Windshield cleaner what do you use?

[KB4]

On 4/7/2021 at 4:59 PM, carusoam said:

Prist Acrylic and Plastic Windscreen Cleaner
by Pilots HQ LLC
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0195V0CZ2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MT3FQFB02CR02W8RPF2P

 

This is probably pure water in a spray can...

It is probably more important to select the right towels....

Avoid scratching the acrylic surface...

PP thoughts only...  I buy a can every decade or so...

Best regards,

-a-

I think it’s a little Dawn with water in a can. Important thing is use anything that lubes up the dry bugs and debris so they don’t scratch and swirl. Take a flashlight at an angle helps see any swirls.  Scratch Off Delux kit worked great was enough product for inside and out with some left over, I used right angle drill in RPM range (no worries about burning) and did 3 of the 6 steps. 
 

Swipe down/or down with folded microfiber, flip microfiber swipe, flip, swipe. Don’t swirl or use circular motion.  
Got me beat, can only lasts me 4 years. 

[JWJR]

I use Novus. It’s cheaper at a my local motorcycle shop. I dilute it with 50% distilled water in a large pray bottle. I use a microfiber cloth. Some advice - Tear off the tag from the microfiber ( yes it will scratch the windscreens). If you are wearing a long sleeve shirt or jacket roll it up first buttons scratch for sure. Also watch bands and rings scratch too.

[Shadrach]

Lots of water and a cotton terry cloth. I follow up with All-Kleer applied with a strip of old cotton T Shirt. I would add that prior to my ownership the windshield was cleaned with water and paper towels for about 35 years. Somehow, it survived with little evidence of such a misguided procedure. Which is not to say there are no micro scratches on the windshield, just that you have to look really closely, at just the right angle, in the right light. Functionally from the cockpit it appears unscratched. Not sure if the paper towels were as lethal as some might say..
 

https://www.amazon.com/All-Kleer-Polishes-Windshield-Motorcycle/dp/B07G7D85HG

 

[rbridges]

On 4/9/2021 at 3:32 PM, RLCarter said:

I’ve used my bare hand for 30 years on motorcycle windshields and paint and never damaged anything doing it, clean hands, lots of water and barely any pressure is no problem at all

 

I can't.  Just like the guy in zoolander, I'm a hand model.  

 

[PT20J]

2 hours ago, Shadrach said:

Lots of water and a cotton terry cloth. I follow up with All-Kleer applied with a strip of old cotton T Shirt. I would add that prior to my ownership the windshield was cleaned with water and paper towels for about 35 years. Somehow, it survived with little evidence of such a misguided procedure. Which is not to say there are no micro scratches on the windshield, just that you have to look really closely, at just the right angle, in the right light. Functionally from the cockpit it appears unscratched. Not sure if the paper towels were as lethal as some might say..
 

https://www.amazon.com/All-Kleer-Polishes-Windshield-Motorcycle/dp/B07G7D85HG

 

Or, maybe this just proves that water is a pretty good lubricant and whatever you use with it (cloth, paper, bare hands) matters less. 
 

[Shadrach]

18 minutes ago, PT20J said:

Or, maybe this just proves that water is a pretty good lubricant and whatever you use with it (cloth, paper, bare hands) matters less. 
 

Probably true. What’s also probably true is that pilots will work themselves into a lather over minutia (guilty as charged) even when there’s little evidence to suggest that windshields are being destroyed by ham fisted cleaning procedures.

I’ve been told that that a slurry of soy milk and cocoa butter applied with angora silk Is the only way to keep a windshield truly scratch free but some people are just too cheap to go the extra mile.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Shadrach

[rbridges]

19 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

 

I’ve been told that that a slurry of soy milk and cocoa butter applied with angora silk Is the only way to keep a windshield truly scratch free but some people are just too cheap to go the extra mile.

what momme silk?

[Shadrach]

2 hours ago, rbridges said:

what momme silk?

Momme silk for Beech and Cirrus owners with money to burn.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Shadrach

[PeteMc]

Pledge followup.....  I used to always use the plain original Pledge on the windows and leading edge in the summer for the bugs.  Somewhere along the way I switched to a plexi cleaner and I guess it was a good thing.

Out of curiosity I check with SC Johnson as I had read numerous times that there was real lemon juice in Lemon Pledge.  Well, not exactly true but true enough to keep me from ever going back to it for the windows.   Per SC Johnson:

However, these products do use generic terpenes, orange terpenes, and citric acid as ingredients.

[PT20J]

I don't know about terpenes but citric acid is safe for acrylics.

https://brainresearchlab.com/wp-content/uploads/Plexiglass-Chemical-Resistance-Properties.pdf

[PeteMc]

3 hours ago, PT20J said:

I don't know about terpenes...

I don't know much about it either.  But a couple of places seem to indicate not to use them on plexiglass, plastics, or fiberglass.  Here's one link, but I found others:

https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/blog/products/all-about-dlimonene.html

I figure there are so many other things that are out there that are made for plexi, including WATER, that it's just not worth using it. 

[carusoam]

Some waters are better for the job then others...

NJ has A tendency to have pretty hard water... lots of salt dissolved in it...

Perfect for water marks...

They appear after the water dries away...

The dehumidifier is a great resource to find soft water for the final rinse...

Best regards,

-a-

[PeteMc]

One option for the water is to keep an old soda bottle or use a spray bottle and fill it up with filtered water from home (assuming you have one on the tap or in the refrigerator).