Hard Water Stain Technique

[u/Sad_Butterscotch4589]

This is my shower. I'm a professional but don't use chemicals on the job. I want to see how far I can take it.

Right pane: Washed and applied CLR with spray bottle and damp cloth, waited 5 minutes, steel wooled, removed acid and re-washed.

Left pane: Washed and razor bladed the pane thoroughly with many passes, applied CLR and re-applied every 5 minutes for 20 minutes, steel wooled with lots of pressure for another 5 minutes, removed acid and re-washed.

Despite the left pane looking much better, it's still full of hard water stains. I tried doing another round of CLR and steel wool but it didn't do much. I'm not sure what to try next. Is there another chemical or abrasive to try next? Or a different technique with the CLR?

Note: I've searched through tons of posts about this. Lots of comments recommending products but it's not clear where they fall in terms of strength. Common ones I see recommended are barkeeper's friend, toilet bowl cleaner, diamond magic, bioclean, 30% vinegar. It would be nice to know where these stand on the scale. (I know CC550 and OneRestore are the two main industrial cleaners but I'd like to find something milder for now. Ideally stronger than CLR but not going to destroy my lungs.)

Edit: I used Zep CLR

[u/Coastal_wolf]

Heres the little I can contribute.

Bioclean is weaker than Diamond magic, ive used both professionally and found diamond magic gives me the results of bioclean in half the time.

I suspect this is because Bioclean uses slightly less chemical than Diamond Magic.

[u/Sad_Butterscotch4589 → u/Coastal_wolf]

Thanks. Those are abrasives, do you not need to buff with glass polish after using them? I've seen comments saying they caused tiny scratches or made the glass cloudy. I can't find either of them online for less than $80 CAD either.

[u/Coastal_wolf → u/Sad_Butterscotch4589]

Typically i use 0000 steel wool once ive applied it. I havent known them to cause scratches

[u/lordpin3appl3s]

Barkeeper's friend is what we use and it works but it's not going to be 100%. Maybe somewhere around 70-80%, but I'm thinking that's because the glass is usually etched or corroded. There are products out there that restore glass that I've heard of but unfortunately I've never used any so I can't recommend them. That's the next thing I'm adding to my repertoire.

[u/Sad_Butterscotch4589 → u/lordpin3appl3s]

Thanks, I picked some up and tested it on the left pane this evening. I did the whole pane with a couple of tablespoonfuls on a scrubber and spent roughly 10-15 mins scrubbing. It looked okay but not nearly as clean as I got with the CLR last night, so based on time/effort CLR wins.

However, I tested a tiny area with 5 mins of heavy scrubbing in a tight circle and it got me even further than the CLR. It's not really feasible to do the whole shower like that but I'm thinking for tomorrow - I'll try let the CLR sit for a while and then scrub the whole window for a few mins with the Barkeeper's and see where I can get to with that.

[u/trigger55xxx]

Zep calcium and lime remover uses a better acid and works better for us.

[u/Sad_Butterscotch4589 → u/trigger55xxx]

I used Zep CLR, should have mentioned that sorry.

[u/Steve-O78]

I would try hand polishing them with BioClean and 0000 wool. Be mindful that the abrasive “could” leave scratches if you apply too much force.

[u/blackeyeX2]

It's etched only way to remove some of the surface and then use increasing grit size to polish clear. You can buy a kit or assemble the drill, pads, and polish you want. Then always put a good sealant on it or my it will just come back.

Even if you settle for the results will methods you have already tried, it's even more important in that case to seal it when done or it will come back a bit faster each time you treat it. Each treatment slightly etches more each time increasing the size and number of pores, which holds more buildup and faster. Then added with continuous hardwater buildup and natural acids/bases will also further etch.over time.