Soft Top Window Scratched
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh
Thanks for all your input folks. Maybe my post was vague. My fault. I understand that the scratch is there for good. I meant to ask if there was a product to resist the crud build up from various road grime? Like a rain-ex type product for plastic windows. Sorry for the confusion.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Rhode Island
When I had a soft top on my old Jeep, I had the deep-tinted soft top windows. The dark plastic showed everything including trillions of tiny, hairline scratches and much deeper ones from washing and other crud.
I always found keeping a good coat of wax (not the cleaning waxes) kept them looking good. After a wash, get a clean wax pad, a little wax and shine 'em up. Gentle vertical motion with the wax pad. If you take it off with a microfiber and use vertical motion (up/down), they'll look almost new again. I stress the vertical motion because vertical scratching goes mostly unseen because of how we see refracted and reflected light. Same for the clear...I had those before the deep tinted ones, wax worked great.
The wax also helps lower the adhesion of salt and other crud from driving around on wet/snowy roads.
Someone here mentioned using Pledge. It's a similar concept because there are waxes and oils in Pledge as well that harden and fill into the hairline scratches. I can only guess it's an acceptable use for it, the only downside being that your Jeep might smell like Grandma's dining room table.
I always found keeping a good coat of wax (not the cleaning waxes) kept them looking good. After a wash, get a clean wax pad, a little wax and shine 'em up. Gentle vertical motion with the wax pad. If you take it off with a microfiber and use vertical motion (up/down), they'll look almost new again. I stress the vertical motion because vertical scratching goes mostly unseen because of how we see refracted and reflected light. Same for the clear...I had those before the deep tinted ones, wax worked great.
The wax also helps lower the adhesion of salt and other crud from driving around on wet/snowy roads.
Someone here mentioned using Pledge. It's a similar concept because there are waxes and oils in Pledge as well that harden and fill into the hairline scratches. I can only guess it's an acceptable use for it, the only downside being that your Jeep might smell like Grandma's dining room table.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 7
From: United States
The other issue, particularly with plastic rear windows in Jeeps is the airstream that the shape of the Jeep kicks back AT the rear of the Jeep. After a while, the rear window itself will feel gritty and water will no longer bead up on the surface of the window even after being washed. There's a lot of stuff that's stuck into the plastic that needs to be taken out.
A claybar will clean it up, but extra care and caution (and lubrication) is required since you're claying on plastic.
Once that's all done, following up with wax like I stated in my previous post is important. The wax will make the surface super-slick, water will bead up (Just like Rain-x!), and it will be harder for dirt and grit to bind with the surface of the window.