Cost: £10 for 500ml from Auto Finesse, but can be found for £8.
Date of Review: 27th January 2019
The Sales Pitch from Auto Finesse:
The Auto Finesse Crystal Glass Cleaner is highly concentrated, with a finely balanced blend of mild distilled solvents, meaning fingerprints and greasy films are effortlessly removed to reveal a streak and smear free finish.
Its fast-flashing alcohol based formula is safe on all glass surfaces, including mirrors, and sensitive window tints. Crystal can also be used to effectively clean the lightweight polycarbonate or acrylic windows used in high-performance, or racing vehicles.
Source: https://shop.autofinesse.co.uk/crystal-500ml?search=crystal
What You Get:
Product Description:
A ready mixed formula glass cleaner for use on all types of glass.
Instructions:
Application:
If the glass is heavily soiled, begin by washing with a light shampoo or all-purpose-cleaner to remove the bulk of the grime before finishing with Auto Finesse Crystal. For lightly soiled glass, you can proceed directly to application. Start by applying a fine mist of product to a manageable section of glass (3-4 spritzes is usually sufficient to do an average window, or half a windscreen.), and remove immediately using a short pile microfibre towel. Turn the towel to a clean side, and return to the glass for a final buff to reveal a crystal-clear finish. If contamination still persists, repeat application, allowing the product to dwell and penetrate momentarily before wiping.
Auto Finesse Crystal can also be used in conjunction with glass sealants. Also suitable for use on tinted glass.
My glass didn’t look to bad at all on the sides and thought that I would give them a clean anyway. The weather wasn’t brilliant and a few specs of rain fell at the time I was cleaning and trying to take photos for this review. I used a clean micro fiber cloth, but it had a few stains, instructions didn’t say to use the waffle type cloth in order to get best results.
The spray from the nozzle was neat, circular and a nice mist. I’m not a great fan of the AF mini triggers, but as this is a water style liquid it shouldn’t be putting any stress on the trigger. A squirt of four sprays was enough to cover the side window. The smell was minimal, but there is the slight smell of the alcohol base in the product.
The side window had small amount of dried bird lime on it which had been there for a while. I was expecting an issue to remove it to be honest. I sprayed directly onto it making sure it was covered and left a few seconds before attempting to cleaning the glass. The glass came up very clean and the lime simply wiped away, no streaks.
My dirty windscreen would be a proper test too as that was dirty.
Removing:
The instructions say to work the product into the glass and then buff with another clean cloth for crystal clear and smear free finish. Well I worked the product in and wiped it away, the glass was indeed ceystal clean and definitely not streaky. I didn’t have to work hard at all and a simple overlap of wipes was enough. I couldn’t buff as with the second cloth as it dragged on the glass for being dry and clean. The additional buffing wasn’t necessary to be honest. It was squeaky clean by the feel of the finger, no greasy feel to the glass at all.
The windscreen was dirty at the bottom under the wipers. I gave an even squirt over half the screen and wiped the screen, I was quick enough to catch the evaporation after cleaning as I had the camera ready. The evaporation only took a couple of seconds to evaporate.
The light spot of rain wasn’t helping, but during the clean process the spots of rain didn’t create any problems or smears at all.
The glass was left clean and smear free. It does exactly what it said on the bottle.
Results:
Brilliant. The dirt on the cloth speaks for itself as does the crystal clear glass it leaves behind.
Constant turning of the cloth to a clean part for each piece of glass is a standard practice. The dirt from the windscreen was held in the cloth finers and was not spread over the glass as you wipe. Many cleaners can start clean and get streaky or dirty as move across the glass to the other side. This product was not one of those.
I used a couple of cloths in total to do the windscreen, four doors, rear window and headlights.
Rating: 9 out 10
Ease of use –
Very easy and a simple spray on and wipe off process.
Conclusion:
This is a top quality product and does exactly what it says. The big bonus here is that no special cloth is required such as a glss waffle weave, just a simple microfiber will do. Using a waffle weave will be fine as well of course, but you don’t have to. For me this takes the advantage over other products.
Price, this is where comparisons can be made. Other products are cheaper in their concentrate form and can make twice as much by volume when mixed. An obvious disadvantage. But, if you find this product on a deal then it makes it very much worth while and comparable for volume and price.
I like this product a lot and it’s certainly up there with the best of the best glass cleaning products.
The only down side is the mini trigger. So far its OK, but I don’t like it to be honest. I have large hands and find it a slightly awkward with the smaller trigger than the competition. But that is just my personal preference. On the other hand it does make it easier to store.
I have given another glass cleaner product top marks in the past. The product cleans well, but as overall package to cost ratio it’s not worth the extra. With that in mind, it simply boils down to a choice of brands.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Would I buy it again? Yes, but I would be reluctant to pay full price for it, all be it there is only a couple of £££ in it with other brands. Wait for it to be on a deal and you have a really great value product.