Hiya folks...

What stuff do people use to clean the inside of the car windows with?

Ive got some irritating "oily" streaks across the inside that have been there since delivery.. i only notice them when the windows are misty, or when i wash them. can anyone reccomend a mild "degreasant" kind of window solution i can try to get the streaks off?.. something that wont make a mess of the dashboard as it will undoubtedly drip all over..

:cheers:

Get yourself a spray bottle, and use mildly diluted screenwash (the cheap Halfords stuff, not the decent VAG stuff )

i find windowlene to be rather good

i find windowlene to be rather good

:eek: :eek: Really?????

Mr Muscle (the green stuff). Mist it on - wipe it off (with newspaper if available) - job done!

no probs so far my son love to put greasy handprints over the back windows so they are cleaned 2 or 3 times daily :eek:

Fairy liquid.

Nobody believes me with this one but the absolute best way to clean the inside of the windows is using a damp chamois followed by newspaper to dry it off.

Give it a try and you'll be amazed!

Cheers

Hugh

The above is definately the best way to maintain but if grease is on the screen Fairy is best. (We are a firm of window cleaners :rainbowaf )

Fairy I'm sure will cut through any grease the best,once made the mistake of using IPA (isoprop-alchohol) and it was 'smear-heaven' after that.......

Cheers

Hugh

Autoglym Car Glass Polish is good, costs a bit more than water and newspaper though.

Andy

Must try the newpaper trick!

I also have used those microfibre type cloths. These are good too and I usually keep one in the car.

The newspaper trick does work. A mate of mine showed me as I was sceptical about it and I'd never seen my windows so shiney!

On 01/12/2003 at 09:01, shugz said:

Nobody believes me with this one but the absolute best way to clean the inside of the windows is using a damp chamois followed by newspaper to dry it off.

Give it a try and you'll be amazed!

Cheers

Hugh

that's interesting, I've never heard that one before will have to give that a try. What's everyone using to clean the outside of their car? I've been contemplating buying a wfp pole that all the window cleaners are using these days but dont want to pull the trigger if other people have better options. Ive tried those automatic spinning wax brushes but it was way too much work and always ending up taking me so long to get the job done 

The classic old old old old school window cleaning was vinegar and newspaper. Newspaper because it absorbs and doesn't drop fibres...and vinegar contains acetic acid which is a great surfactant that lifts grease away from the surface.

 

Acids tend to be a little draggy on surfaces (and risks causing marring damage to clearcoat), which is why they tend to be used in certain scenarios or as last resort. Glass is one of the certain scenarios as it is much hardier. Windowlene contains acetic acid which is why its still a successful glass cleaner. All the more successful products will tend to base around an acid. For media, I've found waffle-weave microfibres tend to be really good - something like Rag Company "Dry me a river" are my go to but there are plenty of competitors.

 

As far as contact washing - any brushes or sponges will lead to clearcoat damage over time as they are just too abbrasive. Best way is microfibre washmitt and while people will advocate a 2 bucket method (or 3 for a separate wheel bucket), I prefer one bucket with clean water (and grit guard in the bottom) and car shampoo in a pump spray to get it on the car. Spray it on, panel by panel, use the wash mitt, rinse the wash mitt in the clean bucket, then move on. Working from top to bottom.

 

On the windows - Tesco glass cleaner (the one in the green spray bottle) and blue roll. 

 

Same thing I use when I'm preparing shop windows for vinyls, it's the best stuff going. 

Edited 12 February, 20251 yr by StevesTruck

As travs says a good waffle weave microfibre is best ,just dont put it in with weekly washing as i find the softner in detergents spoil them ,and i use stoners invisible glass as my go to window cleaner .

1 hour ago, Mickvrs220 said:

As travs says a good waffle weave microfibre is best ,just dont put it in with weekly washing as i find the softner in detergents spoil them ,and i use stoners invisible glass as my go to window cleaner .

Good point on the washing actually - microfibres are basically two types of plastic fibre; polyamide and polyester. One is good at trapping oils, the other at trapping water. Which means, washing at over 40degrees melts the fibres and kills the effectiveness. No hot tumble drying or sticking on the radiator after either. There are dedicated MF towel cleaning products (eg Carpro MFX) but otherwise some guys advocate chucking in some white vinegar or baking soda to help pull the oils out. 
Try to do a MF wash separate to other laundry as they’ll pick up lint from the other fabrics.

 

And Stoner’s is a very respected product…I think perhaps moreso in US as it’s an American product. Substitutes Acid for Alcohol-based active ingredients which act as a solvent rather than surfactant.

21 years later...

 

Wow, Wondering if this is the oldest thread revival post in the history of Brisky ???  ......... Lol.

 

There's a good few old car cleaning pinned threads I was looking to see if they warranted a refresh, some of those are old but not 2003 - the basic principles are still the same, but technology and some R&D has moved on.

On 01/12/2003 at 09:01, shugz said:

Nobody believes me with this one but the absolute best way to clean the inside of the windows is using a damp chamois followed by newspaper to dry it off.

This is an Old Wives Tale... however the old wives knew what they were talking about. It works. 
I heard it for house windows with "brown paper"  It certainly works on house windows.

 However given the price (and rarity)  of newspapers these days Unicorn tears and silk might be cheaper. 🙂
With reminds me I the wife was only saying yesterday that the windscreen, inside, needs cleaning....
 

My windscreen needs doing too, but I really can't be bothered.

 

Microfibre dampened/soaked with AG Fast Glass, give the glass a good rub, then wipe/dry/buff off with a dry cloth. Simples. 

4 minutes ago, Occy245 said:

My windscreen needs doing too, but I really can't be bothered.

It only takes a few moments and once you start to notice the  grime you always see it.

 

I went out and did mine.... well, the windscreen.  Didn't bother with the rest.

14 minutes ago, chills said:

It only takes a few moments and once you start to notice the  grime you always see it.

 

I went out and did mine.... well, the windscreen.  Didn't bother with the rest.

 

I need to do mine - went to a car park yesterday after washing it, and the front windows are all smeared.

 

I'm more annoyed with the state of my windscreen tbh - only a 2020 but it's absolutely chipped and scratched to sh**

As someone has commented, Holly Thread Revival Batmaan!!

 

Anyway. I've tried all sorts to clean inside of windscreens.  AG Fast Glass isn't bad, but I do get streeks with it.  At the moment I have found 'Holts Screenies Glass wipes' work the best. Not sure where you buy it from as it was in a gift set I was given for my Birthday a few years ago. 

 

A good tip is park the car facing into the sun, preferably late when sun is low to help to see all the muck on the inside. AG Fast Glass and/or AG Glass polish are best for cleaning the outside of windows/screens.

5 hours ago, Jim H said:

As someone has commented, Holly Thread Revival Batmaan!!

 

Anyway. I've tried all sorts to clean inside of windscreens.  AG Fast Glass isn't bad, but I do get streeks with it.  At the moment I have found 'Holts Screenies Glass wipes' work the best. Not sure where you buy it from as it was in a gift set I was given for my Birthday a few years ago. 

 

A good tip is park the car facing into the sun, preferably late when sun is low to help to see all the muck on the inside. AG Fast Glass and/or AG Glass polish are best for cleaning the outside of windows/screens.

 

But be careful not to do it during the summer, if facing the sun. You might find (I do) that the glass cleaner dries, smudged, before you can wipe/buff it off.

 

I've given up anyway - had a lovely clean car yesterday, for the first time in a while. Went for my first 'pointless' drive of the year, and about 20 minutes in was greeted by the back of a gritter.

 

Occy covered in salt, not happy!