Just a small point, perhaps it will be relevant, if not then just ignore.
I have always taken pride in appearance of cars, regularly wash, wax, blacken tyres, bumpers the full works, but, for some reason, I have always just used bog standard glass cleaner from the house, Windowlene, that sort of thing.
Whilst in Halfords I picked up Autoglym\'s glass cleaner and what a difference it made, clear, no streaks and shiny into the bargain!
I\'m not for a minute saying that it is any better than any other manufacturers glass cleaner, but it is a million times better than windowlene!!
So if you were like me, I would recommend you give it a try, failing that, just ignore this!!
Moved from Technical Matters to Discussion. DD
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Yep, great stuff isn\'t it. Good for all your glass, plastic stereo covers, TV screens the lot.
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Both Autoglym\'s glass cleaning \"cream\" and Fast Glass are very good. Fast Glass is particularly good on delicate areas like the heated rear window elements as it has no abrasives.
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I don't understand why glass cleaners are necessary - every time I wash the car (about once a fortnight), the glass inside and out gets a damp leather over it - no problems.
Steve
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Fair point Steve, but you might be surprised just how much cleaner your glass could be by using one of the products mentioned - try soaking a small piece of cloth or tissue, soaked in spirit/meths/thinners/solvent cleaner.....and see what comes off. I use the RAIN X brand, but Autoglym stuff is always good.
KB.
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Could not agree more re Autoglym,I used to use a cloth damped with meths.very occasionally.The differance when driving into a setting sun on a tree lined road has to be seen to be believed,and the treatment seems to last for some months.
n.d.b.w.
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I find the autoglym glass cleaner (the blue stuff that looks like windolene used too) brilliant (but don't drop any on the dashboard - it'll never come off)
But 'fastglass' leaves just as many smears and streaks as any cheap product
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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"But 'fastglass' leaves just as many smears and streaks as any cheap product"
Only if you've somehow got some dampness in the cloth or on the surface.
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As a result of this thread I bought some Autoglym glass cleaner yesterday and am astonished with the result. It's not cheap, but it's certainly effective.
Is there a cheaper source of Autoglym products than Halfords?
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In short, don't know! In any of the tests you see, they always say that Autoglym products are good but very pricey! If you find anywhere that sells them cheaper, let us know!
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Agree that Autoglym for glass is good stuff, like the other bottles they sell - in a pretty range of colours to encourage punters to collect them all. However I avoid using it on screens and other wiped areas, as it seems to encourage smearing in light rain.
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I use the AG Shampoo, and if I don;t clean the screen afterwards with Fast Glass I find that it smears really badly for a while.
After cleaning with Fast Glass I get a bit of smearing which seems to disappear after a minute or so, the Fast Glass must strip most of the wax from the shampoo back off my windscreen.
Blue
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I have just recently used Wonder Glass on my windscreen and other glass (interior and exterior) and it brought the glass up a treat removing all the traffic film - particularly from the rear window. But I found that the wipers tended to leaving damp areas so I used Halfords own brand intensive glass cleaner to remove the other polish and now smears when trying to get rid of condensation.
Any ideas?
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How do you mean smears when trying to get rid of condensation?
With the wipers on the outside, or do you mean when you wipe the inside of the screen?
If it's the wipers then mine does the same, I just spray the washers on it and it works fine, it's just 'cos the screen is so cold and the wipers don't like been used when there's just a film of condensation on the screen...
Blue
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Wipers on the outside. When condensation is in the air I flick the wipers to clear the screen and it immediately mists (on the outside) even using low speed wipers doesn't seem to help much. Only when I get to about 40mph does the screen clear properly. Not very safe when facing the sun in a morning. Don't remember this on the old car.
I'll try the washers next time and see if that improves things.
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Tried using the washers this morning after the condensation - didn't help! The wipers seem to leave a speckled "condensation". I also noticed that the same happens if I use the washers later in the day so I would guess that it is nothing to do with the temperature.
Next try: meths on a cloth or another go with the intensive glass cleaner.
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solution of warm water and vinegar applied with a few sheets of newspaper made into a pad, very effective.
Richard Price
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Yup, save your money. My Dad used to use this back in 1948.
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This is a stupid question I know, but I don't understand how something as dirty as newspaper works to make glass clean. I've heard it many times but never tried it myself and am not disputing it - does anyone know why this works? Also why does the newspaper not scratch the glass?
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Wilkinsons sell Autoglym products, not really sure if they're cheaper, though I don't know the price Autoglym at Halfords. I recently bought the extra gloss protection £8.99 for 325mls from Wilkinsons. I find they have a small range of decent products which I think are worth buying.
Steve.
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For cheaper Autoglym try local car spares shops/accessory dealers. Car shows are also good sources. I paid £5 for large bottles of polish and gloss finish at a show last summer. It will last years.
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slefLX wrote:
This is a stupid question I know, but I don't understand how something as dirty as newspaper works to make glass clean. I've heard it many times but never tried it myself and am not disputing it - does anyone know why this works? Also why does the newspaper not scratch the glass?
Isn't it something to do with the ink dissolving the cack in road-film? And I would think that the paper isn't abrasive enough to scratch the glass, even though it might well be enough to scrape away aforesaid dissolved cack. Not a technical reply, just an opinion.
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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BRM - newspaper/vinegar is a method from way-way back for doing terrace-house windows. I don't think the ink has anything to do with it - more that newsprint is absorbent, and may be especially so for greasy things as it is designed to 'dry' ink fast. Regarding scratching, if grit is on the window it is probably best to wash it off gently before rubbing with anything, newspaper or not.
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Andrew-T wrote:
BRM - newspaper/vinegar is a method from way-way back for doing terrace-house windows.
When I first read the thing about newsprint for window-cleaning, I remembered the old Daily Mirror cartoons in which Andy Capp's wife Florrie used to swear by a pint of mild as a window-cleaning agent. No, she didn't use the beer on the windows; instead, she drank it and breathed the fumes on the glass. Magic!
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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Also why does the newspaper not scratch the glass?
Newspaper has previously been used as toilet paper (remember Steptoe & Son?) when times were hard. If people considered it soft enough to use on their rear ends, then I can\'t see it scratching glass.
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AUTOEXPRESS latest glass cleaner test. Autoglym did`nt even make the top six. Test winner was, Comma glass cleaner. If anyone knows where to buy it then I may give it a try. Autoglym is very good, been using it for years.
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As far as I know AG does two. Some blue stuff and Fastglass.
The blue stuff - put on with one cloth, let it dry then remove with clean one. Effective but messy and as someone has pointed out, you have to be careful not to get it on plastic trim or it's a b***** to get off.
Fastglass on the other hand is a colourless spray which provided you have a dry clean cloth and a dry screen is incredibly easy and quick.
Do try the others and let us know - co's I reckon it would have to be pretty damn fine to beat Fastglass for effectiveness or ease of application.
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My brother used to use Nilglass years ago, he seemed to think it was the best then. Wilkinsons also sell Comma products, I bought Comma alloy wheel cleaner from their last week. It seems very good but the fumes put oven cleaners to shame!
Steve.
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