Cleaning your windows

[Krakilin]

How do you guys clean your windows? Will windex do the trick?

[majic]

Originally posted by Krakilin


How do you guys clean your windows? Will windex do the trick?

use a NON ammonia based cleaner (especially if you have tints) get something that says on the label \"tint safe\" or similar

i use rainX and i\'m not too happy with it as i can still see some streaks. i was told newspaper leaves a nice streakless finish but apparently not with RainX. some ppl use eagle 20/20 i believe, for that one newspaper will work best.. otherwise shop towels...

[Optimzer]

newspaper is a great way to get a streak-free shine

however, newspaper also leaves newspaper residue. you can\'t really see it but if you take a clean white cloth to your windshield you\'ll know it\'s there

[Ex-Rolla]

mild dishwashing soap (palmolive) and water.... Weroks great on non tinted and tinted windows alike.

[Titanium_M3GT]

I use Eagle 20/20. Its an automotive glass cleaner and it never leaves streaks, I have been using it for years. But if you dont want to spend the $$9 at Canadian Tire, use a damp microfibre cloth. Microfibre cloths dont leave streaks when they are damp.

[TheProfessor]

Windex sucks balls......even the streak-free formula I have leaves streaks:sarc

[chaser]

I use Eagle 20/20 and I\'m happy with it. :)

[Optimzer]

majic - do you find rainx to be good at repelling water like it says it\'s supposed to? I wanted to buy it for that reason only.

seeing from some other posts it seems like it does a good job at repelling water. also are there different ones that you put in the windshield washer resevoir and apply directly onto the windsheild? I noticed at CT the other day that there was a really small container of rainx (maybe like 500mL)

[majic]

Originally posted by Optimzer


majic - do you find rainx to be good at repelling water like it says it\'s supposed to? I wanted to buy it for that reason only.

seeing from some other posts it seems like it does a good job at repelling water. also are there different ones that you put in the windshield washer resevoir and apply directly onto the windsheild? I noticed at CT the other day that there was a really small container of rainx (maybe like 500mL)

i bought the spray rainX cleaner b/c it was half price.. it\'s ok, i still use rainX in the winter (yellow) and that works well (well except for the shitty pressure on teh wipers :( )

CT has a deal now on \'summer\' rainX so i went out and bought it.. haven\'t had a chance to test it out yet.

all in all it does bead the water and repels it better than traditional windshield washer fluid but crappy wipers don\'t help much :(

[Optimzer]

it sounds like it\'s some kind of waxy formulation - and it causes wipers to stick? :sarc that can\'t be good

[majic]

Originally posted by Optimzer


it sounds like it\'s some kind of waxy formulation - and it causes wipers to stick? :sarc that can\'t be good

umm the wipers (you probably haven\'t noticed as you have a new car) suck ass to the moon and back .. some people have had better luck with the stock wipers and others went out and bought aftermarket ones. i had a wiper problem BEFORE rainX and rianX helped a little bit (beading - less frequent wiping)

[Joel]

lets go back to the washing problem

The ammonia in windex will strip the wax if you overspray.
The dishwasher soap is even worst than the ammonia for the wax
Newapaper is an old trick that dont really work anymore. Back then the ink had different ingredients that were leaving something on the windows that I cant remember. Nowaday, they only leave a black shit on your windows and hands. Plus the lint free abilities have been stole by the microfiber.

In summary, Use a car windows cleaner (20/20 and Stoner Invicible Glass are pretty good) and 2 microfiber, one to clean and an other one to remove the extra (that how you avoid stricking). Those cleaner sometime dont really have the cleaning abilities than windex can have, but they wont hurt anything.

Hope this help

[Ex-Rolla]

Originally posted by Joel


The dishwasher soap is even worst than the ammonia for the wax


hmm.... I used this solution (very mild soap & lots of water) on my old car with tints for about 4 years and never had any problems with the tint fogging/scratching/peeling... always came out sparkling.


well I\'ll keep that in mind..... just a question though.... Why do some tint shops (I\'ve visited a few) recomment cleaning with that type of solution?

[Optimzer]

are we talking about the interior or exterior of the window?

for the interior of the window I found on my protege that a big mistake was using the interior plastic dressings. What happened is that they would evaporate in the cabin and leave a film on the interior of the glass making it difficult to clean. From now on I plan not to use interior plastic treatment.

For the exterior whats wrong with just using the same car-soap solution on the windows as on the rest of the body?

[Joel]

Ex-rolla, I said the dawn is bad for your wax, not your tint. As far as I know, there no problem with the tint, so if your using it only inside I dont see any problem. but if you use it outside, you will strip the wax around the windows. I know the dishwaher soap is great for windows, they end up streak less. Its a great thing for the house. But maybe not as good for your car.

Optimzer, I dont know if you ever notice that it is almost impossible to have perfect windows with carwash solution. You will almost always have some streak. Of course this is the best to remove the most of the dirt at the same time you wash your car. but I really suggest cleaning your windows with a cleaner after.

[Ex-Rolla]

ahhhhh... okay cool... I may have misunderstood you :p ...

[Optimzer]

Originally posted by Joel

Optimzer, I dont know if you ever notice that it is almost impossible to have perfect windows with carwash solution. You will almost always have some streak. Of course this is the best to remove the most of the dirt at the same time you wash your car. but I really suggest cleaning your windows with a cleaner after.

I dunno..I\'m pretty ANALytical when it comes to cleanliness and clear windows so I\'ve never noticed it. But I do wipe all my windows with a moist microfibre cloth so that could be why I don\'t get streaks. But I find the interior of windows (esp the windshield) to be difficult to keep clean so I\'m trying to avoid plastic dressers on my dash

[Titanium_M3GT]

For the inside of the windows, use a DAMP microfibre cloth and then go over it again with a DRY microfibre cloth. This will give you a streak free clean window. Microfibre picks up the smallest particles and retains them as the fibres will trap anything they come into contact with. Each fibre on a microfibre cloth is approx. 1/10 the size of a human hair.

On another note, when washing microfibre cloths, do not use fabric softener in the wash with them as is will clog the pours of the cloth. Most microfibre cloths are washable up to 500 times (Assuming they are a half decent quality).

You guessed it, I work for a industrial cleaning equipment OEM. We have done studies on microfibre cloths VS. everything else.......microfibre always wins!

[Optimzer]

goooooooooooooooooooooooooo microfibre!

[Joel]

Originally posted by Optimzer
But I do wipe all my windows with a moist microfibre cloth so that could be why I don\'t get streaks.

Yes it is. I personnaly prefer to use a cleaner outside, but a damp MF is used by a lot of detailler with good result.

[Hanif]

Originally posted by Titanium_M3GT

For the inside of the windows, use a DAMP microfibre cloth and then go over it again with a DRY microfibre cloth. This will give you a streak free clean window. Microfibre picks up the smallest particles and retains them as the fibres will trap anything they come into contact with. Each fibre on a microfibre cloth is approx. 1/10 the size of a human hair.

On another note, when washing microfibre cloths, do not use fabric softener in the wash with them as is will clog the pours of the cloth. Most microfibre cloths are washable up to 500 times (Assuming they are a half decent quality).

You guessed it, I work for a industrial cleaning equipment OEM. We have done studies on microfibre cloths VS. everything else.......microfibre always wins!

Thanks Titanium_M3GT. So I guess, I need to pick me up some microfibre cloths. About cleaning them, there fine to go in the washer/dryer as long as there is no fabric softener (i.e. Downy) right? Should we clean them on the gentle cycle?