[Houston]

True, at odd angles you get reflection. Wearing a POLAROID sunglasses is far better than not using at all.
Cleaning the windshield. I just stick to plain water and if it's too dirty use plain water first and then use car shampoo. Till now it's been working fine for me.

[Night_Hawk]

For normal cleaning of wind sheild I use plain water first and then spray some colin and dry it out with newspapers. This works out nicely for my Scorp.

During servcing, M&M workshop guyz add windsheild cleaner concentrate in the water (1:20) in the wiper reservoir; this also performs well

[Raccoon]

^^^Newspapers are also fairly abrasive. The drier the more abrasive they are...

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

^^^Newspapers are also fairly abrasive. The drier the more abrasive they are...

You use moist news papers not dry ones

What the newspaper does is to absorb any moisture including oil to leave the surface clean, hence you use it after washing down with water. Of course if there is any dirt or dust, then you are using the abrasive power of the dirt/dust which is as good as using a "sand" paper.

[Raccoon]

^^^Am well aware of that mate. Even if moist, I would not consider newspapers terribly safe. In fact even by rubbing moist newspaper against your palm, one can tell. Also there is the ink issue...

Personally I'd not use them. Blotting lightly with sponge works for me. May not dry the glass immediately but as I mentioned earlier - I use F1 shampoo (another shampoo with wax may work equally or even better) and it sees to it that there are no water marks left over (unless water is too hard).

And that has kept the windscreen free from even micro scratches over all these years... until the MASS ruined it a single shot. Sigh!!

[knownstrangerr]

I am reviving this topic again as I want some solution for my windshield.Though I clean regularly with micro fibre cloth sometimes use glass cleaner and clean.Dust particles minute particles always keep settling on the windshield which is not visible at times unless more of it settles there.Like teflon coating which acts as a coating for paint do we have some solution/liquid which we can use to ensure that dust dont settle or just a mild rub would do to remove the dust without damage to windshield

[itwasntme]

Have finally realized how my car's glasses get so greasy! Every alternate day, our society's pest control man sprays an insecticide fog from a big 'vaporizer' mounted on a cycle.

As my car is next to the central driveway, he inevitably passes by and directly and copiously sprays my car with the fog :-(

A menace but a needed menace unfortunately.

[saket77]

Gentlemen,
Would like to draw the attention to a few posts earlier: Newspaper being used to clean the windshields. If you belong to the old school of Fiats & Ambys, you would remember that how mechanics & drivers of those era would suggest & in fact, use newspapers for cleaning car windshields. They used to say that the ink acts as a polish for the glass.

Even I have used it quite often and no doubt that the windshield looks very neat after newspaper cleaning.

Please share your opinions on the issue and is it a safe practice, considering the fact that dirt on the glass can scratch the windshield as well.

Thanks,
Saket

[Dr.Ameya]

Newspapers do work. I use it regularly now that the rains are here. They also work good for the rear-view mirrors. They dont leave lint or fibers on the wind shield like in case of microfiber cloth.
Tip:1) Work in different directions for different sides eg. Horizontal for outside and vertical for inside of the windshield surface. This way you will be able to tell which side there are streaks and work on them effectively.
2) Clean the glass in a shade. Direct sunlight will evaporate the cleaning solution quickly leaving unwanted marks on the glass.

Once in a while i use Eagle 1 wax as u dry. Gives the windshield a nice shine....i.e. until the rains ruin it again.

[CANPUSH]

When you travel on highways for whole day, it leaves fine layer of oil/ grease thrown out by vehicles in front of you, on your windshield. This layer also attracts fine dust. To clean this, most effective way I have found is -

First wash with running water and bare hand to remove all dust settled. 500 ml of water is sufficient for this.

Next use some soap water, even bath soap is good enough to remove grease and oil. Wash again and while the glass is still wet rub with wet newspaper (black and while, not glazed variety) to remove balance grease and oil. A rubber squeegee that is commonly used in homes and kitchens is also good to remove all deposits.
It is good practice to carry small cake of bath soap in your toolbox. It comes handy to seal leakages on occasions if any leak in any supply line/ hose is detected

This has given me good results.

Adding some liquid soap to windshield wash tank also helps.

I have yet not tried toothpaste. But I have seen that the scuba divers use toothpaste to clean their mask glasses. In fact when they finish their day, they apply ordinary toothpaste (basic variety) to the glasses and leave it to dry there. Next they just dip and masks in water and rub off the toothpaste before they wear it.

Colin, is also very good but you need to carry that bottle in your boot if you have to use it on highways. (Which usually I forget since Colin is also used at home to clean many other things)

[micrographics]

I'm having problem in visibility during Rains. Even when rains are less like just drizzling, I find difficulty in viewing because of Oil or some greasy substance on my windshield.

I've tried all options mentioned above but have total disappointment as still I'm not able to get rid of these oily marks.

Can anyone from Bangalore help me ?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by micrographics

I'm having problem in visibility during Rains. Even when rains are less like just drizzling, I find difficulty in viewing because of Oil or some greasy substance on my windshield.

I've tried all options mentioned above but have total disappointment as still I'm not able to get rid of these oily marks.

Can anyone from Bangalore help me ?

If it is grease or oil, any detergent will clean it away. For really persistent stains try using "Teepol".

It may be that there is some other chemical on the wind shield which is sticking in spite of soap wash.

Another reason may be that the windshield is not smooth (with micro scratches on it) or wavy, hence the wipers are not cleaning it properly.

[micrographics]

Aroy

When I use Wipers in Rain for first few minutes they work smoothly but after they start working like they are getting sticked to something and moves intermittently. I changed the Wipers also and tried to clean the Glass using Shampoo, Colin with Vinegar. Even rubbing the Glass with hand or did not worked. Yes, there are scratches due to frequent use.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by micrographics

Aroy

When I use Wipers in Rain for first few minutes they work smoothly but after they start working like they are getting sticked to something and moves intermittently. I changed the Wipers also and tried to clean the Glass using Shampoo, Colin with Vinegar. Even rubbing the Glass with hand or did not worked. Yes, there are scratches due to frequent use.

As you say the windshield is scratched, and the first few minutes of the rain the wipers work. That means that the dirt carried by rain slowly starts fowling up the glass. The only solution I can see is that you can try to put a clear film on the windshield - either plastic or chemical based surface coating which has to be hard and scratch proof. As such things are prohibitively expensive the only option is to change the windshield. (This is where I love MUL cars the windshield are rarely more than 3k installed)

[micrographics]

Aroy

I'm thinking of going for Windshield change if my last trial on cleaning fails.

Checked the price of Windshield at Mahindra and they quoted around 9K+ and after insurance claim I'll be required to pay only 2.5K whereas aftermarket Windshield is costing 5.5K only.