Bah... one thing I left out that is pretty important... When you run the towels that you use for glass cleaning through the clothes washer, DO NOT use any fabric softener. Same goes for the dryer... no fabric softening sheets. The stuff they put in fabric softener stays in the fabric, and it will cause streaking issues on your glass. Setting your washing machine for an extra rinse cycle helps a lot, too.
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After 6 months or more of ownership (Model M3) - Poll
- Thread starter jebinc
- Start date
AdamMacDon
Member
I used to work for Mercedes Benz in the detail department, so I know a thing or two (and have some OCD regarding how clean my car is), but the one thing I've never been able to solve is the cloth problem. I've tried lint free shop towels (which was the best result, but expensive), then I moved on to using well washed microfibers as after a few hard wash cycles they lose a lot of lint (but not all of it). I'm hoping the cloth you linked is the magic bullet! Thanks for the tips!They are great for day-to-day cleaning. For really dirty windows, get yourself some waffle weave microfiber towels. They don't leave *any* lint behind. At all. Sprayaway aerosol window cleaner works very well, too. Again, not affiliate links.I haven't used the Chemical Guys waffle weave towels that I linked, so I can't speak to them specifically. The ones I'm using are 15 years old, and are no longer made, but the CC towels look decent. They do have more tufting to them than mine, though. Mine have absolutely no tufting at all. If you can find a waffle weave microfiber towel that just looks like woven material with zero tufting, that's ideally what you want.
I've been detailing cars for 35 years, and one of the best combinations you can get for glass is zero tuft waffle weave microfiber used with a good glass cleaner. There are other alternatives to Sprayaway nowadays that work pretty well, but over all, it's tough to beat Sprayaway for streak free glass.
The glass cloths I linked to you in my first post are fantastic for their purpose: finger prints and lightly dirty glass.
But for the dirty stuff, use the waffle weave and Sprayaway.
Ah well, as long as we're here, I'll get into it a bit more... Sprayaway is a very gentle cleaner. It isn't really good on heavy dirt, but it is phenomenal at leaving a streak free finish. On really dirty glass, I'll use a universal All Purpose Cleaner first, or a high cleaning glass cleaner like Windex. After all the big tough stuff is gone, a quick spray and wipe with Sprayaway will leave you a completely clean, streak free piece of glass. Just be aware of its shortcomings when it comes to really dirty glass, though.
So two steps on really dirty glass:
1. Waffle weave with an All Purpose Cleaner or Windex
2. Fresh waffle weave with Sprayaway
3. (optional) If you should happen to see an odd streak leftover, use one of the glass cleaning cloths from the first post.
I posted an extremely long thread on glass cleaning on one of the detailing forums years ago, but here's the TL;DR version of how I clean glass:
Using the same waffle weave towel, clean all the windows with an APC or Windex. Then use a fresh waffle weave for each window with Sprayaway. Touch up with glass cleaning towels as needed.
One of the biggest mistakes guys make when cleaning glass is not changing to a fresh towel often enough. The crap that is transferred from the glass to the towel is just looking for a reason to streak your glass. Don't give it a chance; change the towel!
Right... well... *ahem*.. that was probably way more information than what you were looking for, but since you mentioned that the glass was driving you nuts, I thought I'd share a bit of my OCD with you.
jonquiljo
Active Member
Well, I can't give input because I have yet to buy an M#. I will say that after driving one today (just incredible) - I will be placing a order for a LR AWD model shortly. I've owned lots of cars in my life and know that there can and will be problems at this time. But the enthusiasm I see here from owners is fantastic. Enthusiasm at the prospect of driving something new is what caused me to think about a M3. Life is short and it's time to try out the future while there is time to try it. Thanks everyone (so far for your very honest) replies.
FielderJones
Member
Today is six months of Model 3 ownership for me. I'm as happy with the car today as the day I took delivery. No problems with the hardware or software that couldn't be fixed by searching this site. Glad to be a part of this club.
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