Streak Free Windows???

Addicted2Bling

Addicted2Bling

New member
I'm going to say this is the part where I have no control over. I mean, it seems like the harder I try the worse I make them. Is there anything I can do to make my windows at least better looking? I was wiping down a rear window the other day and it was like looking into a smudge factory, it was horrible, I could not believe all the spots I missed. I need some serious help here... In case you're wondering I'm using water and microfiber towels... Thanks guys
 
Maybe I misunderstood your process, but I would try a glass cleaner instead of just water. Also I prefer using the "huck" towel aka surgical towels for glass cleaning. Use multiple towels and get a good rinse on your towels (multiple rinses if necessary and I use vinegar in at least one of the rinse cycles) to remove soap residues. Using a little less detergent than recommended can also help to reduce soap residues.
 
Stoner's Invisible Glass - use just enough to glide over every section of the glass, not enough and your MF will kind of skip or stick to the glass once it gets to a dry area (kind of a finesse thing). Use too much and you'll streak/waste product. With an ultra clean MF, use one side to wipe clean, other side to buff. Use opposite cleaning paths on either side of the glass from one another. For example, I use vertical passes on the interior, horizontal on the exterior. This makes it easier to locate streaks inside or out. Key points I seem to pass onto my helpers is to never use too much, only enough to get the job done. Too much product inevitably leads to streaks
 
DJsDetails said:
Use opposite cleaning paths on either side of the glass from one another. For example, I use vertical passes on the interior, horizontal on the exterior. This makes it easier to locate streaks inside or out.
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That is great advice. Here and I thought I had heard it all. Thanks.;)
 
As mentioned, you may need some chemical assistance to loosen the smudges. Some people go over the glass with a degreaser then do a vinegar rinse to try getting rid of as much residue as possible. (a cleaner that works on dirt may not work well on greasy spots. You need to know what you are trying to remove and use the appropriate accoutrements.)
Go slowly for the first pass so as to let the cloth "grab" the residue. If you go too fast, you'll likely smear more.
Make sure you buff thoroughly. Often a window will look good right after being cleaned, but a day or so later it shows streaks. This is often due to having some cleaner left on the glass. The cleaner attracts dirt/film to it (as it is intended to do) and thus re-dirties the window quickly. This is sometimes called a surfactant residue.
Also, make sure you aren't working in a humid environment. If you are working in a wash bay, try to do the glass outside, or at least have some good ventilation. A quick fix can be to turn on the car defrosters as you work.

As a last ditch attempt, use a squeegee. You may get a couple of lines, but it will be less encompassing than smears all over from a cloth.
 
if you have a wax that you are certain has a quick cure time and does not streak, you might give that a try.

i've used ez-creme glaze, cg factory seal, ultima paint prep plus etc. , all with good success.
 
DJsDetails said:
.... Too much product inevitably leads to streaks
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Interesting observation. Maybe something unique to IG? Or perhaps in a very humid area? I can say I've never experienced this phenomenon even when using IG. I pretty well saturate exterior glass sometimes in order to clear up any water spotting. I see streaking on interior glass from off-gassing from interior materials and smokers. Exterior glass from soap residues and road grime that wasn't adequately removed during the wash process. Also your towels can be a contributor if they are not clean and free from residue.

Really problematic glass can be hit with 5% white vinegar (can even be diluted a little further if desired) as Big Leegr mentioned. The smell is a little tough, but it dissipates quickly. I've also used a 50/50 IPA dilution.
 
I use Stoner's IG on my windows and it seems to do ok. I had also read on these forums somewhere a while ago about using newspaper in place of rags/towels & I can say that it seems to work for me. I haven't really noticed any downside to using it. I buy the paper for the coupons and have plenty of it left for whatever other uses I can find for it.

The only other thing I could say is avoid trying to wipe hot glass which down here in FL can be a bother, but the heat makes smearing worse imo.
 
DJsDetails said:
Stoner's Invisible Glass
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Well if I am going to buy a glass cleaner I need it to take ciggarette infested stains out of windows, and not have any ammonia in it so I can clean tinted windows too. Now does this stoner or whatever do that?

Big Leegr said:
As a last ditch attempt, use a squeegee.
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On the inside of a car???

rfinkle2 said:
if you have a wax that you are certain has a quick cure time and does not streak, you might give that a try.
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This is a good idea because wax acts like rain-x on windows. I've even thought about using the same MF towel that I use to buff the wax off a car with on the windows to see how it acts.

So does anyone on here use a squeegee? And what about that newspaper thing, whats the deal with that? Seems like a weird way to clean windows to me...
 
I don't mean a gas station squeegee, but a "professional" squeegee-one that doesn't have a scrubber on one side, just the rubber blade. It will fit between most dashes and windshields.
Biggest downside to this is that you will get drips on the dash. This can be addressed by placing a towel across the dash before starting.

As an aside, Mothers Showtime QD works very well on glass. Plus you get the added bonus of a cinnamon scent for a bit.
 
If you read the bottle of stoners it says that it is safe for tinted windows, but only when used properly..but it doesn't go into detail of what their proper technique is. I used to use it but i've found on my repeat jobs that it leaves a thick film after a couple of weeks...so i've since switched to the rain x gig. It seems to be more water-based compared to the stoners, which requires less buffing.
On interior glass cleaning, especially on windshields, I always use a horizontal pass.. simply because if i miss a spot, it would be harder to notice because our eyes move horizontally, not vertically, when we're driving.. just something i thought i'd share..
 
Addicted2Bling said:
.. In case you're wondering I'm using water and microfiber towels...
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Should have asked before: what type of MF are you using? "Regular?" Waffle Weave? Velvet Smooth? I prefer Poorboy's Velvet Smooth cloths, but WW work well too.

Also, are you using cloths that are dedicated to glass? If you are just grabbing any cloth or are washing all your cloths together, you will have a residue in the cloth that can transfer to the window.
 
Dirty, grime covered glass usually requires about 3 cleanings.

According to Stoner:

First applications will remove the majority of grime but trace residues of solubilized dirt may remain. A second or third application with a clean cloth may be needed to loosen and absorb these trace deposits.
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Looks like the process was covered fairly well in this thread.

-I use a dedicated MF towel for glass only. (neon green ones) They ONLY get used on glass and washed by themselves with a little less detergent than normal. 1/2 cup of vinegar, white distilled, for the rinse. They also get a 2nd rinse. Warm water. Dryer dried on low setting.
-I use multiple towels on the inside of the vehicle to make sure they are streak free. I normally use about 5. I always do the glass last on an interior, always. Put a towel down over the dash and spray the glass, wipe up and down, then side to side. Foling the MF in a square and keep flipping it to a fresh side. I then go over with a clean dry towel afterwards as mentioned in the thread already.
-Back glass gets the same treatment, only I find myself going over it twice with glass cleaner. It seems that many people don't clean the back glass in their cars and the build up gets heavy.
-Door glass, I do the inside door glass last, after I wash the car. I roll all the windows down just enought to clean the top edge of each window. ( I use a different MF towel to clean inside the window channel) I then roll them up and clean the inside the same was as the windshield.
-The outside glass gets the same treatment. If the exterior glass is bad, I use a different glass cleaner mix. Same glass cleaner, only with a tad of distilled white vinegar on it.

-Try to stay out of dirrect sunlight when clenaing windows. It has been my experience that they tend to streak a little more when the glass is hot.
Call me crazy, but when it is HOT outside, I will run the AC in the car on defroster to get the windshield cold/cool, and then clean it. When it's cold out and the cleaner doesn't evap as good as it should, I run the heater on defrost.

-If you ise a concentrated glass cleaner that you have to dilute, use FILTERED (soft, RO, DI, etc..) water. It will produse better results. (from my experience) Tap water is usually hard water.

It's all about the right tools. ;)
 
Huey, the alcohol wont hurt tinted glass. amonia, on the other hand, will destroy the tint/adhesive. The glass cleaner i used to buy from Rightlook says to mix a capful of denatured alcohol with the cleaner and water to help with streaking.
 
Big Leegr said:
Also, are you using cloths that are dedicated to glass? If you are just grabbing any cloth or are washing all your cloths together, you will have a residue in the cloth that can transfer to the window.
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See, this is something I have no control over either, my boss washes all my MF towels, and I'm thinking that sometimes he uses way too much detergent when he washes them. I've already had a problem with him melting some of the MF towels because he had the dryer setting on high. And the problem with that is it always backfires on me and makes me look bad. I've already had to go back to a customers house and give her windows more treatment, and even after I gave it a second hit, there was still streaks on the windows! This stuff is killing me.... Just killing me...

Now what about greasy ciggarette smoke on windows? Is there some kind of product for this? Stoners maybe???
 
If you can't control the condition/care of the cloths, you may want to invest in a glass cloth (or 3) of your own. Bring it with you to work and bring it home at night. They aren't that expensive and if it saves you aggravation, it may well be worth the cost.
PB's Velvet smooth is $4 ea. or 3 for $18 (incl. a bottle of S+W)
AutoGeek has a WW glass cloth for $10
Mothers has a WW for $8

You may also get Huck towels locally which are cotton and no nap, usually blue. They also last a long time. I have yet to wear one out. They are also sometimes called surgical towels. Maybe you could get a couple from a vet or hospital in your area.

As to the smoke. Try cleaning with a cotton towel and a degreaser. The cotton towel (like a rough bath towel) will have more "bite" than a typical MF towel so you can scrub the glass better. After you have the bulk off, you can go over it again with a glass cleaner, vinegar or alcohol and your (dedicated) glass cloth. In really bad cases, you might try a bug sponge to scrub it clean. Be careful of drips, though. You don't want to be sloshing water all over the interior of the car. Get into the habit of being neat and tidy as you clean. It will save time in the long run as you won't be cleaning up after yourself or giving a car back to a customer without realizing you missed an area that you re-dirtied but didn't re-clean.
 
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