LAUNDRY SOFT RINSE / FABRIC SOFTENER IS YOUR MIRACLE GLASS TREATMENT
Landyowner suggested using washup liquid after thoroughly cleaning the inside windows with vinegar.
The vinegar thoroughly degreases the glass, while the washup liquid contains something called a Surfactant, which is a water repellent.
A better source of Sofactant is laundry soft rinse. This contains higher levels of Sofactant, and will leave your Land Rover smelling clean and fresh. Simply polish the inside class with neat (undiluted) laundry soft rinse after following Landyowner's cleaning and decreasing suggestion.
Interestingly, those expensive anti-mist products sold by motor factors are mostly Surfactant based. And, that water-repellent windscreen polish (which clears rain off your windscreen without using your wipers) is also Surfactant based: where the Surfactant's water repellent qualities allow the water to roll off the glass without the need to use windscreen wipers.
WARNING - Do NOT apply water repellent to the outside of a Defender type windscreen! That's because it's the airflow, up and over the curved and sloped windscreen of most cars is what's needed to blow the water off the screen. Wheras that vertical flat windscreen on the Defender doesn't get the necessary air flow. In fact the water will form into large pools (as versus the usual scattering of raindrops) significantly reducing your forward vision even in light rain. Worse, the Sofactant will make your wipers judder, especially in light rain.
DO apply Surfactant to side windows, And especially that glass in the tail door, as it won't just clear the rain from the windows, it'll also make it harder for road dirt to stick to the class, giving better all around vision. It makes the water in road spray work for you. We all know how quickly that rear door glass becomes opaque with road dirt; well polishing with soft rinse will often make it possible to see what's behind you for hundreds of miles of winter motorway driving (as versus the usual total obscuration after just a few miles). In some ways it's better than fitting a wash wipe to the rear door glass, as you'll have to keep washing and swiping a rear wiper every few miles, while although you will still get some build up of road dirt with Sofactant polish, the build up is very gradual, and typically keeps my rear glass see through for several hundred miles before needling a quick wipe over with a sponge and plain water.
By this point you may have realised that something that uses the water in sprayed road dirt to keep glass clean might also work elsewhere on your Landy. Yes, it does! Applying a Sofactant polish to your headlamps will keep them brighter for longer. Also apply to side and tail lights, indicator glass, brake and fog light glass. And, finally, don't forget your door mirrors; it doesn't just repel rain and road dirt, it'll also make snow slip off them and prevent frost and early morning misting, as though you'd fitted heated door mirrors.
Surfactant is amazing stuff! ...as is vinegar or Brasso (used in car showrooms) to pre-clean the inside of your windows.
Have fun and safe driving this winter, especially over the Christmas holidays,
Rick
