found this on the M5 forum...
thought it would be good use for my fellow members...
hope it wasnt post b4 :D


http://www.autogeek.net/stoninglas.html

Thanks marita, streaky windows are a pet peeve of mine, I think I may have to give this a try

welcome...

the M5 owners use it....and some use a leaf blower to dry off their car...and it works...so i would give it a try...:D

I love that stuff works Great! I use it with old newspapers....really gets the glass clean...tho some may not agree with the newspaper bits...

I have used it in the past, drying with the newspaper even. But believe it or not, the best thing I have found is to mix water and rubbing alcohol 50/50 and then use 3 sep. towels on the glass. This works very well.

My mother-in-law uses a mixture of white vinegar and water for cleaning her eye-glasses. It's absolutely amazing!

Would such a thing work on car windows? Would the acid level in the vinegar wreak havoc on our paint? Would it be acceptable with a quick rinse-down afterwards?

i dunno...some of the M5 members use it on their beast...so im assuming it works really well...

Mickey, I have actually read somewhere that vinegar is great for taking water spots off of glass, but one thing you would want to do is make sure it doesn't touch your paint, that would eat right down to the clear coat in a heart beat. But I was mainly speaking of interior glass in my post, I don't think you would want the smell of vinegar inside your car, that would be pretty bad.

Yes, both of those are very, very good points. I guess I'll keep the mixture far away from my chariot.

When all is said and done, does this group just spray Windex on a paper towel or tee shirt and wipe up the insides, or do we really use something exotic?

Originally posted by eeeks
I love that stuff works Great! I use it with old newspapers....really gets the glass clean...tho some may not agree with the newspaper bits...

Newspaper works great. The wetting agents in paper towels - and absent in newspaper - are partially to blame for the streaking.

I have been using that for awhile now and it works great! I think I ordered it from the company and mine was a 19 oz. aerosol spray and they even included a special rag to use for applying it. I recommend it over all other cleaners I have tried in the past.

I have been using that for awhile now...

Uh, what's "that"? Vinegar and water?

Originally posted by Mickey


Uh, what's "that"? Vinegar and water?


i think hes talking about the spray mickey...

Originally posted by 325Driver
... but one thing you would want to do is make sure it doesn't touch your paint, that would eat right down to the clear coat in a heart beat....

Actually, vinegar is a very weak acid. Stomach acid has a pH of 3 and vinegar is around 4 or 5. Throwing up on your car is worse than vinegar. Also, the paints and clearcoats are very good at resisting acids these days. Vinegar won't harm paint one bit, especially if you mix it with water first. And when you say it "would eat right down to the clear cost", did you mean through the clear coat? Clear coats are on the top.

Also, wax is impervious to acids. Bases (lye, sodium hydroxide) dissolve organic compounds, while acids have no effect. A good coat of polish then wax is your best defense.

JamesM

Believe it or not vinegar is excellent for removing water spots. Just apply some to a towel and wipe and then reapply wax afterward. But it will not eat throught your paint like brake fluid or battery acid will.

And when you need to scrub bug carcasses off the front of the car, use 7-Up. Works great.

Originally posted by jsp98m3
And when you need to scrub bug carcasses off the front of the car, use 7-Up. Works great. howd you figure that one out? :devillook

Actually I have had great success with equal parts of amonia, white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. I use newspapers as the wipedown, something about the black ink protects the glass from getting dirty as quickly. :dunno

My wife saw this tip on HGTV or someplace, she's always watching that stuff. But all I know is it works for me, especially being a cheap bastard and all. :D

Hints From Heloise in the newspaper.

Originally posted by jsp98m3
Hints From Heloise in the newspaper.

Hey, on second thought, I think that's where my wife got that amonia, vinegar and water tip also. :laugh

I think massangil makes a female product containing vinegar and water. If it's safe for up there...

One other thing I've heard isyou can use coffee filters.

-Dave

PS. Should the newspaper be only with black ink? ie. no colored sale ads?

Originally posted by dmgdoc
I think massangil makes a female product containing vinegar and water. If it's safe for up there...

One other thing I've heard isyou can use coffee filters.

-Dave

PS. Should the newspaper be only with black ink? ie. no colored sale ads?

Just use the black ink text part of the newspaper, not the sales flyers and stuff.

No comment on your first suggestion but I think that stuff is more expensive... :95

For exterior glass, try Bon Ami Cleaning Powder. Be sure to get the right stuff - read the label and get the stuff that says that it's OK to use on windows. I think the label also says something about NASA using it to clean the windows on Skylab. There's also a Bon Ami Cleanser - you DON'T want to use this stuff because it can scratch your windows. Remember, I warned you...

For the interior, if you have tint, you might want to steer clear of any window cleaner with ammonia - the ammonia may make the tint turn purple.

Jim

Originally posted by 325Driver
I have used it in the past, drying with the newspaper even. But believe it or not, the best thing I have found is to mix water and rubbing alcohol 50/50 and then use 3 sep. towels on the glass. This works very well.

i have not used this yet, however i have heard this works very well.

I used the Bon Ami Cleanser (I think). No problems. It says right on it that it's guaranteed not to scratch... :dunno

For interior tinted windows use Plexus. Safe for all kinds of plastics, mylar, etc. I use this on the roadster's rear window and it works great!

I went out and got the invisible glass. Works like a charm, no streaks. I also got some green towel type of rags at pepboys that are made for cleaning glass. Those work great and leave no little fuss or lint.

Unless the windows have a lot of dirt, film, grime, etc. on them, the best thing to use to clean windows is plain old water. Water will not leave streaks like most all of the store bought products.

If you happen to have very dirty windows then first clean them with a cleansing product and then re-wash the windows using plain water.

The key to no streaks is to use a dry cotton towel to remove the water from the window by rubbing the window until it is completely and totally dry. If there is any water or cleanser film left behind to air dry instead of towel dry there will be streaks visible a few days later.

Water is all you need to use unless you need to remove something greasy or oily.

Bob ///M3

Well, I'm surprised nobody mentioned polish. Polishing your windows like you do your paint will show perfect result! Give it a shot.

10 % isopropyl alcohol (by volume) with water works well too. Doesn't take bugs off very well though.

Wes
'95 M3

Manuel, what did you use to polish your windows? I have tried using car wax once and it left the ugliest streaks the first time I turned on the wipers. I removed the wax and never again considered polishing my winshield.

While we're mixing up stuff, how about some bleach and ammonia? J/k.

Originally posted by frayed
While we're mixing up stuff, how about some bleach and ammonia? J/k.

Ladies and gentlemen, dont try this at home!

Chlorine and brake fluid make an interesting combo too. :evil2

Yeah, I was j/k. I remember a janitor at school had done it by mistake. They had to evacuate the whole building, and the hazmat team swarmed in.

I went to the store and picked up some Stoner Invisible Glass... Not really inspired by this thread, but I juat happened to be at the store and I was looking for 303 Aerospace protectant, or Plexas and was not finding it and I hate to leave empty handed so I picked up some Stoner...

The stuff works really good, my windows have never looked so good, and sreaky windows are a very big pet peev of mine. Great product.

what store did u pick it up at hyp?

AutoZone.

And about a month ago I posted about how they also had dynamite deals on MF towels. I ended gettting two 17X18 MF towels by Turtle Wax for something like $4. So they occasionally have good deals over there if you know what you are looking for.


...$4 does not hide the fact that I am probably close to upwards of $250 in car care products...:biglaughb

ok, must look for local autozone near me, only kragen and i have yet to check out pepboys, couldn't find that stoner glass cleaner yet

yeah 3.99 a can, hehe i bought 2 too, online it's like 6 bucks, plus 5 shipping to me, i had to drive like 15 miles to autozone though, kragen didn't have it, neither did target, nor kmart, hehe i will try this stuff out with news papers later tonight when i go wash the cars, btw, sorry to get OT, but what would u guys use to clean/scrub your wheels? I just use a sponge and the car wash soap and scrub 'em and water 'em down, takes way too long to get every single dust/particle out