How to properly clean windows?

[BiigMe]

Title, but every time I try I still end up with swirl marks on the inside. I have tried using a little bit of windex, a lot of windex, Armor All glass cleaner, this foam from an aerosol can. I've tried paper towels, and microfiber cloths but I still end up screwing up. What do you guys do to get your windows streak free? I'm super pedantic about my windshield and I just want it to look like its not there.

 

[Hijinx]

Black/white newspaper.

 

[MS67]

I use Stoner Invisible Glass and a good lint-free microfiber glass towel. The key is, when you think you've rubbed it in enough, keep rubbing...and rubbing...and rubbing. It takes a lot of rubbing to get a streak-free finish, and this is due to the plastics in your dashboard outgassing and leaving residue on the windshield.

 

[Capri to ST]

I use Stoner Invisible Glass and a good lint-free microfiber glass towel. The key is, when you think you've rubbed it in enough, keep rubbing...and rubbing...and rubbing. It takes a lot of rubbing to get a streak-free finish, and this is due to the plastics in your dashboard outgassing and leaving residue on the windshield.

+1 for the Invisible glass. On the inside, I use a regular high quality microfiber towel first, then a microfiber glass towel. On the outside, I use crumpled newspaper. Paper towels have crap in them that leaves deposits on windows. These are through guides from a detailing forum-

http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/Glass-Care/#interior
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/Glass-Care/#exterior

 

[BiigMe]

+1 for the Invisible glass. On the inside, I use a regular high quality microfiber towel first, then a microfiber glass towel. On the outside, I use crumpled newspaper. Paper towels have crap in them that leaves deposits on windows. These are through guides from a detailing forum-

http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/Glass-Care/#interior
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/Glass-Care/#exterior

Thanks for this, Ill check these threads out

 

[2Cool]

If it really drives you nuts clay barring is an extreme way to clean, followed by Stoners and newspaper.

Most of the crap is from plastics outgassing in your interior, especially on hot days. The oily residue is a pita to clean off.

 

[justinsane]

Slightly off topic but is there anyway to reduce the glare/reflection from the dashboard plastics, particularly the middle section above the MFT which is particularly shiny and annoying?

 

[CaptainSlow]

Slightly off topic but is there anyway to reduce the glare/reflection from the dashboard plastics, particularly the middle section above the MFT which is particularly shiny and annoying?

I would've suggested the dashboard carpet off eBay, but it doesn't cover the middle section. I have one and the glare is much better.

On the extreme end I think rally drivers use flocking(?) As a way to do the same but it's permanent I think.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Zormecteon]

Not shilling for Griot's Garage, but I use their glass cleaning cloths https://www.griotsgarage.com/produc...+of+4.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search and glass cleaner. I also have their window cleaner set for getting all the way down where I can't reach.. https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/window+cleaner+set.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search

 

[McSwine]

I've been using this stuff lately...a little goes a long way.

https://www.amazon.com/einszett-921...=UTF8&qid=1468934832&sr=1-2&keywords=einszett

 

[miguel.in.az]

I use 2 microfiber towels. One to clean and one to buff the streaks out

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Nothing better than this stuff:

Also, if you see streaks just give it a second wipe down with a dry rag. Another tip I noticed at a car wash, the guys there move their hands really quick - that helps.

 

[ChuckL]

Water/vinegar solution in a spray bottle; wipe with towel. Newspaper is better, but leaves a mess on my hands.

 

[grnmachine02]

Pro tip: For the inside glass, use shaving cream. Yes, Shaving cream. The cheap barbasol seems to work just as well as any other brand. Clean the inside of the glass, then spread shaving cream on it and buff off. It will stop your glass from fogging up, as well as make it easier to clean the next time. It sounds silly, but it works.

You can actually do this on basically any glass. I do it to my bathroom mirror so it never fogs up when I'm showering. Even works on goggles for motocross or mountain biking.

 

[Sil3nt611]

Windex doesn't really work that well. Like a few others have said, Invisible Glass works. It's the only thing that has gotten rid of the fog on my windshield and it's safe for window tint too unlike Windex.

To clean the outside of your windshield here's a good video on how to really clean it well. With that rain beads up and flies right off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJkfrY2owb0

 

[Manta Ray]

So, here is a few things I do, and for what its worth, I spend a lot of time detailing my cars when possible.

After a full car wash...

Starting with exterior of the glass, I clay bar it, just like how I would clay bar any paint. A lot of people feel that this step is redundant, I disagree. You can remove hard water stain like marks through claybaring.

Then I do invisible glass and any soft microfiber towel to buff it out. (inside and out)

I then follow up with a glass microfiber towel to buff out any "streaks" from the glass, just dry rub it, or a light mist of invisible glass on the towel for stubborn streaks. Glass microfiber cloth looks like your eyeglasses cloth, its flat smooth and.. not puffy at all.

Then I end with something like an application of rain-x or similar products to "seal" the glass.

If its the first time doing your windows I feel its also worth it to clay the inside of the glass too (but this might just be overkill and messy if not careful).

 

[parapraxis24]

I use Stoners Invisible Glass (can or bottle it's up to you they're the same), the cleaning cloth that came with the stoner's reach tool. News papers work the best though, cheap and lint free. Yeah getting ink on your hands sucks but not the end of the world.

Slightly off topic but is there anyway to reduce the glare/reflection from the dashboard plastics, particularly the middle section above the MFT which is particularly shiny and annoying?

Get a pair of polarized sun glasses. I honestly never noticed how bad the reflection was in the first few months of owning it because I always wear sunglasses during the day. Once when I forgot them in my apt, my reaction was "holy shit, the dashboard reflects like crazy." Not a cheap fix, but I hate driving without sunglasses anyway so I'm ok with it.

Not shilling for Griot's Garage, but I use their glass cleaning cloths https://www.griotsgarage.com/produc...+of+4.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search and glass cleaner. I also have their window cleaner set for getting all the way down where I can't reach.. https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/window+cleaner+set.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search

I use a lot of their products and they work well for the price point so I can't complain about them. Stoner makes a similar wand thingy that can be bought on Amazon for cheaper, same exact shape just a different color and it works really well at getting the front edge of the windshield near the dash.

My only gripe is the slight curvature they gave the paddle, it's slightly concave which means it's sloped the wrong way when doing the inside of the windshield. For a product that is marketed as making cleaning the inside of a windshield easier, it should have a convex curve to conform better to the inside of a windshield.

 

[Superfly Snook]

Water/vinegar solution in a spray bottle; wipe with towel. Newspaper is better, but leaves a mess on my hands.

Same here. I use distilled water and vinegar that I purchase by the gallon and then mix up in a spray bottle. We use it around the house (lots of glass in the house too) and on the cars. Invisible glass which was mentioned is what I used in the past, and it certainly works, but on my glass the vinegar/water works just as well and is cost effective.

Edit: Just found the recipe we use - also has rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol (isopropanol)
3 1/2 cups water (distilled)

 

[IronMaiden]

Wax. Yes, wax. Wax the exterior of your windows and wipe clean just like you would the wax on the paint. I would not recommend this for the interior as you could get the wax on the plastics, dash cover, or whatnot. Don't use a Windex-like product or even Windex for that matter. I stick with the 'foam' window cleaner and a 't-shirt' or microfiber-like towel. Always use a clean one. Change sides often, and like previous posts, keep wiping using whatever dry side you have.

 

[apex1]

On the inside glass (and outside too) I have great luck with Stoner Invisible Glass using a microfiber cloth, but then getting rid of inevitable streaking by dry polishing with a 100 percent cotton dish rag. You can buy a high quality dish towel or smaller wash rag from a good kitchen store like Williams-Sonoma and it will not leave lint behind. It's amazing what rubbing with an all cotton no pile dish towel will do to polish up the glass.