Autocar product test: What is the best glass cleaner?
We’ve been testing the best glass cleaners on the market for a streak-free shine and effortless application
Being able to see out of your car’s windows is, unsurprisingly, quite important. Yes, your vehicle has windscreen wipers and screenwash, but despite that, you’ll often find the glass gets dirty over time, whether it’s pollen coating your car in spring, or road salt obscuring your view in winter.
No one wants to buy a product only to discover it leaves residue and streaky marks all over your car’s glass, so we’re doing the hard work for you in this product test to find the best glass cleaners out there.
Following each company’s recommended instructions and processes, we applied the products to a car’s windscreen and windows, which had a few weeks’ worth of dirt on them. We looked at how streak-free the clean was (the last thing anyone wants is a streaky window), how clean the glass was, and how long the product lasted for.
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*BEST BUY – GTechniq G6 Perfect Glass*
*Price *£12.38
*What’s included *500ml
*Buy from *Amazon
There’s no smearing or streaking with this fantastic product. Arm yourself with two cloths, spray the product directly onto the first cloth and wipe the glass. Remove the residue with the second glass cloth or microfibre for a glistening finish. It’s fragrance and colour free, because these ingredients can cause smearing. It’s not the cheapest product, but it performs impressively well, evaporating quickly and leaving nothing behind.
*Autocar says* 5 stars
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*RECOMMENDED – Dodo Juice Clearly Menthol Professional Glass Cleaner*
*Price *£12.99
*What’s included* 500ml
*Buy from* Amazon
This solvent-based glass cleaner is abrasive free and safe for use with tinted and plastic windows. Dodo Juice also suggests using it to clean mirrors and windows in your house as well as your car. Use a waffle-weave glass cloth (Dodo Juice makes a Mint Merkin for that very job), which has more absorbency than piled microfibre, and make sure your glass is dry before using. It did an excellent job, tackling tough dirt with ease and keeping our glass clean for a decent amount of time.
*Autocar says *5 stars
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*Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Cleaner*
*Price *£13.00
*What’s included *473ml
*Buy from *Amazon
This is another product you can use on both interior and exterior glass. Meguiar’s suggests to move the towel up and down when making your final wipe on the exterior glass. On the interior, move the towel left to right. This will enable you to see which side of the glass may need a re-wipe. Note that this product is not recommended for use on clear plastics, painted surfaces or LCD display screens. It effortlessly removed some really tough dirt and left us with a spotless streak-free finish.
*Autocar says *5 stars
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*TurtleWax Hybrid Solutions Streak-free Mist Glass Cleaner Inside & Out*
*Price *£14.00
*What’s included *591ml
*Buy from *Amazon
The TurtleWax glass cleaner comes with a Flairosol (aka fine mist sprayer with a great name), which helps the product spread evenly on all glass surfaces and can be used to give a short or long burst of product. We found it worked very well on removing dust, fingerprints, bugs, bird droppings and water spots, both inside the car and on the windscreen (some of those were fortunately only on the outside).
*Autocar says* 4 stars
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*Auto Glym Car Glass Polish*
*Price* £7.00
*What’s included* 325ml
*Buy from *Amazon
To increase visibility through your windscreen both inside and out, Auto Glym’s Car Glass Polish is an ideal product. Most glass cleaners tend to be a clear spray, but this is a thick cream. Apply a small amount to a microfibre cloth or polish applicator and work it over your windscreen in a circular motion, inside and out, ensuring the glass is completely covered with a thin film. For any pesky marks, you’ll need to add a bit of elbow grease. Give the cream time to dry, then buff with a clean microfibre cloth. The anti-misting properties were very effective, but you can’t use this product on Perspex, acrylic or plastic windows.
*Autocar says *4 stars
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*Auto Glym Fast Glass*
*Price *£7.49
*What’s included* 500ml
*Buy from* Amazon
Auto Glym’s Fast Glass is a versatile product that can be used on glass, mirrors, Perspex, acrylic and plastic windows. To use, spray a light coating across the glass and spread around with a microfibre cloth. Buff to a clear finish, making sure you turn the cloth regularly to avoid streaks. If you want to use this product inside your car, spray directly onto a microfibre cloth to apply so it doesn’t get everywhere it shouldn’t. It’s a very good ‘top up’ cleaner but does need a really good scrub when used on heavier dirt.
*Autocar says *4 stars
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*Sonax Xtreme Glass Clear*
*Price* £12.99
*What’s included* 500ml
*Buy from *Amazon
Sonax Xtreme Glass Clear is great to use in your car, and your home. We’ve been using it to clean all the mirrors in our house and it worked really well tackling both jobs. To use, apply a thin layer of the spray to the surface you’re cleaning and spread with a microfibre cloth. Wipe with a new dry cloth for a streak-free finish.
*Autocar says* 4 stars
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*RainX 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner + Rain Repellent*
*Price *£10.50
*What’s included* 500ml
*Buy from *Amazon
We get a lot of rain in the UK, but the RainX 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner is claimed to help with that annoying problem. As well as cleaning the glass, it adds some of RainX’s Water Beading Technology, which helps make water droplets bead and run off surfaces. Spray it onto the glass, wipe it off. We found it worked better to use two cloths: one to get the initial muck off, the second to buff. We did also need to reapply to get the worst of the dirt off, as well as to keep the beading working. However, it did keep the glass cleaner between washes.
*Autocar says* 4 stars
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*King of Sheen Glass Sparkle Car Glass Cleaner*
*Price* £8.99
*What’s included *500ml and glass microfibre cloth
*Buy from* Amazon
We were impressed by the King of Sheen Glass Sparkle and enjoyed wearing our imaginary crown as the queen of sheen. The product is very easy to use: aim, spray and buff off. It can be used on a huge range of surfaces, including glass, making it versatile. It was effective at removing finger marks and flies, as well as the usual grime. Priced reasonably, and including a microfibre cloth, this is a good value product as well as a good quality one.
*Autocar says* 4 stars
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*Armor All Glass Wipes*
*Price* £2.29
*What’s included* 20 wipes
*Buy from* Amazon
Need something to keep in the car for on-the-go window cleaning? These Armor All Glass Wipes will do the trick. They’re biodegradable and don’t contain any ammonia, so you’re fine to use them on tinted windows too. They were useful to have in the glovebox for dealing with emergency bird poos, but we found they were less effective for cleaning a larger surface area.
*Autocar says* 3 stars
*How we test products*
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*How we test products*
*Rachael Hogg*