When I started window cleaning, I bought white pads, walnut pads, 0000 wool, and a razor. Walnut pads don’t seem to work nearly as good as the white pads, and the white pads cost less than half as much. 0000 wool has been a supreme disappointment. It’s literally good for nothing. It doesn’t get off anything the white pad won’t and it last for 1 day tops in Texas humidity. I truly don’t know why people use it at all.
I now use white pads and a razor. I also will use a magic eraser for certain situations. Why the love for these products? Please help me understand, because I just don’t get the love for them!
If white pads work use them. You do have to experiment with different things to find out what works. I use steel wool for everything. I don’t care about the cost, it’s too small to care about.
The cost is negligible. Fast workflow is what I’m after. Steel wool is an industry standard. I’m really curious why people use it over pads. People I respect say it cleans better. This isn’t my experience at all. Am I missing something?
I have used 0000Steel wool for 44 years. There are many things it will not touch. It can cause extremely fine scratches but only because of the glass surface. Steel wool will also rust in minutes depending on the pH of the water. Which leaves a red color on white plastic frames. I have had some interesting results with superabrasive plastic powders. The white magic sponge is another interesting product. Made by creating “micro-holes” in a melamine (plastic) sponge the holes are what abrade the glass surface. NOT particles. Melamine has a higher mohs hardness. But still softer than glass. Which is 7. Bottom line here despite the science. What Matt says. If it works use it.
Great post, Henry. I still don’t understand why you use steel wool, though.
I’ve switched to Winsol AC100 for soap. I’ve noticed that if you mop a window and let it sit for a minute or so, adhesive residue and sap tend to melt away. It’s an impressive and cheap product.
Ever used it?
Please tell me more about these plastic powders. I’ve never heard of this.
Hey Flush, never used AC100. Just been nervous about Winsols products because of CC550. BUT. You have my curiosity up. I should look into the chemistry and do a few side by side tests with pizza grease. As for steel wool. Since it rusts very fast I believe it is mostly iron. No nickel. So less likely to scratch. The strands of the 0000 are about 20 microns thick. 5 would be better but not available. I will roll it out and cover a small swivel applicator for the pole and scrub. After a couple windows just throw it away.
I have a product based on a unique plastic powder with particles a few times larger than steel wool. Have had some very interesting results. Been testing with other window cleaners. It is ready to go and am taking steps now to get it out there. I will be the first to say it is not a fix all. Nothing can be or is. Yet it will have unique advantages depending on the circumstances.
Henry, I never used Winsol CC550. I have been using Winsol Super Slip and now AC100. I can vouch for both. I also used the AC100 to do a soft wash awning job this last weekend and it worked great. I’ll never go back to dish soap after using this product. It just seems to work better and is really gentle on your hands. My daughter sometimes works with me and she’s super sensitive to almost every product. This one doesn’t irritate her at all.
I sold a store front this morning and added Glass Gleam 4 to this mix for the first time. It’s too early to tell, but I think this is the magic formulation! The GG4 added more suds and a noticeable improvement in glide. What really shocked me was that the glass needed almost no detailing. Only downside to me was the smell.
Best of luck to you on your new product. There is a lack of everything in glass cleaning. It’s a giant hole in the industry. New modern products are greatly needed. You put something new on the market, and I’ll buy it.
Indeed we are always on the lookout for the holy grail of cleaners. Myself included. I have played with four of the five surfactant families for over 44 years now. Just not the zwitterionics. Too pricy. But yeah. Even the silicone and fluorine based surfs. Could never build a product from them though. Again too pricy.
BUT. I love your confidence. Would love to have you on my beta team as I get deep into this. There are many on the WCR Community I am looking forward to reconnecting and working with. We will have a really fun season.
I took this off the MSDS. The sulfonic acids have me curious. Also the N-coco acyl derivs.,
inner salts which looks like a molecule taken from coconut oil. Guess I am going to have to try it!
