The best way to clean the windshield?

J

JC150

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Messages
491
Display Name
Display name:
JC150
I just had a new windshield installed, and previously I'd been using a product from sportys for cleaning plastic. A pilot at the hangar told me its better to use water and a soft cloth versus using chemicals. This is the first time I've heard of this and I wanted to hear from other owners what they use on their windshields? I've heard of everything from lemon pledge to special moist wipes to clean the windshield. Should I just be using water and a soft cloth instead of chemicals? Looking forward to hearing what others use.. Thanks!
 
Cotton cloth and lemon pledge, works wonders on all the planes I've worked and on my old Stinson and my new 185F
 
Carefully. As you should have learned, changing the windshield is no simple task.

I use paper towels and Plexus. Not because I'm ignorant of other methods and products but because it's what works best for me. Try a few products and find out what works best for you.
 
Any non-abrasive cleaner and soft cloth such as t-shirts. Wipe in a straight line up and down. Going in circles is not recommended. Paper towels? May as well use sandpaper.
 
Blah, blah, blah. I operate exclusively on sand, silt, and gravel and park outdoors. Cleaning my windshield is probably more important and more required than for the vast majority of you. This plane, 20 years, not a problem. Your experience with using paper towels for many years may differ.
 
I use two microfibera with plexus. Happy with the results
 
First water and a terry towel,followed by plexus and a wash cloth.
 
Comes up periodically.

Most important to first flush off all the dirt and grit with fresh water.

I've used Pledge for decades, and it works very well.

More recently introduced to Turtle Wax Ice Detailer, and in my opinion it works better. Mainly it wipes off more easily and it seems to leave less oily film.

turtlewax_ice_spray_detailer__18505_zoom.jpg


Legend has it that crazing is reduced if you wipe in a straight line and not in a circular motion. Never been sure if that's a real "thing" or not, but do it, usually following the air flow.
 
I've been using the special stuff from sportys, but have a hangar neighbor who has used non ammonia 409 and paper towels for years on his very frequently flown 150. The windshield still looks like new.
 
+1,,,,
BUT use only fresh micro fiber cloth. The 1st step water rinse is important. It's the small silica trapped on the cloth that scratches your plastic. Plexus is made for this material and is not for wood furniture. Our company cleans airplanes every day.

frfly172 said:
First water and a terry towel,followed by plexus and a wash cloth.
Click to expand...
 
I use 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and flood the windshield then use a microfiber towel to wipe in an up and down motion. I use two towels one to take off the water and a dry one to finish.

Once clean I use Plexis and or Reject on the windshield need be.

it is amazing how one tiny speck of dirt will put a nice scratch in the windshield which is why I flood the windshield first to remove as much as possible. Bug I spray first and then let them get nice and wet before trying to remove them.

I use the towels only once and wash them and never use a towel you have dropped, get a clean one
 
Rinse any grit off, or at least use a microfiber duster and sweep horizontally across it. Then apply Collenite Insulator Wax. If the issue is just general funk apply a thin coat with a microfiber applicator and then wipe with a microfiber rag. If you have a bunch of bad assed bug guts, apply it thicker and allow it to soften it up some, and while still thick with wax, use a plastic bonds spreader with a square edge you put on it with 400 then 1200 grit sand paper and gently scrape the softened guts, then we clean with a microfiber rag. One of the keys to windshield longevity is always work horizontally across the windshield and never circularly.
 
After cleaning, do any of you use products like Rain X to seal the plastic and help it shed water and bugs more easily in the future?
 
Flyhound said:
After cleaning, do any of you use products like Rain X to seal the plastic and help it shed water and bugs more easily in the future?
Click to expand...
RainX is not really meant for plastic products, it's meant to work with glass. After a few cleanings with Collenite Insulator Wax, the bugs don't stick that well anyway.
 
kgruber said:
Microfiber towels and Lemon Pledge from Costco. Why try to better the best?
Click to expand...


Because Pledge is no longer the product it used to be. Lemon Pledge will yellow plastic with time and make it more brittle due to the solvents it uses.
 
Flyhound said:
After cleaning, do any of you use products like Rain X to seal the plastic and help it shed water and bugs more easily in the future?
Click to expand...

Plexus already does that. Shedding water is the #1 criteria for my windshield cleaner. I've used a bunch of different products. None that I've tried works as well in the rain as Plexus, and it's a very good cleaner of dust, bugs, and bird poo as well.
 
FastEddieB said:
Source?
Click to expand...


Experience and experiments using different materials over time on different panels. Eisenglass is much faster to react than plexi, you can see the difference in result in 2-3 years, plexi it takes 10 years to realize the difference in color and crazing.
 
Henning said:
Experience and experiments using different materials over time on different panels. Eisenglass is much faster to react than plexi, you can see the difference in result in 2-3 years, plexi it takes 10 years to realize the difference in color and crazing.
Click to expand...


Well then, it should have shown up in, say 50 years?


Clueless!
 
I thought it was common knowledge that Pledge changed something like 15 years ago. It doesn't have the same wax as it used to. In fact I don't think it contains ANY wax these days. It still works okay as a cleaner but I remember lots of guys switching to something else around the time the formula changed.
 
Last edited:
210 brand spray plastic cleaner/polish was recommended to me, and it seems to work well with microfiber cloths.
 
bullwinkle said:
210 brand spray plastic cleaner/polish was recommended to me, and it seems to work well with microfiber cloths.
Click to expand...

210 is fine, so is Plexus, however you'll spend 10 times more on products. The thing about Collenite is you use one $15 bottle of product to care for every surface except fabric, and one bottle lasts a long, long time if you use it correctly.
 
If it's been sitting in the hangar the windscreen may have a layer of fine sand on it (monsoon season in AZ and bad hangar door seals) rinse it with water first, wipe with old cotton t-shirts and then lemon pledge.
 
Henning said:
210 is fine, so is Plexus, however you'll spend 10 times more on products. The thing about Collenite is you use one $15 bottle of product to care for every surface except fabric, and one bottle lasts a long, long time if you use it correctly.
Click to expand...

Collinite is a liquid carnauba wax. The instructions clearly state that it isn't a cleaner so you'll need to have a cleaner product to clean the surface, then Collinite, a wax applicator, a wax remover, and a buffer, at least if you do it according to instructions. Too much trouble. I want to use a product that does everything I need it to do and does it quickly and easily.

I just read the label on Pledge. It says No Wax right on the front. That's easy to prove as I just washed the glass on my back door with it. It works as well as Windex on glass. It does a decent job on granite counters, too. Who knew? That isn't the Pledge my mama used to use on her furniture!
 
Last edited:
Henning said:
...Lemon Pledge will yellow plastic with time and make it more brittle due to the solvents it uses.
Click to expand...

Well it takes more than 35 years because it hasn't happened to mine yet.
 
Stewartb said:
Collinite is a liquid carnauba wax. The instructions clearly state that it isn't a cleaner so you'll need to have a cleaner product to clean the surface, then Collinite, a wax applicator, a wax remover, and a buffer, at least if you do it according to instructions. Too much trouble. I want to use a product that does everything I need it to do and does it quickly and easily.

I just read the label on Pledge. It says No Wax right on the front. That's easy to prove as I just washed the glass on my back door with it. It works as well as Windex on glass. It does a decent job on granite counters, too. Who knew? That isn't the Pledge my mama used to use on her furniture!
Click to expand...

By cleaner they mean oxidation cleaner on paint, these are abrasives and scratch plastic. The solvent will dissolve bug guts making them wipe away. I also don't use 'cleaner wax'. If there is an oxidation issue, I will buff and glaze first, then seal with wax. I use Collenite to clean all the interior surfaces on a boat including glass, mirrors, and brushed stainless, there is no easier method I have found in 30 years.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top