Windex Sucks - Other Car Windshield Cleaners Please

Rickochet

The glass in my truck hasn't been cleaned in many months, my bad. I tried using Windex and did the inside and outside 3 times and it still looks like streaky crap. Can anyone recommend a better cleaner?

PA-PLAYA

Always used to clean my auto windows with vinegar solution (+part water and part soft soap detergent) and newspapers. But that was back when I actually took the pains to keep my car sparkling clean. Worked better than anything on the market. Do a google search, you'll find the ratio.

Afraid to stick my hand under the carseats these days.... I no longer maintain such a pristine standard, as I've grown into this "my car serves me, I don't serve it" phase. Once a month I go to the local carwash and pay $25 to have them wash, wax, clean/wipedown interior and windows and vacuum. They do a good job. My time is definitely worth more than 8 bucks per hour, since it would easily take me 3 hours to detail it myself.

Try the newspapers/vinegar/soap and water deal.

Rickochet

PA-PLAYA Always used to clean my auto windows with vinegar solution (+part water and part soft soap detergent) and newspapers. But that was back when I actually took the pains to keep my car sparkling clean. Worked better than anything on the market. Do a google search, you'll find the ratio.

Afraid to stick my hand under the carseats these days.... I no longer maintain such a pristine standard, as I've grown into this "my car serves me, I don't serve it" phase. Once a month I go to the local carwash and pay $25 to have them wash, wax, clean/wipedown interior and windows and vacuum. They do a good job. My time is definitely worth more than 8 bucks per hour, since it would easily take me 3 hours to detail it myself.

Try the newspapers/vinegar/soap and water deal.

I knew that someone was going to suggest a vinegar solution. Ok on the outside but ewww smell wise on the interior where the problem is the worst. Funny you mentioned reaching under the seats. I was looking for the "as seen on TV window brush" and when I reached under the driver's seat I found a full box packs of peanut butter cheese crackers. The best used by date was Oct. 26, 2012. Being retired and my '09 truck has 40K miles and is garaged every night so it doesn't get really dirty. But finding a 6 year old box of crackers under the seat is really sort of funny. Dang, getting old is a bitch.

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Typhoon

+1 to PA-Playa. Even if you use Windex still, I feel Newpapers are the key.

I love detailing my own car, my wife's, the kids...

darpar

Typhoon
How about one of my Subaru's? 🙂

As far as windshield cleaner the best stuff I've used came from Glass Doctor
when they replaced my cracked windshield last year.
It's a spray foam and it cleans well without leaving any streaks.
And yes to using a newspaper.

mrtiki

What's a newspaper???

LBlack14

mrtiki

What I read in the library every morning. At least the Sports section of it anyway.

PA-PLAYA

Rickochet

Wow, bringing back memories.... I worked in outside sales for a family-owned construction products business back in the 90's. A friend of mine who was also outside sales for the company was notorious for refusing to clean his company truck... nobody would ride with him out to various job sites, it was so filthy.

One hot summer afternoon, one of my contractor customers came into the store after having a productive day fishing at a nearby lake... asked me if I wanted a "mess of fish." I walked out to the parking lot to admire his take, and my fellow outside sales buddy's truck was parked right next to his, and his windows down. I grabbed a fish out of his ice cooler and tossed it behind his seat. LOL

Two days later he comes into the store first thing that morning. "I'll be out for a few hours, gotta go get my truck cleaned out. My god it smells awful. Smells like tuna, got every cat in the neighborhood chasing me!"

I literally spit the coffee out of my mouth. LMAO!

Fun times.

FauxAmish

Rick,

Try Invisible Glass a spray cleaner available at most auto stores. Best I have ever found. And I use newspaper with it.

Rickochet

FauxAmish Try Invisible Glass a spray cleaner available at most auto stores. Best I have ever found. And I use newspaper with it.

Going to the auto store today. Will check it out. As far as using newspaper, our's is so small now it isn't big enough to wipe your arse much less do a vehicle. I have some microfiber towels I will try.

Typhoon

FauxAmish

What's funny is at work we have the invisible glass wipes...and they arwntbthat great unless you go over it/dry it with newspaper.

The spray would be good with newspapers.

GLFTPS

FauxAmish It is great stuff.

DC300

Rickochet

I used to use one microfiber towel to swipe away the cleaner and a dry one to make sure I got the residue, the streaks drive me barshit crazy and that did the trick for me.

Release

Some had already suggested, use diluted white vinegar. Wet a clean rag with the diluted solution ( I think it was 1/3 of white vinegar and 2/3 of water with a dash of salt ). Wipe the class with the wet rag and then use kitchen paper towel to clean up.

Change the paper towel regularly. I used to fold it twice and change the surface contacting the glass after a few wipes ( don't be afraid of using double or even triple layers, I like the paper towel to feel like a thick pad in my hands .
Keep the windows open for awhile after cleaning unless you love the smell of vinegar.

jbuck31

I second using Invisible Glass. That used with a microfiber towel does the trick for me. Nice and clear with no streaks. You can find it at all the auto supply stores as well as Wally World.

rsvman

I get mine from Griot's garage. Cleans any kind of window really well and doesn't streak at all. They also sell "lint-free" paper towels that are great. https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/window+cleaner.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search

mulegolf

The one I keep coming back to is "Sparkle." It's a purple colored liquid that comes in a trigger spray pump plastic bottle. I use it with paper towels. The key is to have a clean paper towel to sort of polish the glass immediately after wiping off what you scrubbed the window grime with. There is a sort of film that you must polish off before it completely dries. After seeing posts above, I will try the Invisible Glass. I'm always looking for something better but so far, I keep coming back to Sparkle. One benefit is there is no ammonia smell.

Release

Simple Green will cut most of the grease, cover up the dashboard if you use spray, I would wet a clean rag with the Simple Green and wipe on, the wipe off with paper towel.
The Sprayway Glass Cleaner from Costco works fine, that's what I use for light duty cleaning. I wipe down the interior with it and works fine.
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garyt1957

What's up with the newspaper? Doesn't seem like it would be absorbent enough to do any good?

Release

garyt1957

Except for the ink might rub off onto the glass, sometimes .
I use kitchen paper towels and lots of it. Or some old facial towel which I saved over the years, great for this and other jobs in the garage.

Typhoon

garyt1957

Doesn't leave a film or streaks...nothing in it.

Rickochet

After complaining about my streaking windows to my wife she went into the utility room and brought out something called a Krystal Klear cloth. It is a very thin material about 16" square. She said to just wet it with water, wring it out and clean the windshied and let it dry. Bingo, my windshield is streak free and crystal clear. She said she has been using these for years on our houseboat which has a bunch of large windows. Now she tells me. 🤦