With the seasonal tip at the end, I thought this might be worth sharing:
From the Autoglym manual:
"Do not be tempted to use household products on your car. They are designed for very different purposes and can cause harm and even danger when used on cars. Glass cleaners designed for household use, for instance, often contain elements that will cause smearing and consequent impairment of visibility. Washing-up liquids are also potentially harmful as they contain high levels of salt and heavy concentrations of detergent that will quickly remove wax polishes that have been so painstakingly applied the week before.
Neither do we recommend rotary brush attachments for your hose as they can scratch badly. An adjustable nozzle is a must, however.
. . . Finally, do not be tempted to use a broom to remove snow from your car, as again you will certainly scratch the paintwork."
They would say that, wouldn't they? But I'm inclined to heed their advice.
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>Glass cleaners designed for household use, for instance, often contain elements that will cause smearing and consequent impairment of visibility<.
In my experience, Autoglym Glass Cleaner does a great job of smartening the appearance of car windows, but I never use it on wiped glass because it affects visibility, especially when facing oncoming headlights. (for that use Windolene!) But for achieving a showroom look, nothing better than Autoglym stuff.
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The best thing for cleaning a windcreen is vinegar, good old Sarsons malt, or light. It removes road deposits though does not leave any oilyness itself. Rub a bit along the wiper blades as well for smear free vision.
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As I understand it, the Autoglym Car Glass Polish is for infrequent use when there are persistent problems. The Autoglym manual says "For badly soiled glass, Car Glass Polish will remove contaminants and does not leave a residue when polished. . . . It contains cleaning and polishing ingredients selected to clean perfectly and eliminate wet weather smearing and wiper skip. It will also remove insects, traffic film, grease, tar, hard water deposits, tree sap, and adhesives. . . . Many domestic glass cleaners contain wax and silicone for cosmetic effect which may cause dangerous smearing in wet weather if used on your car." Alcohol-based Autoglym Fast Glass is for frequent use and does the job very well.
I have no involvement with Autoglym, by the way; I'm just reporting what they say.
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I always use Autoglym Car Glass Polish on all windows including the front and rear windscreen and never had any problems with visability ... its one of the best products I have ever used. Tend to use it when I wash the car but then use Fast Glass in-between.
I also use it around the house to clean the patio door windows and the bathroom mirror - brings them up a treat and they don't appear to get as dirty as quickly as when using household cleaners.
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I've always used washing up liquid for cleaning cars and bikes, and never had any problems with paintwork or smeared windscreens. Any salt in washing up liquid will be washed off when you rinse off afterwards anyway.
I also use a broom for cleaning the car. It is one of those with really soft bristles like on car cleaning brushes, and when I sold my last car after two years plus of weekly washes the paintwork was as good as new.
Using proprietry cleaners no doubt gives a better finish, but for a car in daily use I've never seen the point as it will be looking grubby again in no time.
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I think this is where the distinct difference comes in ie. cleaning your car to get the dirt off it, and washing, polishing your car etc to clean it and protect the paintwork.
I suppose as per all the debates on quality of fuels etc, there would need to be scientific research done to prove that, say, a 5 year old car washed in washing up liquid is worth more than a car washed all its life with Autoglym.
But, lets be honest, how much is down to taking pride in the car? I love spending an afternoon washing, waxing and polishing my car. I love the act of doing it and the end result. Other people like going to horse racing, playing chess, whatever, but after a hellish week at work I like to put the radio on , listen to the football and wash the car!
I know it will be dirty by the time I have got it down my driveway but so what!
[Its also a good excuse to avoid shopping with SWMBO!]
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Quite right there, Bobby. It can at times be useful therapy, and it makes you feel good to see a nice shiney motor sitting on the drive. More so with the bike, which is never garaged if it has a speck of dirt on it, but I must confess that most of the time car cleaning is a chore to be finished ASAP.
Different with the interior, though. I HATE a dirty cabin, and SWMBO's car drives me barmy. She is forever ferrying saddles and riding gear about, and you can never get rid on the hairs from the upholstery, not to mention that horsey smell.
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No better therapy than cleaning and polishing the car, and it rains afterwards, and every other car is covered in a layer of water but yours is just covered in little dots.... I only ever polish the car before I think it's going to rain ! - how sad is that
but seriously (?) - ok, there is salt in washing up liquid, but nobody has yet convinced me that there is more salt in washing up liquid than there is in ordinary road spray the morning after the gritters have been out, and we dont leave our cars at home 'because of the salt'
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I live in an area with very hard water and always have to leather off the car or it dries very streaky.
However, on Sunday it was persistently raining but i had to wash both cars as they were truly filthy and the visibilty from windows was being affected as well as light effectiveness so I bit the bullet and washed them.
Obviously didn't bother to try and dry them!
Got up on Monday morning and they were both positively gleaming! The difference is so great that from now on guess when I will be washing the cars?
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