7

Reason: Hazy film that caused the windshield to fog up no matter what no matter the weather and was resistant to gasoline, window cleaner, rubbing alcohol, vinegar (did not try all at the same time).

Expectations: Either a perfectly clean windshield or a shattered windshield (never having applied to glass before, I didn't know what to expect)

Precautions: Car, in the garage. Opened both garage doors, both car doors, both garage windows, turned on a fan, put on a P95 mask which I didn't figure would do much.

Application method: Place folded rag to mouth of bottle, let soak in a bit, immediately cap the bottle. Applied evenly and quickly in both directions (horizontal and vertical) with slight pressure for a "scrubbing" motion.

Exposure Time: less than 5 minutes.

Results:

  1. The windshield is so clean it grips the microfiber cloth. Like to the point you have to use actual muscle to push the cloth across it to buff out the streaks. Out of curiosity, applied to rear view mirror and I've never seen it so clean. Mission success.

  2. Barely smelled the chemical but could still catch a faint smell through the mask.

  3. Didn't matter, fumes still got me. Ears ringing, mouth watering, slight tingling.

Conclusion: If you're looking for something to strip glass of all the dirt and grime that's on it, this is the way to go. Just don't be surprised when you get close to passing out quickly.

Post-operation: This stuff is getting put in my workshop and getting forgotten about until there's something I need perfectly clean and I can do it outside.

**Reason**: Hazy film that caused the windshield to fog up no matter what no matter the weather and was resistant to gasoline, window cleaner, rubbing alcohol, vinegar (did not try all at the same time). **Expectations**: Either a perfectly clean windshield or a shattered windshield (never having applied to glass before, I didn't know what to expect) **Precautions**: Car, in the garage. Opened both garage doors, both car doors, both garage windows, turned on a fan, put on a P95 mask which I didn't figure would do much. **Application method**: Place folded rag to mouth of bottle, let soak in a bit, immediately cap the bottle. Applied evenly and quickly in both directions (horizontal and vertical) with slight pressure for a "scrubbing" motion. **Exposure Time**: less than 5 minutes. **Results**: 1. The windshield is so clean it grips the microfiber cloth. Like to the point you have to use actual muscle to push the cloth across it to buff out the streaks. Out of curiosity, applied to rear view mirror and I've never seen it so clean. Mission success. 2. Barely smelled the chemical but could still catch a faint smell through the mask. 3. Didn't matter, fumes still got me. Ears ringing, mouth watering, slight tingling. **Conclusion**: If you're looking for something to strip glass of all the dirt and grime that's on it, this is the way to go. Just don't be surprised when you get close to passing out quickly. **Post-operation**: This stuff is getting put in my workshop and getting forgotten about until there's something I need perfectly clean and I can do it outside.

20 comments

[–] CDanger 1 points (+1|-0)

The wikipedia article for this was a fascinating read. Apparently this can/has been be used and resulted in

  • anasthetic for childbirth
  • cleaning rocket engines
  • intoxication similar to alcohol
  • groundwater contamination
  • cancer

Good stuff. Maybe your house can be declared a Superfund site if you spill a bunch of it.

Somewhere in my inheritance (read: mom's house) is about a half a liter of mercury. I think maybe I need to combine the two and dump it at the end of my driveway.

Yeah, there's plenty of stuff on the internet about it being used as an anesthetic. Weird.