The best glass cleaner
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
It is often asked on detailing fora and social media: “what is the best glass cleaner”. Off course there is a difference between certain products and brands, but it is important to know what you are asking. In this guide I will try to explain what the problem is with this question unless it is asked more in-depth.
Contents
The general problem
When somebody asks what the best shampoo is, they are not letting other people know what they mean with “best”. A shampoo is developed with several characteristics in mind. It has to be slick, good soluble in water, good cleaning properties, wax/sealant-safe and several more. These properties can be very different between products and/or brands. In the question “What is the best shampoo”, it is nowhere specified if that person is looking for a shampoo that is very slick, if it just smells nice or if it is the least protection-affecting.
So it is almost impossible to give an answer.
What to keep in mind when you ask the question
Many detailers are searching for a certain product that offers good quality. This could mean that they are looking for a cheap product, one that smells good, etc. Before you ask the question which product is the best it is important to know what you are looking for. Are you looking for a wax that offers mainly gloss? Or is easy to buff off? Or one that offers as much gloss?
It is important to know what you are looking for, and to know that there will be cases in which 2 properties can not be combined. A shampoo that is really awesome at washing away stubborn grease can not be wax safe. Simply because you need a certain harshness to remove the grease, harshness that is more then the wax can handle. Even sealants are likely to be affected by this.
A list of things to consider
Here is a list of properties you might consider including in your question. These can be your own preferences, or just things you find important. This list is simply made to help you find out what you exactly want to ask, so you will get better answers that suit your search.
Glass cleaner
- Easy to use
- Leaves stripes/streaks
- Smells good
- Price
- Size of bottle
- Dilutable
- Removes oil, nicotine etc.
- Alcohol or polymer based
Different related articles
The engine bay is an important part of the car, and many detailer want it looking like it is brand new, or even better: custom build. This means cleaning of a lot of dirt, grime and oils that are hard to remove. This basic guide will give you some pointers before you start....-
Keeping your pad clean is very important, because the paint residue on/in your pad can cause scouring onto the paint surface. If the pad has become clogged, we can’t get a perfect finish....
-
An All In One (often referred to as a AIO) product is 1 product that serves 2 (or more) goals, or works in 2 (or more) ways. This can either be a mixture of properties that result in more than 1 effect that is commonly only achieved by 2 products, or this can be mixture of products. Not all the AIO product are actually called like that. Basically, it's the opposite of a "stand-alone product", which is 1 product that is aimed at 1 task/property....
-
Bird poo can be a big problem with paintwork and needs to be removed as soon as possible. Bird droppings have several aggressive chemicals in them that can severely damage paintwork. Not removing these can cause paint defects that might not be removable. In some cases a respray is needed to repair the surface....
-
Poorboys World is a manufacturer of detailing products that range from polish to shampoos and cleaners. The product are being sold worldwide and focusses on the quality of their products, nothing else. Not even their labels....
-
A Last Step Product (LSP) is the product that you use in the last step of detailing. This is the "protection" part of detailing. The term is often used by people telling or asking what product was used to protect the achieved finish after a small or large detailing session. As abbreviations are popular, this term quickly become shortened into: LSP....
Links to this article
There are no external links to this article. Yet.