Glass Cleaner

An ability to cut through smears produces our clear winner

WITH paintwork gleaming, deep black plastics and sparkling alloys, the final job after sprucing up the interior is to clean the glass.

You can really lift an interior by removing the faint film that builds up on glass; and by doing this last, any overspray from other cleaning jobs is dealt with, too.

Start with the driver’s door window, remembering to drop it an inch to clean the top edge normally hidden in the runner. You can spray cleaner directly on the glass or, if you’re concerned about overspray, apply straight to the cloth.

Use two cloths, so you can have one loaded with cleaner to shift any grime, while the other polishes to a shine. After the driver’s door, move to the passenger side and then tackle the screen, which is easier to access from here. If there are rear doors, do these before tackling the rear screen. If it’s not a hatch, use the back of the hand to move the cloths across the glass. For cars with a rear hatch, open it and sit inside the car to wipe.

Smears caused by oils are the biggest problem when cleaning glass, and our test focuses on shifting these. We applied measured amounts of oil to the glass, then removed it with each cleaner using the same amount of wipes. We tested five rivals each time, so progress could be easily compared. Our verdict is the result of multiple tests, plus price is taken into account.

TO call these protectants bumper shine is something of a misnomer, given that these days painted bumpers are the norm. But that doesn’t mean they’re no longer needed, because there is plenty of other trim that still needs to be protected and have its colour restored.

While external plastics have improved a lot since the days when red bumpers turned pink with age, and black ones became prematurely grey, they still need cleaning and looking after. A mitt and car wash will handle the cleaning, but a bumper shine will add the same sort of protection a wax or sealant provides for paintwork.

And these protectants are the long-distance runners of the car care world, with the top performers lasting far longer than the best conventional waxes. We’ve seen protectants that are still beading water months after the tests have finished, which themselves often run over six to eight weeks.

So which is the one to keep your spoilers and wing mirrors gleaming? We took 15 products and applied each to a length of plastic trim using the maker’s instructions. We assessed how easy they were to apply, and the finish achieved. The trim was then left outside for six weeks, and water beading was regularly checked throughout. At the end of the test we also assessed the finish, and took into account price from the maker and online sources.

“Top performers last a lot longer than the best conventional waxes”