Deet stain removal?

[Complete Turf Care]

Down here in South Louisiana, we have lots of mosquitoes so we use lots of 'deet' repellent. Deet seems to leave permanent stains on glass and plastic such as a watch face, or eyeglasses.

Someone must have sprayed some on the inside of my truck windshield and now I can't get it off. Does anyone know of a way to clean this mess up? Or will I have to change my windshield?

I've tried Windex and several other window cleaners and nothing has worked.

 

[Tollster]

You could try muratic acid on a clean cotton cloth.. Its used to etch concrete or clean concrete... I use it on my woodstove glass to remove the creosote, its a wipe on wipe off.. wear gloves is ya want, of not, don't expose your skin to it for long or you'll feel it, also wear safety glasses when the jugs open..

I know it may sound aggressive if ya haven't used it before.. but it comes in handy from time to time, and won't damage glass..

I have also polished the plastic watch faces on timex watches using talcum powder and alcohol, mostly to remove scratches.. fold up a cotton cloth, douche with alcohol, then lightly spring some baby powder on the cloth, then start wiping aggressively, don't let it dry.. the small powder crystals actually cut the plastic.. as far as glasses are concerned... ya may want to try it on a pair of safety glasses first as it may leave fine scratches that would appear when the light refracts off the scratch.. The watch face will fine though as the scratches are so fine they are not noticed.. Glasses may be a different story since they are on your face all day, and at different angle to the light.

 

[kenmac]

Have you tried brake parts cleaner ? I have gotten grease/oil on my windshield, and have used brake cleaner to remove it

 

[Cpjlube]

Before you try chemicals, try and clay bar the inside windshield. I have pulled a lot of weird stuff off glass with a clay bar.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Thanks for the replies. I will start with the clay bar and go from there.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Down here in South Louisiana, we have lots of mosquitoes so we use lots of 'deet' repellent. Deet seems to leave permanent stains on glass and plastic such as a watch face, or eyeglasses.

Someone must have sprayed some on the inside of my truck windshield and now I can't get it off. Does anyone know of a way to clean this mess up? Or will I have to change my windshield?

I've tried Windex and several other window cleaners and nothing has worked.

Just a thought here, but what if the stain is on the OUTSIDE of the window and your cleaning the INSIDE. Don't laugh I've done that.

 

[dave1949]

I would try some warm water and Dawn dish soap. I think you are cleaning off the inert oily stuff that holds the DEET on you.

Windex won't clean itself off glass. :laughing: Really.

 

[PILOON]

Assuming it stains then a solvent would be the answer. Start with mild and work your way up to short of acids. Don't laugh but WD 40 might even work.
Oven cleaner could do the trick. (I clean my fireplace glass frequently with no ill effects)

Then move on to abrasives with the mildest being toothpaste onto fine rubbing compound.
Example is clearing away that yellowish tint on headlights with fine rubbing compound.(I do this often on some headlights)

I know that very fine steel wool is frequently used on windshields to clear up salt pitting and tough sticky stuff. Steel wool wont actually scratch glass but is more aggressive than rubbing compounds.

If in doubt test in a corner where vision is not affected.

 

[dave1949]

A damp cloth lightly dipped in fine wood ashes makes a good cleaner. That's how we clean our wood stove door glass.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Spots on glass might be removed, but if you get DEET mosquito repellant on plastic, it melts it so your Timex watch face might be permanently fogged. I was working on some trailer wiring once and using DEET and started noticing the wires getting sticky. The DEET was melting the plastic insulation.

Mosquito repellant makes an excellent spray paint remover also. I used to use it to remove the spray painted on numbers on my company truck (when we were allowed to). It works better than acetone and one application doesn't bother the finish on an automobile.