When it comes to cleaning windows, many people get disappointed with the results no matter how hard they try. Mostly car owners work store cleaners and paper towels, but in the end they still do not get an “invisible” glass as they wanted.
Unfortunately, paper towels do not work well, but the majority of cloths do even worse job smearing little “hairs” everywhere. The answer for the problem is very simple. Old people have used newspapers to clean their house windows for many decades and they do the same on car windows. There is something really special about newspaper that cleans the glass exactly right. Besides, it is a cheap, if not free, way to achieve the best results, since the majority of people receive or buy newspapers anyway and then has to throw them to the trash.
Here is how the newspapers work:
• Start with a good cleaner. Your favorite window cleaner is fine, but if you want, it is possible to have a homemade one done: use 10 parts of water with 1 part of alcohol, add a little bit of ammonia (a splash of it per a gallon of the mixture is enough).
• Spray the window to coat the entire surface well.
• Wipe the window down. Do not dry it up, but rather clean the window from dust and pollen with a paper towel. Many people give preference to blue towels designed for window cleaning.
• Use the newspaper for the final effect. Wad up the newspaper to soften it up and make a ball out of it. Start from the edges and make circular motion for the best results. Keep working on the whole window till it starts gleaming. If the paper becomes wet and does not give the desired result, take a new sheet of newspaper. Applying pressure is fine, but remember that you are working with glass!
• Do the other side of the window in the same way.
Each step should be repeated for one window at a time. Do not spray them all and then start cleaning because the result might appear terrible if the spray dries out before you come to the window with the newspaper.
It is important to know that the newspaper works perfect on glass, but do NOT ever apply it to aftermarket plastic window tint, on soft plastic windows, or gauge/lens covers. While working perfectly on glass, newspaper might scratch plastic.
If the car has plastic windows, they can be cleaned as the whole car body: use soft polishing towels on them. Auto shops sell special clear plastic polish which works well on gauge covers and plastic windows. If used regularly with softest cotton polish cloths, it can keep the covers in perfect condition for many years.
The polish can also be used on such surfaces like plastic headlights and taillight lenses. But it is not recommended to use it on vinyl and hard clear plastic.
If you plan to reuse the rags, do not use or wash these polishing cloths with the other ones, especially those used to compound or wash dirt off the car.