Help needed removing Aquapel

[Camhabib]

New car and novice detailer here. Thought I was making my life a bit easier by applying Aquapel to the windshield to ease in cleaning and shed some water. Had our first rain shower this past week since applying and things couldn't have turned out worse. Not only does the water not bead up all that well, but now the wipers chatter to the point where they're a safety hazard, leaving more than half the windscreen covered in water, which is not even to mention how maddening the sound is.

I first tried to remove it with some Invisible Glass, which needless to say, made the chattering worse if nothing else. Followed that up by some 100% IPA, then tried 100% MeOH, and then Griots Glass Clay Bar and Fine Glass Polish (by hand), none of which made any difference. I was hesitant to try anything else, like Bon Ami or using glass polish with a DA, but I'm really in need of some help here.

Any suggestions would be massively appreciated.

[Bobby B.]

Try using the glass polish with a DA Polisher. If that doesn't remove it step up to a compound with a DA Polisher.

I always recommend polishing the glass surface first before applying the Aquapel Glass Treatment & Rain Repellent to help remove any contaminants on the surface and let the Aquapel bond properly to the glass surface.

How hold are your windshield wiper blades? Wiper chatter is usually caused by contaminated glass surface, bent wiper arm, or the rubber blades are no longer flexing properly and need to be replaced.

[Dynoguy]

Bon-Ami will not hurt glass, I would try that it has always got my glass very smooth.

[PA DETAILER]

Stoner Glass Stripper (https://www.autogeek.net/stoner-glass-stripper.html)

Get it here or got mine at the local Advanced Auto.

[Camhabib]

Try using the glass polish with a DA Polisher. If that doesn't remove it step up to a compound with a DA Polisher.

I always recommend polishing the glass surface first before applying the Aquapel Glass Treatment & Rain Repellent to help remove any contaminants on the surface and let the Aquapel bond properly to the glass surface.

How hold are your windshield wiper blades? Wiper chatter is usually caused by contaminated glass surface, bent wiper arm, or the rubber blades are no longer flexing properly and need to be replaced.

Thanks for the reply! I don’t have a DA on hand at the moment (usually borrow a friends) but I can certainly swing by and pick it up if you think that’ll have better results than by hand. Any idea on the correct pad to use?

As far as the blades, the car has ~1000 miles on it and the wipers worked perfectly before the Aquapel went on. I’ve cleaned both the blades and windshield several times, which makes me believe it’s something related to the Aquapel specifically, rather than contaminants / fault wipers / etc.

[Camhabib]

Stoner Glass Stripper (https://www.autogeek.net/stoner-glass-stripper.html)

Get it here or got mine at the local Advanced Auto.
I saw this online but wasn't sure how much, if at all, better it was than the Griots stuff I have on hand. Any idea the difference?

[PA DETAILER]

Never used the Griots. The STONER did indeed strip the glass clean.

[Camhabib]

Never used the Griots. The STONER did indeed strip the glass clean.

Appreciate it. Ordered some, I'll give it a shot when it comes in.

[Camhabib]

Update on this saga. Tried the Stoners Glass Stripper and it worked perfectly. You could actually see the Aquapel coming off the glass as I scrubbed. Took a bit of elbow grease but was absolutely worth it.

[Bobby B.]

I'm glad the Stoner Glass Stripper removed the Aquapel Glass Treatment & Rain Repellant for you.

Stoner Glass Stripper (https://www.autogeek.net/stoner-glass-stripper.html)

Aquapel Glass Treatment, Rain Repellent, glass sealant, windshield protectant, Aqua-pel glass wipe (https://www.autogeek.net/rain-repellent.html)

[guy48065]

I'm also not a fan of aquapel. It does seem to improve the clarity of the glass and stay clean longer. But I expected it to improve visibility during rain, like Rain-X. It fails miserably at that .
Not long after application I was driving into a rainstorm and my driver side wiper arm loosened and quit wiping. The rain hitting the windshield wasn't beading at all... In fact it looked rather like an oily film. Visibility through the hard rain was almost nil. Fortunately I only had about 5 mi to get home but it was a white knuckle drive.