STREAK FREE WINDOWS

Windows are a scrapper with me, they have a great right hook, lol.
I take it your talking the inside glass?
I use a glass microfiber towel wrapped around one of those handled window reach tools. I use Sonax glass cleaner. Then I go over it again with Carpro Eraser and a Carpro glass mitt. Kind of a 1-2 punch to try to get really clean no streak glass. The mitt is nice, a cleaner side, then flip to the other side to give a final wipe.
My outside glass gets cleaned during wash, then I go over glass with a cleaner/repellant to give an easy clean, but more important, some top up on my glass coating.
I will say, I really like the glass cleaner/repellant products for another reason. Forever I was a guy that washed the car and said all good for glass. If there was still a soap streak or haze, I just lived with it, whatever. I bought the cleaner/repellant products so it forced me to do the glass after the wash now. Glass does look better and it gives that kick to the rain.
 
Silly Rabbit said:
Windows are a scrapper with me, they have a great right hook, lol.
I take it your talking the inside glass?
I use a glass microfiber towel wrapped around one of those handled window reach tools. I use Sonax glass cleaner. Then I go over it again with Carpro Eraser and a Carpro glass mitt. Kind of a 1-2 punch to try to get really clean no streak glass. The mitt is nice, a cleaner side, then flip to the other side to give a final wipe.
My outside glass gets cleaned during wash, then I go over glass with a cleaner/repellant to give an easy clean, but more important, some top up on my glass coating.
I will say, I really like the glass cleaner/repellant products for another reason. Forever I was a guy that washed the car and said all good for glass. If there was still a soap streak or haze, I just lived with it, whatever. I bought the cleaner/repellant products so it forced me to do the glass after the wash now. Glass does look better and it gives that kick to the rain.
Click to expand...
Great reply, thank you... And, you also need great light to See the glass as you clean it so you don't miss a spot, or leave a streak, etc.... I remember someone saying, probably Sal Zaino, that you clean the outside glass horizontally, and the inside glass vertically, so you will always know where that place is that needs help... :)
 
Bull6791: (not even going to ask how you came up with that member name, but it is unique!)
Glass cleaning, or more correctly streak-free glass, seems to be the Achilles Heel for many a detailer, myself included.
I bought CarPro 's Clarity and two CarPro glass cleaning specific microfiber cloths that are grey and have the feel and look of elephant skin (to me anyway) after being influenced by reviews within this forum. They do "work" great in tandem, BUT the key to their success is spraying Clarity on the cloth, not the glass surface, per directions on the bottle (yes, READING product directions printed on the container of any car-care product can yield good results IF you follow them. That and reading Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for safety procedures using them or need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), or what exact chemicals you are using, but I digress....) and then wiping the glass with the slightly wetted (not saturated) window cleaning-specific microfiber and drying it with the other dry microfiber.
The other trick is have CLEAN glass cleaning microfiber cloths. I hand wash glass specific microfiber seperately from other detailing microfibers to avoid cross-contamination residue getting on the glass microfiber. I use HOT water heated in the microwave in a quart-size Pyrex measuring cup, and pour on the cloths in a sink. I spray the cloths with Optimum's Power Clean first, put them in the sink, and add a little warm tap water, then pour the hot water on them. I move them with a metal cooking/salad tongs back-and-forth through the water to agitate the washing process. Then remove the cloths, drain the dirty water, and add warm water back in the sink, add the cloths, and agitate the cloths back-and-forth with the tongs. It may require two rinse cycles like this to get them clean, depending how dirty they were to begin with. Then hand-wring them out, and dry them in the dryer on a medium heat setting or most times, I hang them to air dry on a line, either outside on the clothes lines or indoors on clothes hangers. Works for me.
Also, Scott Paper (Kimberly -Clark) makes a glass cleaning specific paper toweling. It has the consistency and feel of coffee filter paper, which some people use as a "hack" (the coffee filters) to clean glass with. I found this paper toweling at Walmart in the automotive section with the glass cleaners. Works great for me when I use it with SprayAway Glass Cleaning foam.
 
Last edited:
I use sprayaway foam also. I never used CarPro clarity. I would guess you spray the sprayaway foam on windows and the wipe/clean with one or two micro fiber towels. Thanks
 
Wow, Lonnie, I learned a lot from you in this thread!

  1. I learned that I'm not the only one that's learned to (generally) spray the towel and not the glass
  2. I learned why washing machines were invented (because it's too complicated to clean glass towels in the kitchen sink)
  3. I learned that Scott makes a shop towel specifically for glass!
Since I always have a roll of those Scott shop towels around (thank you Anthony Orosco), I had to look into the Glass towels...however "20% less lint than the leading kitchen paper towel" doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for Autopian use. Do you find they lint, Lonnie? I have a box of the Griot's (disposable) glass towels on Accumulator's recommendation, most of the time I forget I have them and use one of my many microfiber glass towels.
 
Setec:
No, the Scott's Glass Cleaning towel do not lint that much, but if you compare them to Scott's regular Blue Shop toweling, it is thinner and lighter. It is not designed to sop up and absorb spills or oily messes, but to clean glass. Now how much "better" it is than say P&G's White unprinted Bounty toweling, I have no empirical data or proof of it cleaning better or there is '20% less lint"
I say unprinted toweling because the colored ink used to print decor pleasant designs on it does bleed when using ammonia-based glass cleaners, and yes it does lead to streaking on home glass and mirrors...which is why most paper toweling is unprinted or white.
Also shop paper toweling is blue to distinguish it from red cotton fiber shop rags, which is red to make it is easier to spot in machine maintenance and not be left behind, with disastrous results upon machine or engine start-up. (All true, but more-than-you-really-wanted-to-know)
If someone else is reading this thread response, I do want to caution using this Scott's Glass Cleaning toweling for cleaning interior plastic gauge lenses or info/GPS/audio screens or plastic covers: DON'T!! It will scratch or put fine hairline hazing in them. That is one of the worst mistakes uninformed (AKA, a politically correct term for ignorant) novice detailers make in cleaning interior clear plastic or Lexan covers or lenses is to use Windex glass cleaner and white paper toweling on them. There are special or specific cleaners and microfibers made to use on this interior automotive material.(This Public Service Announcement on cleaning plastic brought to by the one-and-only (good thing!) Captain Obvious ....Quit laughing!)
 
Last edited:
Adam's Brilliant Glaze on hazy interior glass (if needed) followed by window cleaner and lint free towel of choice. For exterior, I use Bilt Hamber Traceless and a waffle weave glass towel or two but I generally only clean the windows after a car wash so I'm not trying to scrub off heavy contamination.
 

I bought these towels impulsively while checking out from an Amazon order. I knew nothing about them, and frankly expected to dislike them because of all the carbon fiber hype in today's world of automobiles, accessories, etc. Nothing ventured.

I like the towels for cleaning glass way more than I expected. I have at least a half dozen kinds of glass cleaning towels, and these are the ones I reach for first. I think they are amazing at removing streaks. I like them well enough to post about them here.
 
Adam’s brilliant glaze is that for interior glass or both inside and outside glass. I never used it before. Also what is the better method spray glass cleaner on glass and clean or spray it on towel and clean. Thanks.
 
Bull6791 said:
what is the better method spray glass cleaner on glass and clean or spray it on towel and clean. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Whatever works for you, man. This isn't one of those things where if you do it the wrong way the glass will fall out of the car. I generally spay the towel so the glass cleaner goes where you want it and not where you don't. But say, if you are cleaning a side window and can spray and wipe before it runs down onto the door, you can spray the glass first.
 
Bull6791 said:
Adam’s brilliant glaze is that for interior glass or both inside and outside glass. I never used it before. Also what is the better method spray glass cleaner on glass and clean or spray it on towel and clean. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Bull, come on. You can use it on both.
 
Has anyone tried the rag company or griots crinkle towels that are specifically for glass. I heard they are supposed to be very good.
 
TGates said:
Where did you hear that??
Click to expand...

Coleton who goes by Cole on Out of Spec detailing did a video on the glass towel from the Rag company. He said he really liked it. Also I stand corrected the glass towel from the rag company is called the Wrinkle glass towel. Now griots is called the crinkle glass towel. I have read some really good things about this glass towel on the Internet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top