Windshields...

0

06vrss

Member
Hey guys. I`ve been detailing as a hobby for at least 10 years now. I feel like I`m pretty good at most aspects of it. Except when it comes to cleaning the inside of windshields. No matter what product/technique I use there is always streaks. It looks clean until the sun hits it. So what`s the trick? Please share your methods.
 
I have had great success using a tool that has a triangular shaped head on it that has an elastic microfiber bonnet placed over it, at the end of a long plastic handle. Like this one --- Stoner Invisible Glass Reach & Clean Tool

I then place another very clean short napped microfiber towel on it, spray a good window cleaner on the microfiber, and work that triangular shaped part over half the glass, change to a new, very clean short napped microfiber, and dry and polish the inside glass..

Go to the Passenger side seat, sit there and do that other half, overlapping the center a bit and I always get streak free glass..

If the glass is really coated with stuff like nicotine, etc., for example, this process takes a few tries to get the glass really clean and then it wont show any streaks, etc.., and it will stay clean if you stay on it..

Have to have a good strong glass cleaner and change out the 2 microfibers often or as needed, so you are not just smearing stuff around the glass ..

Having leverage from the long handle of the tool against the triangular shaped piece that is on a hinge, allows me to get more even pressure from a flat surface across the glass, and that helps the process come out much better..
Dan F
 
I like to use blackfire total polish and seal. I use the foam pad on a da on outside then when done i take pad off and use inside letting it haze then buff it out.

then when there is a film down the road just buff it again with a clean micro fiber towel.

hope that helps. also using two towels also helps and use side one of towel one to clean then side two of towel one to buff majority and lastly use side one of towel two to finish off with
 
First off what are you using for a window towel? The towels I use are from a local detailing product line but are no different from others on the market. It`s basicly a mix between a micro fiber and chamoi material. Depending on how dirty the windshield is I use a generous amount of whatever product choice you use. I usually keep an inch or two hanging off my finger tips to make sure I can cram it in the bottom and sides of windsheild. I use one for wet and one for dry. Sometimes I have to check it in the sun and go back with the dry towel and touch up any streaks. Imo the towel choice makes all the difference. I`d look into getting a pack of towels made specifically for Windows and always wash them separate by themselves to ensure you don`t get any other kind of solvents or silicone on the towels

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk
 
Stokdgs said:
I have had great success using a tool that has a triangular shaped head on it that has an elastic microfiber bonnet placed over it, at the end of a long plastic handle. Like this one --- Stoner Invisible Glass Reach & Clean Tool

I then place another very clean short napped microfiber towel on it, spray a good window cleaner on the microfiber, and work that triangular shaped part over half the glass, change to a new, very clean short napped microfiber, and dry and polish the inside glass..

Go to the Passenger side seat, sit there and do that other half, overlapping the center a bit and I always get streak free glass..

If the glass is really coated with stuff like nicotine, etc., for example, this process takes a few tries to get the glass really clean and then it wont show any streaks, etc.., and it will stay clean if you stay on it..

Have to have a good strong glass cleaner and change out the 2 microfibers often or as needed, so you are not just smearing stuff around the glass ..

Having leverage from the long handle of the tool against the triangular shaped piece that is on a hinge, allows me to get more even pressure from a flat surface across the glass, and that helps the process come out much better..
Dan F
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This is awesome. I love the ingenuity.
 
One thing that makes "difference" is having a dedicated, quality, made for glass-cleaning microfiber cloth. I say dedicated because if you use the same microfiber cloth to wipe the glass that you used to wipe off a vinyl protectant, some of that protectant residue will be transferred to the glass, even though you may have washed the cloth before using it on the glass. Just "cleaning" interior glass with wadded paper towels will make glass "look" clean, but I think your results and observations of the streaks are self-evident of your methodology.

There are a plethora of "methodologies" for cleaning glass. My older method of using the Wall Street Journal newspaper`s stock listings (IE, a lot of small, dense print on a printed page) "worked" well UNTIL the printing ink became water-based because of volatile-organic compounds (VOC) government regulations that basically outlawed petroleum-based inks that acted as a polishing agent when cleaning/wiping glass. Some use white coffee filters for the final wipe, but it is probably more of a house cleaning tip than a car detailing process.

A worthwhile detailing tip to getting glass REALLY clean on cars/vehicles involves removing the "film" generated from the gassed-off compounds from plastics and vinyl that happens when interiors are "baked" under the greenhouse-window-effect in the hot sun. If it is REALLY bad, I`ve used adhesive remover, followed by an APC, and then a non-ammoniated glass cleaner (I like Spray-way). If you use just Windex or any ammoniated widow cleaner to clean the interior windows of a vehicle, expect streaks, despite the label advertising "Streak-Free".

A big variable to window streaking is ambient temperature and humidity. In the cold early spring and late fall, it is nearly impossible to produce streak-free windows. If it`s raining out in the summer and you are cleaning windows in the garage, expect streaks. Sometimes you do the best you can in the environment you have and live with the results. I`ve used a hand-held hair dryer to induce or aid in evaporation and wiped with a window cleaning microfiber in the other hand, and it STILL streaks.

As a side note, NEVER wipe touch screens or plastic dash lens instrument/gauge covers with paper toweling and ammoniated glass cleaners. You`ll induce scratches that are nearly impossible to remove, especially if the lens or screens were REALLY dirty/dusty to begin with. There are dedicated touch screen cleaning kits that can be found at boating marine supply stores because they have such screens for their fish locaters and GPS navigation instrumentation used on boats.
 
pmdr85 said:
First off what are you using for a window towel? The towels I use are from a local detailing product line but are no different from others on the market. It`s basicly a mix between a micro fiber and chamoi material. Depending on how dirty the windshield is I use a generous amount of whatever product choice you use. I usually keep an inch or two hanging off my finger tips to make sure I can cram it in the bottom and sides of windsheild. I use one for wet and one for dry. Sometimes I have to check it in the sun and go back with the dry towel and touch up any streaks. Imo the towel choice makes all the difference. I`d look into getting a pack of towels made specifically for Windows and always wash them separate by themselves to ensure you don`t get any other kind of solvents or silicone on the towels

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk
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I most recently used 2 400 GSM microfiber that were clean and basically brand new. I have seen towels that were supposedly specific for windshields but never gave them much thought. Maybe I should try different towel.
 
I was the same way until I actually bought some. Especially since I do mobile detailing and trying to do windows in the Sun when they are a thousand degrees is a pain. I needed to find a towel that wiped it as dry as possible on the first swipe because if not then the sun just instantly dries the remaining product on the window and it`s a Streak fest!

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk
 
06vrss said:
I most recently used 2 400 GSM microfiber that were clean and basically brand new. I have seen towels that were supposedly specific for windshields but never gave them much thought. Maybe I should try different towel.
Click to expand...

I find better results with any microfiber if I wash them separately, first in a dedicated microfiber towel cleaner like the ones sold here -- BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer

Sometimes I will add a little Distilled White Vinegar to the Rinse Cycle to insure there is nothing left in the towels that would affect their cleaning/wiping...
You can get a gallon of Distilled White Vinegar at your favorite grocery store for a few bucks..

The plastic cleaning tool I left a link for is really great on cleaning the Inside of Sun Roof Glass too..

And then the inside of all the other windows and that dang big Inside glass on the back of most SUV`s... Piece of cake with this tool..
Dan F
 
Looks like I should have added a few things to last night`s order haha. Oh well, there will be more to come I am certain.
 
I recently switched my interior glass cleaning methods and I feel like it works great if you are not dealing with any nicotine film. I take my folded microfiber and give it one spray of poorboy`s world glass cleaner and then two sprays of distilled water that I have in another bottle. Wipe half of the inside windshield and then buff it off with the dry side. I don`t know why but I have great luck with glass cleaners on the outside but if I use the glass cleaner straight on the inside I always get steaks/smears. My new method has worked perfect for the last few months.
 
mnehls86 said:
I recently switched my interior glass cleaning methods and I feel like it works great if you are not dealing with any nicotine film. I take my folded microfiber and give it one spray of poorboy`s world glass cleaner and then two sprays of distilled water that I have in another bottle. Wipe half of the inside windshield and then buff it off with the dry side. I don`t know why but I have great luck with glass cleaners on the outside but if I use the glass cleaner straight on the inside I always get steaks/smears. My new method has worked perfect for the last few months.
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My thoughts exactly. Why is the inside so much more difficult to clean compared to the outside! I like the distilled water idea btwo, thanks.
 
06vrss said:
My thoughts exactly. Why is the inside so much more difficult to clean compared to the outside! I like the distilled water idea btwo, thanks.
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I`ve had good luck with the "triangle tool", Griot`s lint-free wipes, and Autosol Extra Strong glass cleaner.

Also, I clean the "stippled" pattern on the windshield`s perimeter with a separate cloth. Whatever coating they use for that border area seems haze a bit with any type of cleaner. I tend to hit the rear glass defroster lines with a mf and distilled water only, several times.

Front and rear inside glass can be slightly less fun that some other detailing steps.
 
Usually I leave it for last cause it can take up too much time and put you behind. I use the reach and clean tool along with a WW MF towel to dry. Sometimes just like with paint you need a different cleaner or different method. I use CG pomegranate cleaner, Meguiar`s D120 or good ole Glass Plus and one or the other of those can tackle most everything.
 
I recently had a long discussion with a long-term professional window cleaner and learned a few things I`ve put into practice with success:
1. Use two towels. One should be a "mop" just to absorb the majority of cleaner and dirt, while the second one is just to finish and polish. His second towel is a thin, almost silky-feeling towel.
2. For your finishing passes, go slow with minimum pressure on the mf. Pressing hard and wiping fast defeats the absorptive qualities of the microfiber material.

I`ve put this into practice not only with glass, but when drying an entire car. "Slow down to get done faster" is working well for me.

Bill
 
Billy Jack said:
I recently had a long discussion with a long-term professional window cleaner and learned a few things I`ve put into practice with success:
1. Use two towels. One should be a "mop" just to absorb the majority of cleaner and dirt, while the second one is just to finish and polish. His second towel is a thin, almost silky-feeling towel.
2. For your finishing passes, go slow with minimum pressure on the mf. Pressing hard and wiping fast defeats the absorptive qualities of the microfiber material.

I`ve put this into practice not only with glass, but when drying an entire car. "Slow down to get done faster" is working well for me.

Bill
Click to expand...

Thanks Bill from a fellow Pittsburgher. You know, I follow a similar routine when drying and using QD sprays. However, when doing glass I definitely wipe hard and fast probably because im frustrated at that point. Great tip! I`m going to put all these ideas to work this weekend and hopefully have a crystal clear windshield in the end.
 
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