Windscreen cleaner

[otherclive]

With the low autumn sun I’ve noticed how quickly the cars’ windscreens seem to develop a film inside. I use Autoglym Fastglass, going over the screen 2-3 times but it doesn’t seem to remove it all. I have used Autoglym Screen Polish but the white powdery residue can get messy. I use microfibre cloths to remove the cleaning medium.

Domestic window cleaners with vinegar aren’t recommended as they can damage the glass, so some say. What screen cleaners do Forumites use?

 

[RogerL]

With the low autumn sun I’ve noticed how quickly the cars’ windscreens seem to develop a film inside. I use Autoglym Fastglass, going over the screen 2-3 times but it doesn’t seem to remove it all. I have used Autoglym Screen Polish but the white powdery residue can get messy. I use microfibre cloths to remove the cleaning medium.

Domestic window cleaners with vinegar aren’t recommended as they can damage the glass, so some say. What screen cleaners do Forumites use?

At the risk of stating the obvious, check that the cabin pollen filter is in good shape, indeed that they've bothered to refit one at the last service.

I use generic glass cleaner.

 

[otherclive]

At the risk of stating the obvious, check that the cabin pollen filter is in good shape, indeed that they've bothered to refit one at the last service.

I use generic glass cleaner.

Pollen filter was replaced in August, so that shouldn’t be a concern. They showed the old one at the time. Assuming of course it was out of my car😱

 

[woodsieboy]

Meths

 

[borderbilly]

Ask any good car detailer (pro ) what they use and they will tell you a good wet chamois leather, just water.

 

[borderbilly]

Check out U tube loads of ideas on there.

 

[otherclive]

Check out U tube loads of ideas on there.

This post is redundant given your helpful reply in #5

 

[toad a caravan]

As Woodsieboy says,meths,I also put it my wash bottle,

 

[birdman101]

If it goes into a garage White Vinegar will be used

 

[Dustydog]

This stuff was recommended to me years ago by the chap who replaced my windscreen. Available at most motor factors or online

 

[otherclive]

Reading a website from a detailing company they recommend spraying the cleaning fluid on to the cloth, doing the outside first using vertical wiping action. Then the inside using horizontal wiping action. This makes it easier to spot missed or smudged areas. But in terms of fluids some advocate not using vinegar or ammonia based fluids. Others use them. My old dad used Squeezy and old newspapers, finishing off with Mum’s duster.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I was just about to ask the same question.

This never used to be a problem with my older cars. It used to be called Traffic Film and the old cars never had pollen or cabin filters nor air conditioning. Most notably they had far less synthetic materials in side. Everything seems to be made of plastic these days - to use the generic term.

At the risk of escalting things there was also far less attention to environmental issues - meaning materials have had to change to produce less polution - except on your windscreen. Have we traded one issue for another.

In the old days you could just wait until the windscreen got condensed up and wipe it with a chamois cloth. And yes my father-in-law recommended newspaper and toothpaste - total disaster in my opinion and luckily I only tried it on the outside once.

I've tried all of the above, except the Crystal Blue stuff and none of them are 100 % affect in just one go.

Strangely my house windows, this year, have had the same problem. Las time I did them I went over them four times with a different approach and just about managed to get the smears removed.

OC - is this perhaps a phenomena of your new glasses. I'm about to collect mine and I expect that my windscreen will appear worse

 

[Dustydog]

The Crystal Blue is very similar to Fast Glass. Both say use paper towel for best results . Must be some relevance?

 

[otherclive]

I was just about to ask the same question.

This never used to be a problem with my older cars. It used to be called Traffic Film and the old cars never had pollen or cabin filters nor air conditioning. Most notably they had far less synthetic materials in side. Everything seems to be made of plastic these days - to use the generic term.

At the risk of escalting things there was also far less attention to environmental issues - meaning materials have had to change to produce less polution - except on your windscreen. Have we traded one issue for another.

In the old days you could just wait until the windscreen got condensed up and wipe it with a chamois cloth. And yes my father-in-law recommended newspaper and toothpaste - total disaster in my opinion and luckily I only tried it on the outside once.

I've tried all of the above, except the Crystal Blue stuff and none of them are 100 % affect in just one go.

Strangely my house windows, this year, have had the same problem. Las time I did them I went over them four times with a different approach and just about managed to get the smears removed.

OC - is this perhaps a phenomena of your new glasses. I'm about to collect mine and I expect that my windscreen will appear worse

Like you our double glazed windows (3years old) seem more resistant to cleaning than the old ones. But I can’t blame the new specs as I’ve not been able to get a smear free windscreen for a while. I do suspect proprietary cleaners lack the muscle.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I wish I could get my old specs smear free - but then again they look like I've been cleaning them with the same cloth I use on the tow ball.

 

[Buckman]

With the low autumn sun I’ve noticed how quickly the cars’ windscreens seem to develop a film inside. I use Autoglym Fastglass, going over the screen 2-3 times but it doesn’t seem to remove it all. I have used Autoglym Screen Polish but the white powdery residue can get messy. I use microfibre cloths to remove the cleaning medium.

Domestic window cleaners with vinegar aren’t recommended as they can damage the glass, so some say. What screen cleaners do Forumites use?

A good question as we have the same issue with a 6 month old car that is hardly used. We never had the issue on our 1996 Corolla or on any of the Jeeps. The new car also has that interior front windscreen demist thingy.

 

[otherclive]

A good question as we have the same issue with a 6 month old car that is hardly used. We never had the issue on our 1996 Corolla or on any of the Jeeps. The new car also has that interior front windscreen demist thingy.

With a new car it could be the “ out gassing” from the interior materials. But it happens on both our cars that aren’t brand new now. I’ve even stopped using plastic and rubber conditioner on the dash and interior plastics.

 

[otherclive]

Out with a friend for lunch today and the chat turned to cleaning windscreens…..as it would. He told me he uses two E-cloths, the first one slightly moistened with water. Then he goes over again with the dry one, which he said was quite hard work as it seems to “ grip” the surface. He’s used them since he bought his car two years ago and says they work very well, with just the occasional need for them to be hot washed.

 

[Steve1962]

I was at a classic car show a while back and a chap there was cleaning the glass on his windows with newspaper.

Steve

 

[Buckman]

Not the same as inside issue. We were told that if you wipers failed in heavy rain, cut a potato in half and wife the windscreen with it. I wonder how many carry a potato in their cars. Another one was urinate on the windscreen? Apparently the latter puts a fine film on the windscreen causing the water to run off. However only once I got caught in a very heavy downpour with high winds and the wipers could not cope. I had to pull off the highway as could not see where I was going, but HGVs just continued ploughing past stopped cars.

 

[RogerL]

Not the same as inside issue. We were told that if you wipers failed in heavy rain, cut a potato in half and wife the windscreen with it. I wonder how many carry a potato in their cars. Another one was urinate on the windscreen? Apparently the latter puts a fine film on the windscreen causing the water to run off. However only once I got caught in a very heavy downpour with high winds and the wipers could not cope. I had to pull off the highway as could not see where I was going, but HGVs just continued ploughing past stopped cars.

Part of the winter valet I get done every autumn includes coating the windscreen with something like Rain-X (not sure which brand he actually uses) which makes the rain run off very quickly - so good I switch the automatic wipers off for a couple of months.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Out with a friend for lunch today and the chat turned to cleaning windscreens…..as it would. He told me he uses two E-cloths, the first one slightly moistened with water. Then he goes over again with the dry one, which he said was quite hard work as it seems to “ grip” the surface. He’s used them since he bought his car two years ago and says they work very well, with just the occasional need for them to be hot washed.

That's always been my approach to windows of any sort but for whatever reason it seems to be not so affective anymore.

Maybe it's time for some new cloths.

 

[otherclive]

Not the same as inside issue. We were told that if you wipers failed in heavy rain, cut a potato in half and wife the windscreen with it. I wonder how many carry a potato in their cars. Another one was urinate on the windscreen? Apparently the latter puts a fine film on the windscreen causing the water to run off. However only once I got caught in a very heavy downpour with high winds and the wipers could not cope. I had to pull off the highway as could not see where I was going, but HGVs just continued ploughing past stopped cars.

There was a time I could probably have hit the windscreen but more likely to need a jug these days. 🙁

 

[Dustydog]

We were told that if you wipers failed in heavy rain, cut a potato in half and wife the windscreen with it.

Did she squeal🤪