Whats the best product or cleaning strategy to get rid of the smeary film on the inside of my van windscreen?

thanks

Ian

https://www.autoglym.com/fast-glass

Fairy liquid and water on a cloth. Give it a couple of washes and dry off with crunched up newspaper.

Fixing the leaky heater matrix

autoglym fast-glass is good if its not to bad otherwise there glass polish works well.
i’m using Meguiars glass polish at the moment as it was what i could get hold of in a hurry when i had to remove some very stubbon stains of the outside of my windscreen and that also worked well.

It isnt from the heater matrix, apparently this stuff is from the breakdown of plastic polymers in interior trim.

Thanks for you suggestions, i will buy some and get it sorted.

apparently this stuff is from the breakdown of plastic polymers in interior trim.

as long as it’s not a glitch in the matrix you’re ok.

I was about to ask, is it a new van? The new smell is the solvents and modifiers etc in the plastics coming out and it does give new cars a grimy smeary screen.
Personally I just use Mruscle/Sainsbury’s window cleaner, might need 2 or 3 goes to cut through the grease though.

White vinegar often works for cleaning glass.

Supermarket window cleaning spray, the one I use has white vinegar in it. Spray, wipe round with kitchen roll, polish with kitchen roll.

Do you vape ? Sounds like a stupid question but we have agency drivers who sometimes vape in our trucks and that leaves an oily film on the inside of the windows and it can be a bitch to get off . There are vape specific glass cleaners out now also because of this.

White vinegar. It’s very good and cheap for cleaning windows.

Always seems to accumulate slowly in our cars. I’m assuming it’s road grime since the windscreen gets a steady supply of super fine dust, dirt and exhaust gasses from surrounding traffic, even with the cabin filter in place.

My wife says it is because of excessive farting in the car. This has not been scientifically proven however and I deny all accusations.

Really clean and dry microfibre cloth can give a decent temporary fix. It doesn’t remove it but you can at least move the worst of it to the edges. For a good clean the Autoglym stuff mentioned above gets my vote too.

Bar keepers friends is great for filmy type stuff.

Do you vape ?

Or eat fast food in the car? these sorts of things leave greasy traces on the windscreen. Breakdown of polymers of the interior trim?? sounds like the sort of excuse someone who eats fast food while vaping in their car and excessively farting and smearing lard into their belly on a hot day would use. I’ve never vaped or smoked or eaten fast food in the car and never had smeary windscreens so nothing to do with the interior trim I’m afraid. Excessive farting? guilty as charged from time to time and still no greasy residue on the windscreen.

excessive farting

Is there any such thing? What is the threshold for unnecessary? Asking for y’know scientific research purposes.

Autoglym (I think) makes an intensive tar remover. It’s a bunch of alcohols and the like basically. Not much can resist it. It’s good for getting ink off clothes too.

I always use Glass-be-gone by Brick Cleaning Products.

Auto glym glass polish is brilliant for this and leaves the windscreen *completely* clear even in sunlight – I find most products leave a slight smear usually only visible with low sun on the screen.

It may seem expensive but my bottle has lasted 9 years (of bet intermittent cleaning) and is still 1/4 full. You hardly need to use any each time.

Bar keepers friend or steam.

Yes it is the plasticisers from the vinyls. A cloth wetted with water and dishwash liquid will remove it followed by a microfibre cloth to dry it off. To make it easier next time you could spray the inside of the windscreen with a wax furniture polish like Mr Sheen or Pledge but you’d have to be sure not to get it on the dashboard as it would spoil the finish. Polish will help the cloth glide next time you clean the glass, making the task easier.

It isnt from the heater matrix, apparently this stuff is from the breakdown of plastic polymers in interior trim.

It’s because whatever cheap-ass van you bought didn’t spec low fogging polyester polyols in the polyurethane components of the car IE wasn’t made with foam from my employer!

i dont vape or smoke or eat in my van.

I will try the vinegar cleqning qnd order the autoglym. I shall admonish Ford for their use of low grade foams 🙂

breninbeener

Member

i dont vape or smoke or eat in my van.

I will try the vinegar cleqning qnd order the autoglym. I shall admonish Ford for their use of low grade foams 🙂

I don’t smoke nor eat food in my car or fart any more than the average person and every car I have had in the last 37 years has ended up with a smeary film on the inside of the windscreen, I have always run the blower bit mostly on the screen and I’m of the opinion its just pollution as its always been worse when I’ve lived near or driven in a city.
When you wipe it off its like a black greasy deposit (soot particles)

It isnt from the heater matrix, apparently this stuff is from the breakdown of plastic polymers in interior trim.

Just think how lucky you are that your lungs absorb most of that. Imagine how grubby the windscreen would be if they didn’t. Nature is amazing isn’t it.

you could spray the inside of the windscreen with a wax furniture polish like Mr Sheen or Pledge

That sounds like a good way to get a smeary film on the inside of a vehicle windscreen.

I’ve never tried wax or furniture polish but metal polish from ( I think ) Mother’s Gold, some name like that, is recommended for windscreens. Works like the rain repellent stuff. Never tried it on the inside though.