Best car glass cleaner?

Duragloss Nu-Glass (NG) #755, glass polish, water spot remover

autogeek_2269_70654374

Then wax of your choice. Maintain with QD of your choice.
 
So my question is, which is the best
ammonia free glass cleaner out there
for cars?
Hard to say definitively:
Everyone will probably have their
own opinion of what's best.

The products iv'e been looking at are

the Armor All glass cleaner and
the Meguiars perfect clarity and
the Rain X.

would like to know your views on these products
-I used RainX only once...and that was back in 1996
on a new Tahoe's rear-glass...with unsatisfactory results.

-Have yet to use ArmorAll's Glass Cleaner;
or Meguiar's Perfect Clarity

and i would also like to know what you use.
-Meguiar's D114 [@1:128 dilution ratio]
-Meguiar's D120
-Sprayway [050]

Last thing, are the armor all glass wipes any good?
Can't say...I have never used them.


Bob
 
Which is the best Auto Glass Cleaner?
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Good question.
I am in the middle of an Auto Glass Cleaner research project with the intent on finding out the answer to that question.
You also have to decide what factors matter most to you.
- Cleaning ability.
- Clarity.
- Deep Clarity.
- Reflection.
- Shine.
- Scent.
- Surface Cleaning or strictly Auto Glass.
- Eco friendly or not.
- Price point per ounce.
- Specific vehicle type and intended use.
- Hydrophobic
- Showroom presentation, Museum presentation, Daily Driver, etc....
- Application (Yes, it matters. Some Auto Glass cleaners take forever to buff in to achieve the baseline performance offered by the product).


I will offer some brief thoughts on the products listed n the OP.
I will have a more in depth write up later on, but for now will post a few very brief thoughts.
The first product tested, and actually first tried this product around 10 years ago, is Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner.
YSGlw62.jpg


This product excels in every category listed above.
It is to date the best Auto Glass Cleaner I have ever used.
It also has many crossover application.
I use it to clean industrial equipment, power tools, all kinds of machines, office furniture, and everything else.
I could not be happier with this product.
I was the one who actually recommended this product to Darren Priest of Auto Fetish.

Meguiars Perfect Clarity.
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Fantastic Auto Glass Cleaner.
Classic Meguiars scent.
Ceans glass very well.
Very nice clarity.
Showroom reflection and shine.

Rain X.
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This product is the second worst Auto Glass Cleaner I have ever used to date.
I honestly never thought I would find a worse auto glass cleaner until I continued testing using another product recently and found one.
This product fails in every category listed above.
Avoid this product.

Rain-X 2 in 1.
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This product is miles better than its sister product listed above.
It is a leaps and bounds improvement and excels in every way by comparison, except for one thing.
The final result.
This product has a serious problem retaining moisture and residue.
I used this on two separate work trucks, both had the exact same problems.
The moisture of the morning dew would just not go away.
It also rained latter in the day and the retained moisture created by the rain drops left a smear and foggy windshield that would just not go away.
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In order to simply be able to drive and see out of the windshield I was forced to remove all Rain X from the windshield.
That took some serious work to clean and buff it all away.
Not only is this product one to avoid, I would list it as a safety hazard and issue a warning regarding using it.

Hope this helps.
Throw all of that away,and buy zentex glass cleaner called the boss ,your glass cleaner hunting and evaluations will be over for good I promise you.
 
Throw all of that away,and buy zentex glass cleaner called the boss ,your glass cleaner hunting and evaluations will be over for good I promise you.

*Zenex

interestingly, the MSDS ingredients are the same three as Meguiar's D120
 
I love the Megs clear bottle for the interior!:dblthumb2: Safe on window tint, smells great, doesn't streak.

On the exterior, Megs in the gallon and dilute, or Stoners, or even Duragloss Rain Repel.
Heck, I've even used my home made panel wipe with D114 @ 256:1 with 30% alcohol. :)
 
I just looked it up I did try that horrible,way to much alcohol for mobile operation.
 
I used to own a mirror company and the cleaner we used used was 50% Isopropol alcohol and 50& water. Wipe dry with a clean towel. If your windshield seems to have embedded dirt you can try using a Mr. Clean sponge and follow with a glass polish and finish with a glass sealant. That should keep clean for a while.
But aren't mirrors different than glass?
 
But aren't mirrors different than glass?

To remove embedded dirt on glass,use oooo fine steel wool either inside or exterior.certain glass cleaner perform differently let's take sprayway for example for 1.98 and a very good cleaner for inside of your home,but take that same product and apply it to a 130 degree hot windshield and you will struggle yourself to exhaustion .mirrors I find are easier to clean then glass.alcohol based cleaners don't work well in the heat ,because the alcohol evaporates so quickly it leaves the surface dry.To clean glass outside rather then inside is a whole different scenario.The only one that works 100 percent out in the heat is zenex,even if you have the flu it's so effortlessly to remove.stoners is my back up but at 3.59 a can I blow thru 8 cans per week and have to keep the windshield drenched before I wipe.
 
To be honest, if I were you I'd try the Armor All glass cleaner out of those 3 choices. Reason being is I've heard surprisingly great reviews of it from reliable sources who know what they're talking about. [i.e. Darren from Auto Fetish]
Plus it can be easily found at just about any auto parts store etc.

I've used Rain X before, and for me it turned out to be a regretful purchase. Left a nasty haze on the glass and worst of all I hadn't noticed it was only for use on exterior glass only. Maybe they make different varieties, but that bottle is in the garage somewhere. It outta be in the trash. Lol.

I personally use Meguiars D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate which works better than any glass cleaner I've used before it. However you may not be ready to invest in a concentrate that'll yield 11 gallons of glass cleaner. Even though it can be had for less than $20, for most people that's just way overkill. Lol.

1 small tip: invest in a good sized decent quality waffle weave microfiber towel to use only for your glass cleaning. I have a 24x46" towel that can be flipped many times to a clean side. 1 for cleaning, 1 for drying. You'll clean your glass like never before:)
I second the recommendation for Meguiars D120. Yes, it makes a lot of glass cleaner but one can use it through out the house: windows, mirrors, stainless appliances. And, one can also share with relatives and friends.
 
That's pretty interesting that you happen to be the guy who suggested the Armor All Glass Cleaner for him to try. It's like detailing mastermind in here. Lol.

I can't imagine a Rain X could make a glass cleaner any worse than this. Everything you described happened to me as well.. I found this in the garage.. I can't believe I wasted $5 on this. Lol.

View attachment 38725


That makes sense to me now. I think I'm cleaning my glass fine but I may be introducing some residual wax back to the glass from different towels. How are you applying/removing the D156? How are you cleaning/washing your dedicated glass waffle weave towel?


I apply the D156 by lightly spraying it onto a Megs Supreme Shine Microfiber towel and then wiping it onto the glass, and turning it for a final wipe.

As far as how I wash my towel I use 3D Towel Clean @2oz. per every 10 towels in hot water. Towels get separated between paint worthy/all purpose, door jamb, wheel drying status and don't get washed together.

Other than that, the main thing I like to do just prior to throwing them into the washer is putting about an ounce of car wash into my bucket with a grit guard and agitating the heavy dirt from any towels that need it. It also helps break down spray waxes quite a bit. That way it allows the microfiber detergent to go to work on deep cleaning the towels instead using the suds to fight dirty water the whole time.

As far as my glass towel, I just end up tossing it in with the good batch of towels when it comes time to wash. I've never had a problem with the towels showing signs of cross contamination/streaking. My glass towel is a Chemical Guys Gray Matter 30/70 blend waffle weave.

I also have a large batch of Meguiars Ultimate Wipes, which I use only for compound/polish removal. And some of them for LSP removal. The Lsp towels live a separate life, away from all my other towels and get washed alone. I don't even allow my cat to get near these towels. Lol:)

View attachment 38726
 
CRL Sparkle is awesome for removing stubborn water spots. Available on Amazon.

Yes that's the cleaner,but the polish is phenomenal like no other and it last quite a long time too.
 
A glass cleaners performance is dependent on towels and technique.

However, I prefer aerosol cleaners(Invisible Glass) so they will foam and cling to window, rather than running into window track, as do most spray liquid cleaners.

This will prevent streaks at a later time when the owner decides to roll their window down.
 
I just looked it up I did try that horrible,way to much alcohol for mobile operation.

it has the same amount of alcohol when diluted as the product you mentioned.

d120 is a concentrate and the msds reflects that. it's diluted 10:1. so they both end up with ~2% weight alcohol in RTD dilution.
 
it has the same amount of alcohol when diluted as the product you mentioned.

d120 is a concentrate and the msds reflects that. it's diluted 10:1. so they both end up with ~2% weight alcohol in RTD dilution.

Maybe I didn't dilute it correctly it was many moons ago.Im gonna stick with zenex.
 
That's pretty interesting that you happen to be the guy who suggested the Armor All Glass Cleaner for him to try. It's like detailing mastermind in here. Lol.
Haha.
What is funny is that Darren Priest hates Armor All brand as much, if not more, than anyone.
He also is in love with Meguiars D120 and Perfect Clarity.

When I made the recommendation to him via email, I had no expectations that he would ever try it, much less get right on it.
I think he tried it within a couple weeks following the email.
To Darren's credit, he does try what his viewers recommend.
Also to his credit, he gives the products an honest chance and is objective about his findings.

He recently posted a video regarding products recommended by his viewers.
At first, with the inventory of products shown, there is no Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner visible.
I was like "yea, this guy will never give this product a chance".
Then later on, at 11:19 I think, he cuts to himself holding up the bottle of Armor All Auto Glass and goes on a few minute talk regarding the product.
He stated that he had only briefly tested it, but liked what he had seen and gave it a thumbs up.

I commented in the YouTube comment box and also sent him a follow up email for he had asked that whoever recommended this product to let him know.
He replied to my email with a pretty glowing report of Armor All Auto Glass and said that he would mention my name in an upcoming video review of the product.
So, the whole thing is kind of funny and I am glad he liked the product I recommended.


I can't imagine a Rain X could make a glass cleaner any worse than this. Everything you described happened to me as well.. I found this in the garage.. I can't believe I wasted $5 on this. Lol.

I was very surprised.
Before embarking on this project, I had very high expectations of Rain-X products.
When I was younger, every Auto Tire Store, Auto Mechanic Shop, Auto Parts Store and even many Car Dealerships had Rain-X banners hanging for all to see.
If you look online and research Top 10 Auto Glass Cleaners, Rain-X is always on the list, and many times rated #1.
I was literally stunned at what poor performing auto glass cleaners Rain-X products were.

I apply the D156 by lightly spraying it onto a Megs Supreme Shine Microfiber towel and then wiping it onto the glass, and turning it for a final wipe.

As far as how I wash my towel I use 3D Towel Clean @2oz. per every 10 towels in hot water. Towels get separated between paint worthy/all purpose, door jamb, wheel drying status and don't get washed together.

Other than that, the main thing I like to do just prior to throwing them into the washer is putting about an ounce of car wash into my bucket with a grit guard and agitating the heavy dirt from any towels that need it. It also helps break down spray waxes quite a bit. That way it allows the microfiber detergent to go to work on deep cleaning the towels instead using the suds to fight dirty water the whole time.

That is really smart.
Cleaning off as much dirt as possible before throwing the towels into the wash.

I still have yet to try Meg's D156.
Need to do that and stop putting that off.
I have continuously used the off the shelf/retail various spray waxes by Meguiars, as well as other brands.

As far as my glass towel, I just end up tossing it in with the good batch of towels when it comes time to wash. I've never had a problem with the towels showing signs of cross contamination/streaking. My glass towel is a Chemical Guys Gray Matter 30/70 blend waffle weave.

I also have a large batch of Meguiars Ultimate Wipes, which I use only for compound/polish removal. And some of them for LSP removal. The Lsp towels live a separate life, away from all my other towels and get washed alone. I don't even allow my cat to get near these towels. Lol:)

I do the same thing with glass towels.
I also separate polishing towels, from waxing towels, from wheel and tire, etc...

You have the right idea on towel care.
Towels are the backbone of auto detailing.
Keep up the good work.
 
it has the same amount of alcohol when diluted as the product you mentioned.

d120 is a concentrate and the msds reflects that. it's diluted 10:1. so they both end up with ~2% weight alcohol in RTD dilution.
I can't find the ingredients to part number272103,I went on there site and they make several glass cleaners with or without ammonia all in aerosol.The one I use is the part number above and its thixotropic spot free glass cleaner and odor neutralizer.when first introduced like 2 years ago, I was on the fence with this product because of its multi uses.I usually stay with a glass cleaner that's only intended for glass.The guy where I buy from gave it to me free ,so I never looked back.
 
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