the glass
Hi, just putting my two cents worth in here. You said it had been taped off around the edges, which had left silicone, and despite removing it, the perimeter remains hydrophobic. It is likely then that the is still silicone on the perimeter of the glass. I was discussing this with Chuck from nanophase the other day, and he mentioned that silicone is very difficult to remove. He said that it takes alot of intense scrubbing with an abrasive cleaner, such as their stain remover and polish, then test it to see if it’s still hydrophobic.
Well I’m just going on the conversation I had with one of nanoultra’s representatives, because I was having some trouble applying their products to one particular window, and he mentioned that if the glass had got any residual silicone on it, either from a previous sealant or a from the window seals around the edges, then it would require more intense scrubbing with their abrasive cleaner. To my knowledge, there can only be two reasons why the glass is hydrophobic, either the glass has a foreign substance on its surface (like silicone residue) or the surface is very rough and porus. I would expect it is the first one. In which case you will need some sort of abrasive glass cleaner. Nanoultra do one type http://www.j**********.com/store/Itemdesc.asp?xCc=fs45b&ic=85-600&eq=&Tp= I’m sure there are other ones available, but this is the only one I have used. Also, this website contains information on removing rain x which is a silicone based product, it may be of some help.
sorry neither of those links worked. but if you look up nanoultra stain remover and polish, and instructions on removing rain x, you might get some helpful information
I’ve learned this the hard way too. Deck glass and ocean environment equals lots of water to get the haze and lines (if using squeegee) off. SprayWay simply doesn’t have the juice to lift and hold the haze.
Like you said as well, use a big squeegee and do it in one pass if possible.
Also, I WFP the exterior and then take the WFP onto the deck and do the interior as well. Lots of water = no haze, lines or touch ups.
