Best Way to Get Streak Free Glass

Glass is one of the most difficult surfaces of your car to clean and keep clean. Because it is transparent, you and anyone else will see every single streak, smear, spot, and mark on it. Most of time, when you try to clean it, the cleaning process itself will cause streaks! It's enough to drive anyone crazy! However, it is definitely not impossible to achieve clean and clear glass! So let us answer the question that has burdened many detailers...

What is the Best Way to Get Streak Free Glass Cleaning Results?

Here are 4 things you can do to get streak free glass:

1. Use a microfiber towel with a short nap.
2. Use multiple microfiber towels, one to clean the surface and one to wipe it dry.
3. Use a glass cleaner that won't evaporate quickly.
4. Clean your glass in the shade while it's cool to the touch.

In this video, Justin Labato and Bruno Massel give you advice on the best products to use to clean your glass and the best technique to use while doing it! Let the experts teach you how to solve this problem that plagues detailers everywhere!

Let's go a bit more in-depth on those 4 things you can do to get streak free glass!

Use a microfiber towel with a short nap:
The problem with towels with a long nap is that, as you are wiping, the surface of the towel is much more textured. Because of this, there are valleys in the towel that aren't reaching the glass. If the towel is not touching the glass, it is not able to agitate or absorb anything off the surface. What ends up happening is that there are tiny lines across the glass where the cleaner and contaminants were not removed, which will lead to streaks. Using a towel is a shorter nap allows more of the towel's surface to reach the glass, absorbing more of the residue, and leaving less opportunity for streaks to form. The Cobra Waffle Weave Glass Towel, the Speedmaster Glass Towel, and the Diamondite Carbon Fiber Glass towel are all short-nap microfiber towels designed specifically for glass cleaning. Any one of these are a great choice, but each has a small advantage that may help you more depending on your personal preference. The Cobra Waffle Weave Glass Towel is more absorbent, making it better at pulling liquid and contamination off the surface. The Speedmaster Glass Towel has a diamond weave that better solves the "tiny valleys" issue. The Diamondite Carbon Fiber Glass Towel is made of a material that is also able to leave the surface STATIC-free to reduce dust accumulation.

Using multiple microfiber towels:
Glass cleaning needs to be done in multiple steps. The first step is using a microfiber towel to spread the cleaner across the surface so the cleaner can loosen the contamination and the towel can pull most of that contamination off the surface. The second step is to do a final wipe to remove any remaining cleaner and contaminants from the surface. If you are only doing the first step not all the contaminants are removed. Once the cleaner evaporates, those contaminants will remain on the surface, dragged into neat lines that we know as "streaks". If you are using the same towel to do the final wipe, you are using a soggy, dirty towel that is only going to leave behind more cleaner and contaminants. You need to spread the cleaner with one towel and do a final wipe with a second towel. It is also important that you switch to a clean side of both towels (or a new towel entirely) after each section of glass you clean to avoid implanting the cleaner and contaminants on the towels back onto the glass. In general, you'll want to use a more premium towel, like the Diamondite Carbon Fiber Glass Towel to do the final wipe.

Use a glass cleaner that won't evaporate quickly:
Streaks are essentially just a collection of small lines of contaminants on the glass. While the glass cleaner liquid is on the surface, these contaminants are diluted into the liquid, hiding them and making them easy to remove. However, once the liquid evaporates, these contaminants cling to the glass once more and become very apparent. If you are using a glass cleaner that evaporates quickly, you will not have enough time to the final wipe that removes the remaining cleaner and contaminants before the liquid dries and the contamination clings to the surface once more. BLACKFIRE Gel Glass Cleaner has a thicker consistency than most glass cleaners. This means that not only will it evaporate more slowly, it will also provide better lubrication while you're wiping the surface and it will cling to the glass surface rather than dripping down while you work!

Clean your glass in the shade while it's cool to the touch:
Liquid evaporates more quickly when it is hot. If the surface of your glass is hot or the sun is heating up the liquid, you the liquid will evaporate more quickly. And as we have already said, if the liquid evaporates before you can do the final wipe, you're going to have a ton of streaks!

Now that you are equipped with these 4 tips and a list of high-quality products to use them, go out there and get the crystal clear glass you deserve!