Spider Rear Window Fix

I had the same problem on my 355 spider and I had tremendous luck with Griots Plastic Cleaner

 

try normal car polish. that should work

Martin

 

I'll give it a try also.

 

Try Plexus Plastic cleaner. Works great on the boat.

 

Meguiars makes a plexi cleaner too. Use it alot on the rear windows of my old corvettes. Don't get any on the fabric...hard to get out.

 

Most plastic cleaners are nothing but repackaged Novus. Look up Novus, they make three different versions.

 

Have been using these products for awhile - they work great
http://www.janvil.com/

 

As some of you know, I just got a 2006 F430 Spider with 1000 miles on her. She's in absolutely excellent condition, but.... the rear plastic window had some fog or a film dirt of some kind on her and was a little hard to see out of.

I went to the garage and dug out some plastic cleaner and tried to clean the window with NO success. So I went up to AutoZone and bought some Blue Magic plastic and plexiglass cleaner and ran home to see how it would do. Hmmm... didn't DO anything!

Great... just great. In a panic, I started looking on the shelves for something that might work and prevent the hyper ventilation that was starting to set in!

I stumbled across a green bottle of Turtle Wax EXTREME Cleaner and Wax. Just tried using a dab in the corner of the window and low and behold, EXTREME MAKEOVER!!! Worked perfect! I did several 6" x 8" areas until the window was as good as new. I'm guessing being a wax product of some kind, that the Turtle Wax will also possibly hinder dirt and whatever else that tries to stick to the window.

One problem I did have though was trying to clean the window from the inside. The glass or plastic wind diffuser panel was impossible to get my arm or hand over! I had to have my girlfriend get her small hands in there cause if I would have tried, I probably would have never got my arm back out! Hope this little tip helps somebody out there! Mags

 

nice, but we need before and after pics

 

Uhhhh.... I can show you the after pics but the before is gonna be tough. The window is extra clean now. I can throw some mud on it and fake the dirt! Mags

 

Actually, we need pictures of your girlfriend, not the back window.

 

I had a porsche cab a while ago and purchased the plastic rear window cleaner from them. Well a long time has passed and there really is not anyone that sells the plastic window cleaner from the parts department.

So I purchased the cleaner from Porsche and used it on the Ferrari. Works great. I figured if Porsche sells it in the parts department, they must feel comfortable with the product.

No issues so far !!! : )

 

Just an FYI , but the plastic diffuser is removeable . I believe it has 2 allan bolts that secure the diffuser in place . My spider backlite also gets a film on it as well . Thanks for the product recommendation .

 

yello430, You are right on! My girlfriend noticed those screws when she was cleaning the window from the inside. I wonder how bad the wind is with the diffuser removed? I guess out of curiosity, I'm gonna have to give it a try! Mags

 

Although I have a 360 spider, I NEVER drive with the center wind diffuser installed. I do not like the way the images appear in the rear view mirror.
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Slightly off topic, but :

Has anyone ever found a source for the black screen material used for the wind diffuser or roll bar inserts ?

Regards,

Stew

 

I've got a 98 355 Spider. The rear window is in good shape but has a couple of scuffs from being folded. I've slowly been going through the car to make it as perfect as possible and I'd like to look at getting this fixed over the winter while the car is tucked away. I assume the only way to fix this is to replace it.

Has anyone gone through the process of replacing the rear window? If so, who replaced it and how hard was it? I'm not sure where to even start. Upholstery shop? Did you remove the top yourself and take it to them? How expensive?

 

Take it to a professional shop specializing in tops they will have to remove the top to replace the plastic which in most cases is generic.

Do not attempt yourself

 

Monte--You may get some better/specific answers in the 355 section--I am sure someone in there has dealt with this before

 

I had a detail shop polish mine up and it came out 95% as new, much better than I was expecting. But it's just a 348, you may need the more expensive replacement option

 

I have seen people polish them up pretty well to make them look better. That is always an option. This aviation clear plastic polish is the best http://www.skygeek.com/novus-combo.html - I have seen it used before on convertible top windows and it really does a good job.

Sometimes the scratches are just too deep. In that case I suggest going to a convertible top repair place. You def dont want to take chances with the Uber-Expensive top.

Monte if I remember right you live in the Northern VA area. I used to work at FOW. A good upholstery shop in the area is Craftsman Upholstery.

 

As I posted in the 355 forum:

I might recommend using some scratch remover first. There's some good stuff I get from Tap Plastics called Novus 1,2, and 3. 3 different bottles for rough to fine scratches. It takes some serious rubbing but it will work. I use it on my acrylic saltwater fish tank and it looks good as new. May be worth a try.