Construction clean up window cleaning - Baked on plastic sheeting

I’ve done a lot of construction clean up the last few years. This is a first for me though. The job house has been in construction for over 5 years. Difficult owner. During the last 5 years the windows have had the protective plastic left on. I’ve tried telling the builder that it needed to come off but they didn’t listen. The plastic is now “baked” onto the glass and comes off in tiny pieces and leaves the adhesive on the glass. This is taking FOREVER to remove. Of course, it’s a cost plus job so I can give them the bill once I’m done. I would like to know if anyone else has run into this and what your methods of removal is. The more time I spend on it the more money I make but I really do not want to spend an hour on every window in this 100 degree heat. I’ve cleaned the 5 larger straight glass windows and each one took approx 1 hour. The remaining windows are all divided light. The home is a monster 10,000 plus square feet with a lot of windows.
Thanks for your suggestions.

Try soaking them with Oil-Flo and covering them with plastic to allow significant dwell time (in the same manner one soaks filmed glass after scoring and soaking with ammonia.)

Then scrape as usual (repeat as requires.)

Oil flow as long as they don’t have wood frames. Let it dwell time it see what happens

heat gun to soften and remove sheeting and then oil flow or other solvent to remove adhesive

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Hi, I’m just wondering if you found a solution to remove the baked on protective film? I have the same problem :sob: I have tried various suggestions to no avail and have been told I’d be better to replace all the windows - which I can’t afford! Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

bump

not your problem, it’s fun to tell builders you messed up buddy, you cant leave that stuff on what were you thinking?

I’ve seen visquine taped up for a couple months with duct tape in the hot summer months and that adhesive being a real bear to remove

there must be other alternative tapes for concrete and stucco guys that doesn’t cause such problems in such a short period of time

It is laziness to leave tape and plastic sheeting on windows and frames for long extended periods of exposure. Along comes the “window cleaner” and he or she is expected to just clean it off and not charge what it is truly worth; it is always easy when someone else does it. Get your worthwhile price or walk away.

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I did some of the windows in a house for the first time in nine years. The window stickers had never been removed on about 6 windows. I spent 30 minutes with Goo Gone and steel wool on each window with a pole. They still had a shadow on them. Could not get nose to glass on them. Did the best I could and walked away. Charged him 200 dollars. Not my fault, and he wouldn’t spend the money to have the whole house done.

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