Clear vision with caravan windows
Chris Hogan, 9th June 2014, Caravan
Plastic windows are great for caravans - they're difficult to break and a lot lighter than glass, but there is a drawback - they can start to look clouded after a few years. Whether you have a static or touring caravan, keeping windows bright and clear will help the resale value.
How does this happen?
There are two main reasons behind this. The first is that acrylic scratches quite easily and over time all those little scratches mount up and start to obscure vision. The scratches can be caused by all sorts of things - passing tree branches, flapping covers, cleaning too vigorously and many others.
The second cause is the sun - it can create microscopic splits in the surface of the window which over a number of years accumulate and produce the same effect. This sometimes explains why some windows are worse than others.
The clingfilm dilemma
Some caravanners put clingfilm on their windows to prevent scratches from flapping covers, but caravan forums have a number of discussions about the possible damage that can cause. It's believed that the petrochemicals in the clingfilm react with the window surface to cause crazing so it's probably a practice best avoided.
Careful cleaning
Whether your windows are clouded or not, wash them very carefully, preferably with a hose at first, to gently chase off loose dirt and grit - try not to drag dirt across the surface of a window. A lot of caravanners like using a Hydra Blade - a flexible, soft wiping blade which follows the contours of vehicles and pushes water away quickly - they can be bought online and Autoglym do their own version too.
Once the dirt is off, rub gently with a soft cloth and a proprietary cleaner but make sure it's suitable for acrylic plastic windows - household glass cleaners can damage the surface of a plastic window and anything with a solvent in it is a definite no-no.
Products like Autoglym's Fast Glass, Mudbuster Glass & Acrylic Window Cleaner and Blue Diamond Acrylic Glass Cleaner are the names that crop up frequently in discussions. Many caravanners say that micro-fibre cloths are very good for cleaning windows but otherwise natural materials are better than man-made ones.
Combating scratches
Window scratches can be ground out if they are not too deep, using a mild abrasive.
For light scratching there are a number of acrylic glazing cleaners that double as scratch removers. Xerapol, Mer and Fenwicks Windowize all get good mentions in the forums.
For deeper, isolated scratches some people recommend wet and dry sandpaper, starting at 600 grade and going though 800 to 1200 before moving to a paste. Be gentle with the rubbing and go in small circles, not along the scratch - this will leave a groove.
Cutting compounds
For lots of smaller scratches or general cloudiness it's better to skip the sandpaper stage and just use a mild abrasive paste. There are numerous products favoured - T-Cut, Solvol Autosol, Brasso, Goddards brass cleaner, even toothpaste are proposed by caravanners. Apply with a soft cloth and rub gently, again in circles,
There are also complete kits on the market for restoring acrylic windows, complete with cloths, pads and instructions, which might be a better bet if you've not done this before. Xerapol, Dometic and Quixx all do them, to name just a few.
Different strategies
The rub down techniques are different depending on whether you have a few noticeable scratches or overall crazing. For separate scratches it's better to go over each scratch using a circular motion, although the amount of rubbing needed to clear very deep scratches isn't worth doing- the plastic can get too thin and distort, which can look just as bad.
If you have a general cloudy effect then it's better to polish the whole window. Wash and dry the window first then start rubbing with your chosen compound. To make this easier you can use a rotary drill and soft pad but it's VITAL that it's done slowly and gently.
If you go too fast the plastic can heat up and distort, and if you press too hard you will end up with an uneven finish, which might look just as bad as the scratches.
Finishing off
Once you've finished rubbing down, wash the residue off gently and dry with a soft cloth. This should allow you to see the results. If you've still got some of the deeper scratches left you can try again, but be wary of removing too much acrylic, as mentioned earlier.
A couple of final points worth mentioning - the first is that these techniques work on modern car headlamp covers too. Also YouTube is an excellent place to look for demonstrations of these techniques to get a bit more confidence that they'll actually work.
Tell us what you think
So that's our take on clear windows but, as ever, if we've missed your favourite tip drop us a line and we can do a follow-up article.
Here's hoping everyone has a great summer!
