How To: Properly Clean & Maintain a Coated Windshield

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Nick McKees37

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The picture of the Corvette you see above is not relevant to this article. There, I said it!

Now that I have your attention, I'm going to demonstrate two very quick and easy ways to clean, maintain and enhance glass coatings using two of my favorite glass care products.

What is a glass coating?

A glass coating is generally a silica, nano, or resin-based product that is designed to form a molecular bond to glass surfaces. Glass coatings repel rain, sleet, snow, ice and virtually anything else that plagues your vehicle's windshield from every day use. While the most popular application for a glass coating is the windshield, they work equally well on side windows, mirrors, and more.

Examples of a glass coating

Here are a few of the most popular glass coatings:


Proper Maintenance

Glass coatings are a blessing for anal retentive enthusiasts that cringe at the thought of a dirty windshield, because they make cleaning your glass so much easier. FYI, I fall into that category; I hate, hate, HATE dirty glass. Did I mention I can't stand dirty glass? Now that I got that off my chest, let's move on.

The biggest mistake most people make after applying a glass coating is maintenance, or lack thereof. In order for a glass coating to cause water to bead up and WOW the passenger sitting next to you, your windshield needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. Road film and airborne contaminants make their way onto your windshield (and paint!) every time you pull the car out of the garage and take it for a spin. If your car sits outside 24/7, then it is constantly bombarded by the aforementioned airborne contaminants and, even worse, bird droppings! All of the above hinders the coating and its hydrophobic properties. By no means is a glass coating a "set it and forget it" type of thing. Proper maintenance is key.

Nick's Maintenance Plan

If you've ever read any of my previous articles, you know I'm an advocate of the saying "work smart, not hard." That couldn't be any truer for glass care. I don't like cleaning glass, and I'm not particularly good at it, so the fact that my windshield is (always) coated and that I use the proper products to maintain it, allows me to focus on more important aspects of car care and detailing - like how clean my wheels look.

I use three products to clean and maintain the coated windshield (DP Glass Coating) on my daily driver - 2010 Mazda 3.

Each one of those products is self explanatory and doesn't require any thinking - just the way I like it!


Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster

Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster is an advanced additive for your windshield washer fluid. It doubles the cleaning power of regular windshield washer fluid while creating a much slicker washer fluid that is less prone to streaking and smearing. Its formula is highly concentrated which means one 16 ounce bottle of concentrate treats 16 gallons of washer fluid! It is perfect for removing built up road film, dirt and grime to maintain the protection and hydrophobic properties of your glass coating.

Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster is packaged in a 16 ounce bottle that features a built-in measuring cup. This allows for accurate product measurement.

Simply squeeze the bottle until the fluid reaches the 1 ounce mark, locate your windshield washer fluid reservoir, and dispense!

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Use as needed - Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster will not negatively affect your glass coating. It will actually make your glass coating perform better because it removes road film and contaminants, leaving the surface smooth again.

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Best part? Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster doesn't leave a film or a build up of gunk on your windshield wiper blades.

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Pinnacle Crystal Clear Glass Cleaner with Water Repellent

Your search for the best glass cleaner is over. I can't tell you how many times I've said that sentence to an inquiring customer looking for a dumby-proof glass cleaner. Pinnacle Crystal Clear Glass Cleaner with Water Repellent removes dirt, grime, and road films while depositing a water repellent coating. Since this glass cleaner is alcohol free, it won't slowly degrade your glass coating over time. The built-in water repellent boosts and extends the hydrophobic properties of your glass coating.

Application is simple: spray directly onto the surface and wipe clean with a Waffle Weave Microfiber Glass Towel. After the area is cleaned, lightly buff it with a second clean, dry Waffle Weave Microfiber Glass Towel.

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A lot of people ask "what's so special about the Waffle Weave Glass Towel?" The weave, of course! The Waffle Weave Glass Towel has over 220,000 fibers per square inch and a soft 75/25 blend of microfiber. Tiny spokes in the individual fibers, too microscopic to detect with the naked eye, lift and trap dirt and moisture, while gently buffing the surface to a shine.

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That's it!

Maintaining the water beading and sheeting properties of your glass coating is easier than you think. Clean the windshield regularly using Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster to prevent road film and grime from bonding to the windshield. Once every week or two quickly go over the windshield with Pinnacle Crystal Clear Glass Cleaner with Water Repellent to further increase the water beading and sheeting properties of your glass coating.

Because I'm such a glass cleaning junkie, I put together a money-saving combo that includes everything mentioned in this article at a ridiculously low price.

Pinnacle Perfect Glass Care Combo



 
Thanks for the review Nick.

I have been eyeing some glass care and coatings as of late as I am leaving a climate that hardly rains or snows and my cars always stayed in a garage during nasty weather to a climate that gets plenty of rain and snow and will be driven like there meant to be. Down the autobahn and Nurburgring!
 
Nick@Autogeek said:


The picture of the Corvette you see above is not relevant to this article. There, I said it!
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And:
Thanks for your helpful windshield tips posting Nick!

:)

Bob
 
smack said:
Thanks for the review Nick.

I have been eyeing some glass care and coatings as of late as I am leaving a climate that hardly rains or snows and my cars always stayed in a garage during nasty weather to a climate that gets plenty of rain and snow and will be driven like there meant to be. Down the autobahn and Nurburgring!
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Great choice! A glass coating, as mentioned in this article, is an obvious choice for those that want the best view of the road ahead.


FUNX725 said:
Thanks for your helpful windshield tips posting Nick!

:)

Bob
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Any time Bob!
 
Whoever is shown cleaning that glass needs to take off that fancy watch or it may scratch the windshield, nOOb!!!!!


Thanks for the write up!
 
I don't usually like to revive older threads but I noticed that Pinnacle glass sealant is missing from the list recommended. Is this a newer product? Or is it just not as good as the ones that are recommended?
 
Nexifer said:
I don't usually like to revive older threads but I noticed that Pinnacle glass sealant is missing from the list recommended. Is this a newer product? Or is it just not as good as the ones that are recommended?
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No worries!

Pinnacle GlassCoat Window Sealant is a sealant. The focus of this article is coatings. Coatings last a lot longer but are a little more involving in their application.

What is a glass coating?

A glass coating is generally a silica, nano, or resin-based product that is designed to form a molecular bond to glass surfaces. Glass coatings repel rain, sleet, snow, ice and virtually anything else that plagues your vehicle's windshield from every day use. While the most popular application for a glass coating is the windshield, they work equally well on side windows, mirrors, and more.

Examples of a glass coating

Here are a few of the most popular glass coatings:


However....

Everything listed in this article is applicable to GlassCoat Window Sealant as well.

:dblthumb2:
 
I find Duragloss Rain Repel to be an exemplary product for this purpose! Cleans glass and adds protection to it as well, enhancing what's already on there. I had used it on my Lincoln before we drove to Florida 2 weeks ago and we drove through quite a bit of rain and it was unreal watching the rain rush away!

Duragloss Rain Repel (RR) #751
 
Ok. Why would one choose a sealant over a coating if the coating lasts much longer? I applied the sealant. Is it now possible to apply the coating? My assumption would be to first remove the sealant. I'm confused.
 
Nexifer said:
Ok. Why would one choose a sealant over a coating if the coating lasts much longer? I applied the sealant. Is it now possible to apply the coating? My assumption would be to first remove the sealant. I'm confused.
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Because sealants sometimes can be easier/faster to apply and take less time (including prep).

Coatings need to be applied over product-free glass, so no coatings over sealants.
 
So basically, now that I have the sealant on the glass, I would have to polish again before applying a coating. I wish I had known that they were different... The glass was fully polished and prepped before using the Pinnacle product. :(
 
What about the type of washer fluid? Using Rain-X washer fluid seems to completely cover up and negate any water beading/ sheeting abilities of GTechniq G1, I'd love to hear what others are happily, and unhappily using.
 
Nexifer said:
So basically, now that I have the sealant on the glass, I would have to polish again before applying a coating. I wish I had known that they were different... The glass was fully polished and prepped before using the Pinnacle product. :(
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Now that you know how to polish glass, it wouldn't be difficult to remove the sealant and apply the coating. :dblthumb2:

tersplat said:
What about the type of washer fluid? Using Rain-X washer fluid seems to completely cover up and negate any water beading/ sheeting abilities of GTechniq G1, I'd love to hear what others are happily, and unhappily using.
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That's why I made a point to outline the use of Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster. I would not recommend using Rain X or any other over-the-counter windshield washer fluid. :props:
 
You have to have some sort of windshield washer fluid to add the additive to, right? I'm just wondering what that washer fluid should be.
 
I should receive my order of Pinnacle Glass Work Windshield Washer Booster today. The car is a 2015 Honda FIT so I still have whatever the factory or dealer prep put in there but I plan to empty the washer tank then run some plain water through washer to flush. I need advice on what to put in washer tank along with booster. Is it better to mix washer fluid and the booster in a container then just dump it in the tank? Thanks for this topic. Bill
 
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Nick@Autogeek said:
That's why I made a point to outline the use of Pinnacle GlassWork Windshield Washer Booster. I would not recommend using Rain X or any other over-the-counter windshield washer fluid. :props:
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tersplat said:
You have to have some sort of windshield washer fluid to add the additive to, right? I'm just wondering what that washer fluid should be.
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I got confused by the bold as well--did Nick mean to not recommend "Rain-X or any other 'repellant-based' OTC windshield washer fluid"?
 
tersplat said:
You have to have some sort of windshield washer fluid to add the additive to, right? I'm just wondering what that washer fluid should be.
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Nope - you can simply mix it with water and make your own. :dblthumb2:
 
A couple of thoughts...

- Coatings/sealants - just like with paint products, there are some coatings which are actually sealants. Unlike with paint products, it is harder to identify because it is pretty easy to get a very strong bond to glass. For instance, I have a coating which lasts for 18 months to 2 years. Alternatively I have several sealant type products which will last a year or longer. If it wasn't for me telling the customers, the sealant is more than durable enough to be sold to compete with some coatings, even though it costs about 10 times less to make.

- Use of top up products on a coating. I am uncertain about the wisdom of this. Not all such boosters will be the same but I know that neither of our booster repellents will offer the same water repellency as the longer life products. Perhaps more crucially, they tend to degrade more via contamination 'sticking' than abrasive removal. What that means is that performance drops because they get dirty rather than because they are removed. In other words, put them on top of the coating and the performance is dictated by the booster, not the coating. To rejuvenate, you need more thorough cleaning than the coating alone... Personally, I go with one approach or the other.
 
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