# White fog on glass wont clean off VC Encore - 1 week old



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

Hi, I have a VC Encore 2 in 1 that I bought new and have been burning only one week today. I've been burning 24/7 but woke up to the fire out and decided to clean the glass. I cannot get the white foggy stuff
on the lower portions of the glass to clean off no matter what I do. I even tried a razor blade to no avail. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions and if this is normal? Or do I have a warranty claim? Thanks

Jim


----------



## jdp1152 (Jan 5, 2013)

How dirty was the glass before this appeared after cleaning?  I've heard of gunk etching the glass.   I've got a small spot middle top of my glass where the secondary flame always laps when it's cooking.  Kinda annoys me when at the coaling stage and I notice it more


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

It was crystal clear.  It's a new stove.  If it's etched, can it be cleaned?  It's really disappointing that it looks this way.


----------



## ScotO (Jan 5, 2013)

eventually, that 'fog' will happen to the glass, especially where the glass is exposed to the full force heat of glowing coals.  I'm gonna go out on a wire here and say that the natural minerals in firewood is what helps cause that fog.  I have the same 'fog' on the glass of my Napoleon 1900p.  Last summer I had intentions of trying some of that CLR cleaner (calcium, lime, and rust cleaner) that you use in the bathroom....but forgot all about doing it.  You have to remember that the glass on these stoves is not normal glass......it is a ceramic material.  Normal glass would never hold up to the severe heat that the woodstove puts it through.  At any rate, your fogging is more or less normal, I'm betting that most of us have the same thing.


----------



## HollowHill (Jan 5, 2013)

Did you try a mixture of vinegar and water?  That works for my white fog.


----------



## MarkinNC (Jan 5, 2013)

My first year I had "issues" with dirty glass.  A  lot of that was probably related to suboptimal wood.  I kept reading on here about cleaning your glass with the ash of the stove and tried it in year two and it works great. When your stove is cold, say in the morning before you refill, I take a wet paper towel, dip it in the ashes and wipe the inside of the door.  Follow with a dry paper towel to wipe of any residue.  It is a mild abrasive that does not scratch the glass and should take your haze of.  I was skeptical as you may be reading this but I have not used a commercial stove glass cleaner in two years.


----------



## ScotO (Jan 5, 2013)

HollowHill said:


> Did you try a mixture of vinegar and water? That works for my white fog.


 hmmmm, I'll have to try that too.....


----------



## jdp1152 (Jan 5, 2013)

coffeeman said:


> It was crystal clear. It's a new stove. If it's etched, can it be cleaned? It's really disappointing that it looks this way.


 

If it's etched I doubt it (but I also doubt it's etched after a week no matter how bad it got).  Do you clean it daily or did you let get really black in the corners for a week?  I know my glass was difficult to keep clean for the first few weeks, but not I simple wipe down with a wet paper towel in the morning is all it needs, save some of the darker stuff below the ash lip. 

Scotty....I've got some the CLR sitting under the sink.  Not sure I want to be the guinea pig on trying in the glass though!


----------



## ScotO (Jan 5, 2013)

MarkinNC said:


> My first year I had "issues" with dirty glass. A lot of that was probably related to suboptimal wood. I kept reading on here about cleaning your glass with the ash of the stove and tried it in year two and it works great. When your stove is cold, say in the morning before you refill, I take a wet paper towel, dip it in the ashes and wipe the inside of the door. Follow with a dry paper towel to wipe of any residue. It is a mild abrasive that does not scratch the glass and should take your haze of. I was skeptical as you may be reading this but I have not used a commercial stove glass cleaner in two years.


 I've done that to clean off the black glass in the NZ3000 a couple times and it works wonders, but the white hazy stuff I have yet to try it on.  I like to use those magic erasers for cleaning the glass on the stove.  I rarely have to do that now, as all my wood is seasoned 3 or more years.  What a difference that makes!


----------



## PapaDave (Jan 5, 2013)

I am in no way affiliated with this Co., but this works well.
Have you tried dipping a damp paper towel in some ash, then scrubbing the window?


----------



## jdp1152 (Jan 5, 2013)

MarkinNC said:


> My first year I had "issues" with dirty glass. A lot of that was probably related to suboptimal wood. I kept reading on here about cleaning your glass with the ash of the stove and tried it in year two and it works great. When your stove is cold, say in the morning before you refill, I take a wet paper towel, dip it in the ashes and wipe the inside of the door. Follow with a dry paper towel to wipe of any residue. It is a mild abrasive that does not scratch the glass and should take your haze of. I was skeptical as you may be reading this but I have not used a commercial stove glass cleaner in two years.


 
This is what I did initially as well, though I used wet newspaper.  Now I don't need the ash.  Some times I get a small fire going to warm up the glass a bit more if it's colder than usual.


----------



## ScotO (Jan 5, 2013)

jdp1152 said:


> If it's etched I doubt it (but I also doubt it's etched after a week no matter how bad it got). Do you clean it daily or did you let get really black in the corners for a week? I know my glass was difficult to keep clean for the first few weeks, but not I simple wipe down with a wet paper towel in the morning is all it needs, save some of the darker stuff below the ash lip.
> 
> Scotty....I've got some the CLR sitting under the sink. Not sure I want to be the guinea pig on trying in the glass though!


 It shouldn't hurt the glass.....but I'm not putting you in the 'guinea pig' wheel, either.  That stuff is a mild chemical made to get calcium and lime depostits off of ceramic, etc.......so it SHOULDN'T hurt the glass.....

But again, don't try it on just my theory...


----------



## jdp1152 (Jan 5, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> It shouldn't hurt the glass.....but I'm not putting you in the 'guinea pig' wheel, either. That stuff is a mild chemical made to get calcium and lime depostits off of ceramic, etc.......so it SHOULDN'T hurt the glass.....
> 
> But again, don't try it on just my theory...


 
I looked it up on the MSDS. Just mix some water, milk, honey and oxyclean and you've got it!


----------



## slindo (Jan 5, 2013)

Have you been burning it with the ash door open? White fogging is usually caused by etching caused by ash particles being blasted against the glass, and this is greatly accelerated if the ash door is regularly left open to help start a fire. Etching is pretty much non-reversible and treated by replacing the glass. Only thing is, this usually doesn't so quickly, even if you do leave the  ash door open occasionally. So there is some hope it may be something more easily fixed.

However, it may be VC has found another way to cheapen the stove, and is using a softer grade of glass. I'd try the cleaning methods others have suggested already in this thread, and if none of them work, file a warranty claim with the dealer (and if you have been leaving the ash door open, don't volunteer the fact).


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

I tried moist newspaper dipped in the ashes, it only took care of the upper parts of the glass.  I even tried some bar keepers friend for a mild abrasive (that's all I have on hand) and it didn't do anything.  I razor blade seems to get _some_ of it off but that's with ALOT of pressure and it doesn't get it all.  It doesn't seem right.  Most everyone I read on this forum have easy success with the newspaper and ash but that doesn't cut it for what I've got.  It's like it's baked onto the glass.


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

I do leave the ash door open occasionally but only for 5 min or so and only to get the wood going again.  I hope that wasn't it.  I know one time I did and forgot about it for about 10 or 12 min and the stove was really hot (just above 700).  Had I known that I wouldn't have done it.  It's just a lazy way of getting the thing up to temp again for me.


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

jdp1152 said:


> If it's etched I doubt it (but I also doubt it's etched after a week no matter how bad it got). Do you clean it daily or did you let get really black in the corners for a week? I know my glass was difficult to keep clean for the first few weeks, but not I simple wipe down with a wet paper towel in the morning is all it needs, save some of the darker stuff below the ash lip.
> 
> Scotty....I've got some the CLR sitting under the sink. Not sure I want to be the guinea pig on trying in the glass though!


 
I didn't clean it for about 5 days this past week as I kept it going full throttle.  We just love the heat this thing puts out.  It's a great stove and I have no issues with it's performance at all as of yet.  It's just so pretty to look at and the glass is one of the things you expect to enjoy when you pay 3K for a woodburner.


----------



## Corey (Jan 5, 2013)

I get the white fog sometimes, but the ol' wet newspaper dipped in ashes and rubbed on glass does the trick.  If you can't get it off with a razor and/or any of the above tips, it sounds like this may really be a glass issue.  IMHO, anything you burn within any range of temps which don't reduce the stove to a puddle of liquid iron should not really hurt the glass.  I've had logs fall forward against my glass, stove top temps of 900º+ and dozens of cords of hedge wood through my stove and the glass is fine.

A few years ago, someone mentioned their stove came with a warning to the effect of installing the glass with the metalized side out, but they couldn't tell which side that was.  It seems the factory was applying a (nearly transparent) metal coating to the glass to keep heat in the firebox for a more complete burn.  If this coating was installed on the 'fire' side, it would quickly oxidize, so it needed to be out on the 'room' side.  The solution - which reportedly worked -  was to take a volt/ohm/amp meter, set to read resistance, or ohms, and put the probes close together, but not touching on each side of the glass.  The pure glass side was an insulator and read infinite/high resistance, while the metalized side of the glass was conductive and read some low ohm / conductive reading.

So, the bottom line to all this jabber - sometimes glass has a 'right side' and a 'wrong side' to be installed to the fire, this can be detected with a meter capable of reading ohms.  If your stove has this type of glass, and the low ohm / conductive side is on the fire side, that may show the glass was installed wrong and the metalized coating has burnt off leaving a white oxide residue.


----------



## webby3650 (Jan 5, 2013)

If the glass is etched, none of these cleaning tips will do a thing. I would say that leaving the ash pan open for 10 minutes could have done it. That could have done a lot more damage than that. That's why it's such a bad habit to start. If you forget bad things will happen. 

In the future, try an old damp washrag instead of the newspaper. It works way better.


----------



## jatoxico (Jan 5, 2013)

coffeeman said:


> I do leave the ash door open occasionally but only for 5 min or so and only to get the wood going again. I hope that wasn't it. I know one time I did and forgot about it for about 10 or 12 min and the stove was really hot (just above 700). Had I known that I wouldn't have done it. It's just a lazy way of getting the thing up to temp again for me.


 
I'll let someone else with experience with ash doors comment but from what I understand its a major no no and can void your warranty. As far as the glass. As others have pointed out it is a clear ceramic like Neoceram. Easy off oven cleaner has worked very well for me over time and had no adverse effect that I can tell. Don't need it much since my wood is better seasoned and I've improved my burning habits (nod to the boys and girls here ).


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

HollowHill said:


> Did you try a mixture of vinegar and water? That works for my white fog.


 
Yep, no luck.  Will that Rutland glass cleaner be able to do anything that I"ve already tried can't?


----------



## Fire Breathing Dragon (Jan 5, 2013)

Hello, I have the same Encore stove with the same white fogged glass.  The powder ash in the upper parts of the glass clean off easily with water and paper towel however, I can't seem to remove the white fog on the lower part either.  I have not tried any special glass cleaners but would be also interested if anyone has a fix.  Our stove was purchased in Feb of 2012 and like you we want to use it to heat the home and not ready to give it a break long enough to let it cool.  We plan to do a mid year chimney swee later this week on a forecasted warm day so perhaps I can clean it then?  Very good question!


----------



## slindo (Jan 5, 2013)

You can destroy a VC stove pretty quickly by opening the ash door "just to get it started" then getting stuck on the phone or otherwise distracted. VC won't tell you this, other than saying not to burn the stove with door open,  at least, not until you make a warranty claim and they reject it on the grounds you overfired it. So the glass can be  the least of your problems if you leave the ash door open. BTW, the need to leave the ash door open is often an hint that your wood may not be dry enough, or you may not be using enough kindling and splits to get it started right.




coffeeman said:


> I do leave the ash door open occasionally but only for 5 min or so and only to get the wood going again. I hope that wasn't it. I know one time I did and forgot about it for about 10 or 12 min and the stove was really hot (just above 700). Had I known that I wouldn't have done it. It's just a lazy way of getting the thing up to temp again for me.


----------



## DAKSY (Jan 5, 2013)

Fire Breathing Dragon said:


> Hello, I have the same Encore stove with the same white fogged glass. The powder ash in the upper parts of the glass clean off easily with water and paper towel however, I can't seem to remove the white fog on the lower part either. I have not tried any special glass cleaners but would be also interested if anyone has a fix. Our stove was purchased in Feb of 2012 and like you we want to use it to heat the home and not ready to give it a break long enough to let it cool. We plan to do a mid year chimney swee later this week on a forecasted warm day so perhaps I can clean it then? Very good question!


 
As I believe was mentioned above, dip a damp paper towel in the ashes & try rubbing with that. There's enough abrasive in the ashes to remove build-up without damaging the Pyroceram. For stuff that's been on there for a longer time, I've achieved pretty good results by using autobody fine-grit rubbing compound...


----------



## turbocruiser (Jan 5, 2013)

I have a similar spot on my own glass towards the top and exactly at the point the secondary tubes seem to shoot the flames the furthest.  I too have come to the conclusion that it is minerals within the wood that have essentially been blasted onto the glass.  I have tried everything to clean this including the Rutland product posted above. 

Maybe I should list what "everything" is ... I started with damp cotton cloth, then went to the same cotton cloth but with ash, then went to a Rutland cleaner that isn't abrasive at all (forgot the name but it is completely liquid), then went to the Rutland "conditioning cleaner" product posted above which has some silicate or something somewhat abrasive, then I tried using pure beeswax based on a suggestion from someone at Regency.  They all do a wonderful job with the ash, soot and stuff on the glass (I still think the best method is small scrap of cotton cloth damp with water and ash) but none of them touched the "fog spot". 

The one thing perhaps making a minor difference that I just really recently tried is some 3M Fine Cut Cleaner.  I'm just manually massaging it into the glass evenly to include the fog spot and it seeeeeems like it might be making a bit of difference.  I'm tempted to pull out my buffer and buff the whole thing with the machine but I don't want to overdo this and harm anything so I'm sort of taking my time.  Any thoughts on that?  If it is something only on the surface then I think something has got to get it off.  However if it is really etched into the glass I don't think anything can get it off but then I wonder why it is still so smooth to a razor if it is etched? 

Anyway, the last thing I've noticed is that I don't notice the fog spot when stove is running!  It just isn't apparent at all until I stop the stove and start cleaning.  So, as much as possible I try not to worry about it especially because a factory replacement for my glass is going for over $200!  Crazy.  So unless I can basically buff off my fog spot i think it is there pretty permanently and I'm going to continue to try ignoring it.


----------



## elmoleaf (Jan 5, 2013)

Burning wood is a dirty business (wood debris on the floor, ash debris spilling during cleanout, occasional smoke spills into the room, etc) that results in a bit of wear and tear on your house and stove.  After 20 plus years, my stove has chips in the enamel, a bit of cloudiness to the glass and a repaired hinge seat. At one point, I thought it'd be nice to have crystal clear glass again...I wiped, cleaned, polished with some cleaner...it got somewhat better. Then I decided my time was better spent on other things than cleaning glass every other day....the glass maybe gets wiped off once or twice a year.
Aging and the imperfections it brings are normal.


----------



## PapaDave (Jan 5, 2013)

coffeeman said:


> It's just a lazy way of getting the thing up to temp again for me.


 
Well, you said it......
The glass is the least of your worries when doing this, as the cast parts of the stove may warp or crack. Now THAT will be expensive.


----------



## Fire Breathing Dragon (Jan 5, 2013)

DAKSY said:


> As I believe was mentioned above, dip a damp paper towel in the ashes & try rubbing with that. There's enough abrasive in the ashes to remove build-up without damaging the Pyroceram. For stuff that's been on there for a longer time, I've achieved pretty good results by using autobody fine-grit rubbing compound...


 
Hi, thanks DAKSY.  I tried the damp paper towel and ashes rub down just now to no avail.  Actually, while the glass is damp/wet from cleaning it looks perfectly clear but as it dries it leaves the foggy residue.  The next time I am out to the store I will try the autobody fine-grit rubbing compound and see if that will polish it away.  Since I have the same stove as Coffeeman I will be interested to see if anyone finds a solution to the fog.  Once I try the rubbing compound I will post results if they come out favorable.  Good luck guys and thanks for tips, experience goes a long way, thanks for sharing.


----------



## Trktrd (Jan 5, 2013)

FWIW I use hydrogen peroxide to clean glass and have had great results.


----------



## Fire Breathing Dragon (Jan 5, 2013)

Trktrd said:


> FWIW I use hydrogen peroxide to clean glass and have had great results.


 
I read your post and tried the HP as you suggested but the great white fog prevails.  I took that time to use the HP dampened towel and dipped it with ash and scrubbed really good on one small spot and nothing.    I have hight hopes for the rubbing compound, on paper that seems like the solution.


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

PapaDave said:


> Well, you said it......
> The glass is the least of your worries when doing this, as the cast parts of the stove may warp or crack. Now THAT will be expensive.


 
You're absolutely right. I had no idea that it could get hot so fast. Believe me, my ash door start ups have already ceased. Is there a way to tell if something did get warped? Would it be obvious? I sure hope I didn't do anything serious. But then, the hottest the stove ever got by the thermometer was about 725 which is ok according to the manual as long as it's not continuous.

I would be interested to see how a rubbing compound and a buffer would do. There's got to be a way to get this stuff off.


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

Fire Breathing Dragon said:


> I read your post and tried the HP as you suggested but the great white fog prevails. I took that time to use the HP dampened towel and dipped it with ash and scrubbed really good on one small spot and nothing.  I have hight hopes for the rubbing compound, on paper that seems like the solution.


 
FBD, my experience is the same. I wipe it wet and it looks clear only to dry to a haze again. I hope to try the auto body compound sometime this week. Please post your results if you get a chance.


----------



## Bub381 (Jan 5, 2013)

Great! They've figured a way to test for overfiring. By all the solutions i've read here and you having no luck i'd say it's etched.


----------



## jharkin (Jan 5, 2013)

Seems like you figured it out, but Corey may be on to something also. The glass is coated, you will notice if you order a replacement there is a left side and a right side and they are NOT interchangeable in spite of being identical in shape. If the factory messed up and installed it backward I could see this happening.

If this haze won't burn off in a raging fire I'd agree the glass is shot. When I get a white haze it usually wipes crystal clear with nothing but a damp rag.


----------



## slindo (Jan 5, 2013)

On pitted glass you have a piece of glass with a bunch of little holes in it. To restore it to its original clarity you have to make the surface flat again which means grinding away the entire surface of the glass down to the level of the bottom of the pits. That means removing a lot of glass. And glass is HARD. Even with the appropriate power grinder it is going to take a long time, and results aren't guaranteed.

But, assuming from what you said that your stove is still under warranty, your first step, now that normal cleaning methods have failed, should be to contact the dealer you bought it from and see if it is covered by the warranty, before you mess it up trying to grind it clear since that may make a worse mess of it. OK you may have opened the ash door, but the glass still shouldn't have etched that quickly - we used to (back when people didn't know better) open the ash door on a regular basis, and  we got 12 years out of the glass before it got foggy enough to interfere with viewing the fire. It's quite possible VC had a bad batch of glass.



coffeeman said:


> You're absolutely right. I had no idea that it could get hot so fast. Believe me, my ash door start ups have already ceased. Is there a way to tell if something did get warped? Would it be obvious? I sure hope I didn't do anything serious. But then, the hottest the stove ever got by the thermometer was about 725 which is ok according to the manual as long as it's not continuous.
> 
> I would be interested to see how a rubbing compound and a buffer would do. There's got to be a way to get this stuff off.


----------



## NE WOOD BURNER (Jan 5, 2013)

Back in the day I would keep a piece of tin foil handy to put in front of the glass to shield it during startup. Extra step but makes a huge differance when trying to keep glass clean for any length of time. when stove warms up and is burning, open the door and remove the foil. the moisture content of the wood is important on startup if clear glass is a concern. moisture carries particles and as it does in the bathroom it goes to the walls and cieling. just thought I would offer my solution that has worked for me. I have never had much luck getting glass clean on the used stoves that I bought to run over the years. So I replaced the glass and keep the old dirty ones around if I failed at getting ahead on seasoning wood.


----------



## turbocruiser (Jan 5, 2013)

slindo said:


> On pitted glass you have a piece of glass with a bunch of little holes in it. To restore it to its original clarity you have to make the surface flat again which means grinding away the entire surface of the glass down to the level of the bottom of the pits. That means removing a lot of glass. And glass is HARD. Even with the appropriate power grinder it is going to take a long time, and results aren't guaranteed.


 
I agree if the glass gets pitted but I would also think that you would be able to actually feel the pits when you were "rubbing" the glass with a razor at an angle. On my glass it is still super smooth and rubbing with razors neither cleans the stuff off nor does it give the razor any resistance. I'm thinking it really is a super thin film of minerals which were blasted onto and baked onto (but hopefully not into) the glass. The solution then is to remove the minerals without removing the glass and I'm hoping that the fine cut cleaner I'm using is helping so after another ten cleanings or so I'll see what it looks like. Like I already wrote above I'm really trying to resist the temptation to take the buffer out and buff out the glass.


----------



## NE WOOD BURNER (Jan 5, 2013)

I just reviewed your pictures again. Look at the top of glass near the latch:very clean     Now look at bottom where there is no latch that is where you have problems with your glass. I would bet you a large starbucks coffee that you have an air leak in your doors at the bottom(where there is no latch). It is routine to adjust the latch as the gasket material seats in. You could check the temp of glass when you run the stove. I bet its hotter where you have troubles on your glass. My two stroke engines only burn pistons on the side where there is an air leak! But they run mean when they are lean!


----------



## jdp1152 (Jan 5, 2013)

turbocruiser said:


> Anyway, the last thing I've noticed is that I don't notice the fog spot when stove is running! It just isn't apparent at all until I stop the stove and start cleaning. So, as much as possible I try not to worry about it especially because a factory replacement for my glass is going for over $200! Crazy. So unless I can basically buff off my fog spot i think it is there pretty permanently and I'm going to continue to try ignoring it.


 
Same with mine.  Only really notice it during coaling or when not burning at all.  Gives off a very slight rainbow coloring too.


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 5, 2013)

NE WOOD BURNER said:


> I just reviewed your pictures again. Look at the top of glass near the latch:very clean Now look at bottom where there is no latch that is where you have problems with your glass. I would bet you a large starbucks coffee that you have an air leak in your doors at the bottom(where there is no latch). It is routine to adjust the latch as the gasket material seats in. You could check the temp of glass when you run the stove. I bet its hotter where you have troubles on your glass. My two stroke engines only burn pistons on the side where there is an air leak! But they run mean when they are lean!


 
Wow, you may very well be right. I say that because from the day I got the stove I noticed that the 2 doors don't line up 100% at the bottom like they do at the top. I did a dollar bill test there and thought it was sealed (but what do I know). I let it go since it didn't bother me aesthetically as long as it wasn't a defect to the performance. If you look at the one picture, you can see at the bottom where the right door doesn't flush up as deep as the left one. I wonder if that is the problem? If so, Vermont Castings should replace the door, yes?

Oh, and if that is the problem, the Starbucks is on me.  Just pm me your address.


----------



## NE WOOD BURNER (Jan 5, 2013)

Well who replaces what? Is not my business. If you want stuff to run right. You have to understand how it works! You now own the horse. get to know it and treat it kind because you aint getting your money back!


----------



## HotCoals (Jan 6, 2013)

I guess that's not double pane?


----------



## jharkin (Jan 6, 2013)

The encore switched from double to single pane after the 0028... AFAIK VC doesnt use any double pane glass now.

Also, its normal for the right door to stick out very slightly, especially with new thick gaskets, since the right door closes over the left at the center. Do a dollar bill check all the way around both doors. It should be tight enough to rip the dollar everywhere.


----------



## 31 bertram (Jan 6, 2013)

I have a VC 2550 and glass stays pretty clear.  I'll wipe the insides with windex about twice a season and can see the fire pretty much anytime the fire's going.


----------



## BrotherBart (Jan 6, 2013)

I'd let the dealer figure it out.


----------



## 31 bertram (Jan 6, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> I'd let the dealer figure it out


 
Good luck with that.


----------



## BrotherBart (Jan 6, 2013)

31 bertram said:


> Good luck with that.


 
A week old stove that cost as much as that one, I would darn sure find out what they plan to do about it.


----------



## 31 bertram (Jan 6, 2013)

Yeah, while you are at it, I would also ask why those front doors are mis-aligned like that. That can't be good.


----------



## firefighterjake (Jan 6, 2013)

jdp1152 said:


> If it's etched I doubt it (but I also doubt it's etched after a week no matter how bad it got). Do you clean it daily or did you let get really black in the corners for a week? I know my glass was difficult to keep clean for the first few weeks, but not I simple wipe down with a wet paper towel in the morning is all it needs, save some of the darker stuff below the ash lip.
> 
> Scotty....I've got some the CLR sitting under the sink. Not sure I want to be the guinea pig on trying in the glass though!


 
Never fear . . . I am your guinea pig.

I had some mineral deposits on my "glass" since I only use water and newspaper and our water is quite hard. It probably doesn't help that I sometimes clean the glass when it is warm/hot. The gunk was more of a haze and was in a small area, but I like the glass nice and clean so one day I used some CLR and voila . . . it cleaned it right up. I did however follow that up with just plain water . . . just in case. I suspect that continuing to clean the glass with water and newspaper will mean I will have more of this haze in the future though.


----------



## FireBall (Jan 6, 2013)

Over time the glass on my stove also developed a slight haze- it is not visible when the fire is burning.  I think my problem is same as that referenced by firefighter jake- we have very hard water and minerals in our water combined with cleaning when the glass was still warm caused the haze.  Anymore I wait until glass is perfectly cool and only use vinegar.  May give the CLR a try....


----------



## coffeeman (Jan 6, 2013)

31 bertram said:


> Yeah, while you are at it, I would also ask why those front doors are mis-aligned like that. That can't be good.


 
Last night I noticed that there was a slight draft coming in at the bottom of the doors. I could see on the log directly in front of the doors at that area hot red coals being drafted and everything else around it wasn't. So it does leak somewhat. I'll call the dealer tomorrow and see what they say.


----------



## 31 bertram (Jan 6, 2013)

That could be your problem, the doors not sealing, my first VC came boxed up and when I got it home and open the box it was in pieces, I guess somebady dropped the stove before I got it.  But other than the 120 mile round trip to bring the stove back and wait another month for them to order me another stove,  I was fortunate they took the stove back.  I really wonder about their QC.


----------

