Cleaning Inside of Rear Window

[Robario12]

I have this film on the rear window of my car that is a pain in the a-- to clean. Its like a greasy film and the few glass cleaners Ive tried only smear it. This used to happen in my old 1987 325 on the front windsheild, some crap about the sun hitting the leather releasing a chemical that sticks to the windshield. Am I using the wrong type of cleaner? Is there some coating on the rear window that I am not aware of? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[SilverBeam]

what have you tried? worst comes to worst, dilute some ammonia and use that. But don't let it touch the paint, and keep all the doors open. Do not breath it in. Oh, and by dilute we're talking 10 parts water, 1 part ammonia, maybe a bit more ammonia. But its strong shit. If that doesn’t take it off, nothing will.

[surfacewound]

Don't use ammonia if it's tinted.

[SilverBeam]

Don't use ammonia if it's tinted.

very good point, I don't know how I forgot. Don't use vinigar if its tinted either.

[mck325is]

Try a mix of water and corn starch. Seriously, I didn't think it would work but it cleans glass great. Then just use a damp rag or two to get rid of water spots.

[Robario12]

thanks guys. i will try these ideas out, since right now it looks like crap even in the daytime. I can only imagine how bad it will be at night with headlights behind me.

[Boondoggie]

It's the "leather conditioner" or armorall or whatever that's elsewhere in your cabin releasing into the air in the hot sun...

When you detail the inside of your car, just resign yourself to cleaning the windows again in a week or two.

[LarryL]

How to clean windows:

1. Go to your local farmer's market and purchase 7 variegated lima beans.
2. Add lima beans and a pinch of salt to one quart of boiling distilled water.
3. Allow to boil for 6.75 minutes, then remove from heat.
4. Strain lima beans through your 14 year old neighbor's panties that you stole from her laundry room.
5. Pour strained liquid into a Playtex baby bottle.
6. Squirt liberal amounts of the liquid onto your genitals.
7. Go to your local autoglass store and purchase either Essex Adhesive Cleaner, Acrysol, or 3M Adhesive Cleaner and a quality can of non-ammonia glass cleaner. Start with the adhesive cleaner, then graduate to the glass cleaner. Try to find glass cleaner manufactured by Sprayway, Inc. They do a lot of private label stuff for various glass companies, so look at the fine print on the label for "Manufactured by Sprayway, Inc."

It's minty.

[e-famous]

How to clean windows:

1. Go to your local farmer's market and purchase 7 variegated lima beans.
2. Add lima beans and a pinch of salt to one quart of boiling distilled water.
3. Allow to boil for 6.75 minutes, then remove from heat.
4. Strain lima beans through your 14 year old neighbor's panties that you stole from her laundry room.
5. Pour strained liquid into a Playtex baby bottle.
6. Squirt liberal amounts of the liquid onto your genitals.
7. Go to your local autoglass store and purchase either Essex Adhesive Cleaner, Acrysol, or 3M Adhesive Cleaner and a quality can of non-ammonia glass cleaner. Start with the adhesive cleaner, then graduate to the glass cleaner. Try to find glass cleaner manufactured by Sprayway, Inc. They do a lot of private label stuff for various glass companies, so look at the fine print on the label for "Manufactured by Sprayway, Inc."

It's minty.

Interesting post.

[bellavus]

aerosol glass cleaner works the best....you can get it at any glas store or hardware store (one brand to try is invisible glass)

[RacermeX]

For the rear tinted windows, I usually spray Windex on an old t-shirt and wipe the window as much as I can reach. Actually I use the same method on the film of all my tinted windows. I've never had a problem.
For the "filmless" windows, i.e. the windshield, I usually use a newspaper and windex; comes clean every time.

As far as the layer of "grease" is concerned, I get that too sometimes. I don't know how it's caused but it's some sort of film that builds up on the windows. It could be caused by the armour-all or something else. The only thing to do is resign yourself to cleaning every two weeks or so as mentioned previously by Boondoggie

[prodigy]

It's the "leather conditioner" or armorall or whatever that's elsewhere in your cabin releasing into the air in the hot sun...

When you detail the inside of your car, just resign yourself to cleaning the windows again in a week or two.

Great Point. I always wondered why that film developed...

Thanks

[David]

I know the film you're referring to. I cleaned a sh#tload of it off of my fathers car recently. All I do is get an damp MF and wipe the window down. I then take a dry MF and wipe/buff off the leftover water/moisture from the damp mf. This gets the windows looking great. No harsh cleaners required!

David.

[BimwadM42]

The film is from the interior plastics releasing fumes when they're hot -- more commonly known as "vinyl outgassing." When I stored my vinyl bra in the trunk, it would actually create a small foggy patch in on the rear window above the vent where the 3rd brake light is.

If you have a buildup, try some Simple Green diluted according to the instructions on the back. For periodic maintenace, a microfiber towel works great.

[smhockeydefense]

It's the "leather conditioner" or armorall or whatever that's elsewhere in your cabin releasing into the air in the hot sun...

When you detail the inside of your car, just resign yourself to cleaning the windows again in a week or two.

or.....roll the windows down when you condition the leather? that should help a great deal. as for getting it off, try some glass polish instead of a glass cleaner, that should remove whatever is stuck on there, not to mention any surface scratches.