Keeping Your Vision Clear: Glass Polishing and Water Repellents

Don't just do the glass. If the rest of the car is dusty, that dust will find its way onto your clean glass and scratch it while you're working. Give it a proper wash and dry it off.

Run your hand over the dry glass. Feel those little bumps? That's embedded fallout. Use a clay bar with some glass cleaner as lube until the glass feels smooth as a billiard ball.

I learned this the hard way on a black Commodore, glass polish is a nightmare to get off textured plastic trim. Take five minutes to tape off the rubber seals and the plastic cowl at the bottom of the screen.

Put 3-4 pea-sized drops of glass polish onto your applicator. You don't need heaps. Work in small sections, maybe a quarter of the windscreen at a time.

You need to use a fair bit of pressure here. We're trying to chemically and mechanically strip away old waxes and road film. Use overlapping circular motions.

Wipe away the polish residue with a clean microfibre. The glass should look incredibly clear now, but we aren't done yet.

This is the most important step. Spray your IPA mix onto the glass and wipe it dry. This removes any leftover oils from the polish so your sealant can actually bond to the glass.

If you're using a ceramic-style coating like Gtechniq, apply it in small circular motions to ensure total coverage. I usually do two thin coats on the windscreen and one on the side windows.

Check the bottle for timing. Usually, you want it to sit for 5-10 minutes. In a hot Aussie shed, it'll flash faster, so keep an eye on it.

Take a clean, dry waffle-weave towel and buff the glass. It might feel a bit 'grabby' at first, but keep going until it's slick and clear.

Grab a torch or use the sun to look at the glass from different angles. If you see any cloudy patches, buff them out immediately with a fresh towel.

Don't forget to lower your windows an inch and get that top strip of glass that sits inside the seal. Nothing looks worse than a clean car with a dirty line at the top of the window.

Rub some of that IPA on a paper towel and run it along your wiper blades. You'll be shocked at the black gunk that comes off. If they're cracked, chuck 'em and get new ones.