Cleaning glass is everyone’s least favorite job because glass and mirrors reflect any streaks, smears, or haze right back at your eyes.  The secret to getting glass crystal-clear and streak-free starts with the chemistry inside the bottle, not the marketing fluff on the outside label.  This is where 3D Glass Cleaner is superior to the competition.  The chemists at 3D created 3D Glass Cleaner using all-natural ingredients which are ethanol-produced from farm-grown corn through industrial fermentation.  3D Glass Cleaner not only excels at cleaning any glass crystal clear, it’s also VOC compliant and biodegradable.

3D on the outside of the bottle means you can trust the product on the inside of the bottle.

What is it? - Glass and surface cleaner for glass, mirrors, chrome, stainless steel, and other smooth, non-porous surfaces.

What does it do? - Cleans the glass and other surfaces without leaving any residues, streaks, smears, or haze.

When do you use it? - Anytime you need to restore crystal clear, streak-free results to all automotive and household glass as well as other surfaces.

Why use 3D Glass Cleaner over other options? - There’s a lot of glass cleaners on the market.  In fact, it’s one of the most populated categories for both automotive and home use.  One reason you’ll find a plethora of these products on the market is because it’s inexpensive to make a simple glass cleaner but that doesn’t mean it’s a good glass cleaner.

What separates our glass cleaner from all the rest is the chemistry of the product inside the bottle.  3D Glass Cleaner is a wide-spectrum cleaner that uses our own proprietary chemistry to not only clean by dissolving both water-soluble contaminants, (dirt, dust, pollen) and water-insoluble contaminants, (oily substances) but to also help your glass towels absorb and trap these things off the glass and onto the towel.  

• Non-streak, no-haze formula leaves glass crystal clear.
• Fast application – spray on, wipe-off.
• Non-Ammonia - safe for all glass including tinted windows.
• Removes oily smoker’s film and vinyl fog.
• Anti-fog formula – helps reduce window fogging in moist cold or hot humid climates.
• Alcohol-based glass cleaner dissolves oily fingerprints and pet smudges.
• Great for household cleaning – glass windows, mirrors, light fixtures, tile, vases, blinds, shelves, desktops.
• 3D’s Green Earth Technology – Biodegradable - Prop 65 and V.O.C. compliant.

IMPORTANT: Always work on a cool surface in the shade.

The Multiple Towel Technique

Besides using a great glass cleaning formula like 3D Glass Cleaner, the other part of the glass cleaning equation is to switch to clean towels often.  3D Glass Cleaner works great but once you have removed any dirt, grime, smudges, vinyl fog, smoker’s film etc., off the glass and onto a towel, it’s important to stop using this towel otherwise you’ll simply re-introduce these contaminants from one section of glass to another section of glass or to a different glass widow.  When cleaning glass, it’s important to switch to fresh, clean glass towels often.

Step 1:  Spray a light mist of 3D Glass Cleaner onto a window or a section of glass when cleaning large windows like windshields.  To avoid overspray onto adjacent surfaces, instead of spraying the glass cleaner onto the glass, spray the glass cleaner directly onto a clean, microfiber glass towel and use the towel to apply the glass cleaner for precise product placement.

Step 2:  First Pass – wipe a window or section of a window so that you spread the glass cleaner over the entire area to be cleaned.  The liquid glass cleaner will go to work dissolving any dirt or film.  Flip the towel to the other side, which is still clean, and re-wipe this window or section of a window.  At this point, the bulk of any dirt or film-build should be on this towel.  Place this towel off to the side in a clean container for washing later.

Step 3:  Second Pass - Using a separate, clean, soft microfiber towel, spray a light mist of glass cleaner to both sides of the towel.  Using one side of the towel, re-wipe the window or section of window to remove any streaks or smears left by the first wipe.  Flip to the unused side to give the glass a final wipe.  For inside glass, wipe top-to-bottom for the final wipe.  For outside glass, wipe side-to-side for the final wipe.   

Repeat this process to each glass window.  For best results, use plenty of clean, dry soft microfiber towels.

Professional Technique Tip

1: Clean outside glass first: To isolate any streaks of smears, first clean the outside glass.  In most cases, the outside glass is simply easier to wipe compared to the inside of a windshield or the back window on a car.  For the final wipe on exterior glass use a side-to-side directional motion.

2: Clean inside glass after outside glass:  For your final wipe on interior glass use an up-and-down directional motion. Then if you do see a streak after cleaning the glass, you'll know which side the streak is on.

3: Use a second set of eyes:  When making the final wipe on either side of the windshield or back window, have a friend play the role of Streak Spotter. That is while you're on the inside cleaning the glass have someone on the outside inspecting your work and pointing to any areas where you need to continue wiping for perfectly clear glass. This way, if there is a streak you won't have to get in-and-out of the car, over-and-over to inspect our work.

4: Lastly, re-inspect the glass at dusk or dawn.  Even the faintest smudges, streaks and smears are visible when the sun is low in the sky and casts a glare on the glass.  Keep a clean glass towel or two and your glass cleaner in a safe place in your car so if glare from the sun reveals any leftover smudges, streaks, or smears, you have the right tools with you to remove these from the glass.

Dedicated Glass Towels

When it comes to cleaning glass and also mirrors, because the glass surface of a window or a mirror will highlight streaks, smears, haze, and smudges, it’s important to have and use a collection of glass towels that you only use for glass.  This keeps your glass cleaning towels free from other types of non-glass cleaning contamination that could lead to streaking and hazing issues.

Washing Glass Towels – 3D Towel Kleen

Here at 3D, we strongly recommend using our 3D Towel Kleen to wash your glass towels after use.  3D Towel Kleen is specifically formulated to remove both water-soluble and water-insoluble substances out of all your car detailing towels.  

Water-soluble contaminants like dirt are easy to remove because they dissolve with just water.  Of course, a quality soap like 3D Towel Kleen helps for total removal of water-soluble dirt etc.  The hard part when it comes to laundry is removing any water-insoluble residues, things that do NOT easily break down in water alone or with water and soap.

This includes things like waxes, sealants, vinyl and leather dressings, trim dressings, tire dressings, etc.   Removing wax, sealant, oil, and solvent based residues require better chemistry in order to dissolve and emulsify these contaminants while at the same time not harming the delicate fibers that make up your microfiber towel collection.

In the same way 3D Towel Kleen can clean your car detailing microfiber towels it can also clean you glass cleaning towels.  Some of the dirt you remove from glass is water-soluble, things like dirt, dust, and pollen.  However, some of the things you clean off glass are water-insoluble, things like vinyl fog, (new cars), smoker’s film as well as oily fingerprints and/or sweaty oil smudges from your pet companions or even kids.  12

What is vinyl fog?

Vinyl Fog is the oily residue that builds-up on all surfaces on the inside of new cars including the glass when new vinyl, plastic, rubber, and another artificial components, like the fabrics, foam cushions, insulation, etc. outgas or give off fumes.

When cars are brand new, all the artificial materials on the inside of the car often outgas fumes, especially in a hot environment, like when you park your car outside in the sun all day.  These fumes are trapped inside your car and build-up over time.  They show up as an oily film on interior glass.

Most people know vinyl fog as new car smell.  The scary thing is, many of these fumes you know as new car smell are made up of carcinogens, that is they are cancer-causing.

3D Glass Cleaner is formulated to dissolve and emulsify this oily film so it can be wiped off the glass.  3D Towel Kleen is formulated to dissolve and emulsify these oily residues so they can be cleaned out of your glass cleaning towels.  This dynamic duo of 3D’s Glass Cleaner and Towel Kleen are 3D’s comprehensive approach to glass cleaning that together with plenty of towels makes all your glass cleaning projects faster and easier while saving you time and money.

What is smoker’s film?

Smoker's Film is the oily residue in the smoke exhaled by the smoker that coats everything with a foul smelling, oily film. Smoke from cigarettes also contain carcinogens. For personal heath reasons, wear nitrile gloves when cleaning the inside of a car owned and driven by a smoker.