When most people think about washing or detailing their cars often times the most overlooked aspect is cleaning the glass. Whether it’s the front windshield, rear windshield or side windows it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
To the surprise of most, auto glass needs to be treated much differently than the windows in your home. It might look the same but other than that they’re completely different and need to be treated as such. The glass that’s used in the automotive world (or commercial glass) is made differently and the materials used are also different.
There are certain products, tools and processes that need to be used when cleaning your car glass. Most people make the mistake of treating it like glass in their home and it ends up leaving fine scratches on the windshield and other surfaces.
The Tools
I can’t tell you how many customers have come to us and told us they’ve used a household window cleaner on their windshield. That makes us want to pull our hair out. You need to make sure you have the right products and tools or you’ll regret your choice to do it yourself. Be sure that the cleaning product you’ve chosen doesn’t contain any ammonia or alcohol. This is a big no-no in the auto world. If any of these products find their way onto the interior of your car it will lead to cracking. Most times we see this on the dashboard.
Once you’ve chosen the correct product, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the right tools to carry out the job properly. Please avoid using a normal paper towel or old rag to wipe off the glass. Instead opt for a microfiber towel. These can be found in most stores that carry any type of car maintenance products. First of all, microfiber towels are a very soft material that will not leave any fine scratches on the glass. Second, the microfiber will lead to the removal of more particles due to the electrostatic field that it creates. If there’s anything on the glass that is stubborn use something like a grease remover to work it out.
The Process
Never overlook the technique behind cleaning auto glass. There a few important things to note. First of all consider the weather if you’re doing this outdoors. If it’s a high heat situation it’s likely the cleaning product will evaporate and it will end up leaving behind residue on the glass. One technique you can try is running the AC to cool down the windows from the inside-out.
Next, make sure to use separate microfiber towels for the application and removal processes. When you’re in the removal phase, use an up and down motion. Most people think they need to buff products off their car but a simple up and down motion is most effective on glass.
Always be sure to start on the exterior of the vehicle. At Mod Finishes we like to start on the side windows. Remember to roll the windows down so you can clean the part that is hidden when the window is all the way up.