02Pilot said:Whatever cleaning fluid you use, wipe it off with old newspaper - old detailer's trick. Can't explain why it works so well, but it does.
I have heard the 'old newspaper' trick for 50 years and all it ever makes for me is a soggy mess and black fingers.
I've never had any luck with newspaper. I hate cleaning windows, it always a streaky mess...
SWMBO uses these fancy cloths she got at some party that included wine and a sales pitch. I borrowed it one day to test it on my windshield. Now there is one in my race kit.
Duke said:02Pilot said:Whatever cleaning fluid you use, wipe it off with old newspaper - old detailer's trick. Can't explain why it works so well, but it does.
I have heard the 'old newspaper' trick for 50 years and all it ever makes for me is a soggy mess and black fingers.
You're using too much cleaning fluid. Black fingers depends on the ink the paper uses - some are worse than others (NY Times is terrible, Wall Street Journal is great).
Without a doubt, the best thing I have used is a waffle weave microfiber cloth and invisible glass.
I clean the microfiber with Free and Clear laundry detergent and pour a little bit of vinegar into the machine. Not sure that actually does anything, but what the hell. Dry on low, call it a day.
Oh dude. Everything I have tried smears. Get a tiny squeegee, dawn and hot water. Lather, shqueege, mop up the drips off the dashboard. Done.
afterwards- NEVER let any living thing touch the inside.
Duke said:02Pilot said:Whatever cleaning fluid you use, wipe it off with old newspaper - old detailer's trick. Can't explain why it works so well, but it does.
I have heard the 'old newspaper' trick for 50 years and all it ever makes for me is a soggy mess and black fingers.
See above post.
Bumping this thread to thank Wade at Fastenal in Oshawa, who set me up with a can of Sprayway yesterday when I told him that it was the consensus favourite and his was the first place I'd found that had it in stock around here. (BTW, I agree: it works great!)
Wade is into motorsports but hadn't previously heard about GRM. I figure we both did well out of the deal.
In reply to Stealthtercel :
Cool and thanks. Yeah, Sprayway for the win. I keep a can in the kitchen, too, for use inside the house. (We have a glass-topped kitchen table.)
Sorta related, look for a clean-up editorial piece in the next few days: How to quickly/easily/efficiently/whatever clean rubber, plastic and glass. Figure it can help some $2000 Challenge teams.
Regarding the newspaper trick:
You need to crumple it up first!
Hold it and use it like it's a sponge, not a flat towel.
Interesting timing on this. Polished the 84 Mustang GT convertible windshield last night with Cerium Oxide. Then Windex with a clean blue glass cloth. And finally with a damp chamois. Not perfect but wildly better and pretty great for 37 year old glass.
Ever clean the inside of the rear window of a Porsche 911 coupe? You have to like kneel backwards on the seats and kind of double-arch your back. That probably explains why I never cleaned it until recently. This towel was clean when I started.
Oh I forgot to update this earlier. Yeah, that stuff in a can was a total gamechanger for me.
Hello, former professional window cleaner here. Nothing will get your windows cleaner than a squeegee used with nearly any detergent. NOTHING!
The trouble with windshields is that they're usually quite curved. The answer is a narrow squeegee. My little one is 8 inches wide and works wonders on windshields. I've cleaned "clean" windshields and find that it makes a massive difference. I put a towel down on any sensitive dashboards, but usually I just clean up the drips with a rag or paper towel.
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