Your non-diagnostic vehicle-related problems solved by Steve Rothwell
GENERAL
Q Can you recommend a product that will clean car windows including the windscreen, both inside and out without leaving smears? I have tried many proprietary products but they all seem to leave cloudy streaks or smears on the glass. I have used microfibre, cotton towelling, kitchen towel, chenille, and various other materials to apply the cleaner and buff the glass afterwards but nothing seems to work.
Any help would be gratefully received.
A There are two main types of screen cleaner available, either the cream type or the spirit type. The cream cleaners can need a lot more effort to ensure that they are totally removed and do not leave smearing on the screen, one of the best of the spirit types is 4Detailer Crystal Glass which is available for £7.99 for a one litre bottleat this website https://bit.ly/CMuimgp
In the cream category polishes the Autoglym Car Glass Polish will give a good finish but will take a little more effort, this is available from this website https://bit.ly/CMW6agp for £8.
We conducted a Glass Cleaner Product Test in the March 2022 issue – Best Buy went to Koch Chemie – Speed Glass Cleaner and two Recommended products came from Meguiar’s – Perfect Clarity and Dodo Juice – Clearly Menthol.
Cleaning smears from glass can be difficult, and repeated cleaning off with a microfibre cloth is often needed.
GENERAL
Q I have a solution for Mike Humble,but I thought I ought to run it past you first. In case I had got it wrong, for so many years.
Brake pads make a terrible noise when they vibrate. A dob of grease on the backs stops it, by changing the ability of the brake pad to freely vibrate. Fine. But I always chamfered the leading edge instead, and the trailing edge slightly, when fitting new pads. The greater the chamfer, the longer they lasted, squeak-free, I found.
Maybe it took six miles off the pad life, but it was so little as to be of no worry. I had to replace my brake pads every 10-12 years (shoes on the rear, every 20 years). They were £60 from Ford. Or £30 from Halfords. Or £15 from the local motor factors. The same make. With a sealed plastic bag, and a cardboard box from the Ford Dealership. A jolly good read.
A he chamfering of the brake pad leading edge is indeed a good and accepted way to prevent the vibration which can occur from brake pads, although I suspect in Mike Humble’s case (CM, Oct 22) where the squeal actually turned out to be the customers hearing aid, I suspect this would not have had a positive effect.
But for genuine brake squeal problems, where the dab of copper or brake grease on the contact surface is not sufficient to stop the squeal, then I would as you have mentioned, create a chamfer on the leading edge of the brake pad, this will soften the impact of contact and in most cases
