Watermark removal. Optimum vs Meguiars vs Osren

Veloc

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One of those free saturdays without appointment. So decided to conduct a mini experiment.

2 abrasive type polish (Optimum Hyper Polish and Meguiars M205) and 1 chemical based watermark remover (Osren Stain X - professional range) were used. Let the pictures talk.


Common for all cars. The rear windscreen is rich in watermarks. This one has plenty distributed out evenly.



Close up look.



Forgot to snap a picture of how was the windscreen taped up and divided. But below is a sketch.



Extra precaution was exercised by taping up all nearby rubber seals as Stain X is a chemical based watermark remover.



Results from Optimum Hyper Polish on polishing pad. Had to polish twice as the first time did almost nothing to the watermarks. As you can see, the watermarks are significantly reduced although not completely removed.



In case you forgot, this was how it looked like before.



A closer look of the reduced watermarks.



A photo on the border of the untreated and OHP treated side. (Left is untreated, right is treated)



For the Meguiars M205 treated side, these are the pictures. Polished twice as well. Almost same as the Hyper Polish. Not completely removed but significantly reduced (Left side is untreated, right side is treated).



In case you forget, it was like this before.



A close up shot of the untreated-left and treated-right side.



Now the Osren Stain X. This is the professional range Stain X (not to be confused with the consumer range stain X). Being a chemical based remover, one should expect this to be easier to use. Not so. High safety measures are required in using this. Rubber gloves and safety goggles is a must. Contact with skin, eyes, paintwork and rubber trims must be avoided at all cost. At least, that is how we like to do it. Protecting oneself and protecting clients' vehicles are paramount priority.

Stain X was poured onto a cloth and wiped on the glass. Pressure was applied and movement is reasonably fast. A damp wipedown and finally a good rinse completes the process. Pressure is required due to the terrible amount of the watermarks. Fast movements were used to avoid product drying. Thus the tricky part is working around the glass-paint border as there is a risk of rubbing onto the paint by accident.


No trace of any watermark.



Remember before.



A close post-treatment shot.



Take a look at the 50/50 shots



A close up 50/50 shot.



A total view. The whole rear windscreen was then finished flawlessly with Osren Stain X.



Easily, the winner is Osren Stain-X. By a mile! My preferred choice for watermark removal from now on. This is however not recommended for the front windscreen and aged side windows due to its strong concentrated nature.

For consumers and hobbyist, perhaps the regular Stain X will do. It is a toned down version of the professional range. I would expect same amazing results with a little longer working time. But rest assured that it will not inflict severe damage your skin or paintwork should you accidentally spill it.


Just one of the regular experiments we conduct to find out the best available treatment for cars that we do.
Thanks for viewing.
 

KrisMas

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Interesting....very interesting indeed. I've only done the front windscreen of my ride since I received it around a year ago. Main reason is due to the time required to get them done. Would you say this method is faster? (forget about the dangerous part cuz everything is 'dangerous' if you don't learn how to properly handle it).

Anyway, nice catch.
 

Veloc

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Interesting....very interesting indeed. I've only done the front windscreen of my ride since I received it around a year ago. Main reason is due to the time required to get them done. Would you say this method is faster? (forget about the dangerous part cuz everything is 'dangerous' if you don't learn how to properly handle it).

Anyway, nice catch.
Definitely faster. In a class of its own. Requires quite a bit of muscle work though. Got a sore arm after that. I'm not sure if that is the case on all glass or only mine as mine was very bad. I need to put pressure and use fast movements to rub it off.

I won't say it's dangerous. Just that new users need some training on this. That's why Henry offered me the consumer range one initially. Definitely for me, I'll choose this.
 
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KrisMas

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Fast is good....hehehe....Congratulations! You've successfully poisoned me...hahaha....

Oh...one last question. Did you use any special applicator? What's your recommendations?
 

Veloc

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Fast is good....hehehe....Congratulations! You've successfully poisoned me...hahaha....

Oh...one last question. Did you use any special applicator? What's your recommendations?
I didn't use any special applicator. Well the instructions just said a dry cloth. So I used one of my aged MFs. I successfully poisoned you? I was totally sold mysef :rofl:
 

KrisMas

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Well....you poisoning yourself is another story. I don't want to get involve with that....:nurse:
 

Izso

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Hey Veloc, I was gonna do a write up on this. I also had 2 products to compare with but couldn't find a third that was supposed to do the trick.

OHP and M205 isn't meant for windscreen right? Any other type of products that are specifically for windscreen to compare with? I've no idea what stainX is for though.
 

Veloc

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Hey Veloc, I was gonna do a write up on this. I also had 2 products to compare with but couldn't find a third that was supposed to do the trick.

OHP and M205 isn't meant for windscreen right? Any other type of products that are specifically for windscreen to compare with? I've no idea what stainX is for though.
Yeah OHP and M205 is not meant specifically for this. I just compare them because that is what most people use for ease. So actually them not doing the job well is nothing to be ashamed of.

There is another type of product that is quite laborious by using sanding pads. I think somebody here did a writeup on that before. If you need suggestion for more contenders, maybe can ask other detailers here as I only put these 3 in because I have them.
 

KrisMas

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Izso, you can try Soft99 RainZ. It's a compound for cleaning glass, I think it's both a chemical and mechanical 'cleaner'. It's working is much like normal compound/polish for paintwork. It's been working great for me in removing heavy (not etched yet) water marks on glass and I just bought another bottle of it from Autobacs a few days ago before I saw Veloc's post....^$£*(* you Veloc...you should have posted earlier la....hahahah.....

Oh...and the other stuff Veloc was taking about is another product from the same supplier, it's not liquid but in powder form where you need to mix it with water....contain cerium oxide...
 
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Izso

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Izso, you can try Soft99 RainZ. It's a compound for cleaning glass, I think it's both a chemical and mechanical 'cleaner'. It's working is much like normal compound/polish for paintwork. It's been working great for me in removing heavy (not etched yet) water marks on glass and I just bought another bottle of it from Autobacs a few days ago before I saw Veloc's post....^$£*(* you Veloc...you should have posted earlier la....hahahah.....

Oh...and the other stuff Veloc was taking about is another product from the same supplier, it's not liquid but in powder form where you need to mix it with water....contain cerium oxide...
I've seen RainZ around. It's kinda expensive for the average joe who isn't a detailer. I'm trying to do this el-cheapo style so we'll see how. How much was Autobacs selling it for?

As for the other detailer products, way outta my league!
 

KrisMas

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I think I bought it for RM34. Yeah....you're right though. Only us people here are crazy enough to spend such money on such a small bottle of product.

Al-cheapo style...hrrmm...I've been meaning to try something but just wasn't been able to come to it. Superfine 3M sanding sponge (RM4) with a normal abrasive polish....want to be a guinea pig?
 

eohl79

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Veloc, you are a chemical guy. Why not try different acids at various concentrations to see if you can dissolve mineral deposits on the glass. Would love to see if white vinegar works in your case. You should also try hyper compound and/or M101/M105 instead rather than polishes. I tried LC purple foamed wool and opti compound II which reduced severe watermarks but not remove it completely.
 

Veloc

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Veloc, you are a chemical guy. Why not try different acids at various concentrations to see if you can dissolve mineral deposits on the glass. Would love to see if white vinegar works in your case. You should also try hyper compound and/or M101/M105 instead rather than polishes. I tried LC purple foamed wool and opti compound II which reduced severe watermarks but not remove it completely.
Different acids - As for vinegar, I expect that it wouldn't work as effective due to it being a weak organic acid instead of mineral acid. It might work, but will take a lot more effort and time. Just an educated guess.

Different concentration - Somehow I feel that Osren had a good balance between strength and effectiveness. Because when I apply the remover on, I hear mineral dissolving sound (like pssssh...). Means that it is not something to be messed with. On the other hand, all my other acids are way stronger than Osren's Stain-X. Since Stain-X can do the job, I figured out that there is no need to dig in to my chemical stash for some deadly strong acids.

As for the compound, I wanted to do it at first but I read a review somewhere that compounds can inflicted scratches on glass due to their more aggressive nature. So I skipped this.
 

eohl79

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I hear mineral dissolving sound (like pssssh...)
walaouehhh.... :stoned::adore:
I think I will stick to my method of 3M microfine sanding pad, Osren watermark remover powder, clay lube and doing it by hand. Works for me all the time just need to be easy and gentle. Too risky playing with acids.

On compounds, if you are not using rocks it should be okay :P Try LC orange and OHC instead. Try on a test spot first. I've tested on tempered glass without any problems. If you have $$$ go try CarPro ceriglass hehehe
 
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Veloc

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Too risky playing with acids.
Veloc, you are a chemical guy. Why not try different acids at various concentrations to see if you can dissolve mineral deposits on the glass.
Haha... You ask me to test a few acids but say acids dangerous....

Acids are fine... Little do we know, they are found in many of our daily use things. It's just the type of acids and who uses it. That's why professional range ones are not encouraged unless used by trained personel. Osren has the consumer range one which is safely diluted for novice users.

One reason why I am confident is because I have the MSDS for this product andknow what ype of acid they use. Not convenient to disclose what are the chemical composition, but it is a blend of relatively safe acids.

And that's why I tested it on my own car first to see what effect does it yield. We never take client's car as guinea pigs...

And thanks for the advice for the compound. Should try it some day. The dry powder method too sounds interesting :) and yet quite technical... Got to learn it first!
 
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