Autoglym Fast Glass Tested & Reviewed
For a spray and wipe cleaner that’s safe on glass, mirrors, and screens, Fast Glass is up there with the best car glass cleaner around.
I tested Autoglym Fast Glass on a regular car to do an honest review of how it performed from a professional detailer’s perspective.
Sadly I lost the photos I took, but I’ll upload some new ones soon.
Prepmycar Rating: 6.7 / 10
Autoglym Fast Glass, 500ml
- 8 Ease of Application
- 7 Cleaning Power
- 2 Dirt Repellency
- 9 Safety On Materials
- 6 Value for Money
- 8 Bottle Ergonomics
- 6.7/10 OVERALL TEST SCORE
Pros
Cons
As with most Autoglym products, Fast Glass does precisely what it says – it cleans your glass … fast. It’s easy to use, powerful, safe on plastics and smells good.
Fast Glass probably isn’t for you if you want something with a bit more bite for heavily soiled glass or something that adds hydrophobic properties to your exterior glass. However, it is a great product that does an excellent job in most circumstances for most people.
Check out Autoglym Glass polish if you want better finish results but don’t care about additional elbow grease.
Importantly, Autoglym Fast Glass contains no ammonia, which is essential for a product used inside your car near easily damaged plastics.
In this review, I’ll take you through how I tested Autoglym Fast Glass and more about the overall ratings in each category. So if you are considering getting Autoglym Fast Glass read on – this is the real honest review you were looking for.
Let’s get into it…
Testing Process
As this is a review for everyday users of Autoglym Fast Glass, I tested Fast Glass outside on an overcast day with a temperature of around 15 degrees centigrade (59degF).
This kind of temperature shouldn’t impact the effectiveness of a glass cleaner, so there’s no danger of excessive heat today. In hotter climates, you should always make sure the glass is cool to the touch.
If you live somewhere like Australia, where it is blisteringly hot in summer, just make sure you use it in the shade before writing off this product as useless.
The car I tested this on is a BMW 1 Series owned by a young lad, so there were no kid’s fingerprints all over the glass, just everyday ordinary dirt.
PRO TIP: Don’t spray glass cleaner directly onto the glass when working inside the car; spray it onto a rag and wipe it on instead. The spray on a rag first method prevents overspray and additional work wiping it off other surfaces.
How to Use Autoglym Fast Glass
I always prefer to spray the cleaner onto my cloth rather than hitting the glass. I do it this way out of habit to stop overspray when cleaning the inside of the glass. This saves me heaps of time wiping off the excess. Give it a shot if you don’t do this already.
- Spray the product onto the glass OR onto a rag
- Fold a glass cloth in half 3 or 4 times. This gives you many surfaces to clean the different panes of glass.
- Apply 2-3 sprays onto the cloth, then work into the glass in your preferred way.
- Ensure you only cover each area once to avoid dragging dirt over a clean area.
- Finish the pane by flipping the cloth and using a clean side to buff the excess away.
The Results
Ease of Application 8/10
Fast Glass is simple and easy to apply. Whether you spray it onto a cloth or the glass, it’s a spray-and-wipe product.
Most people will clean the glass last as a finishing touch, so beware of overspray on your dressed interior or paint. It does clean off quickly, as long as you spot it in time!
Cleaning Power 7/10
Fast Glass isn’t the most powerful glass cleaner I’ve ever used, as it does struggle with some heavily soiled glass.
For your usual everyday build-up of dirt and grime, Fast Glass removes most of the dirt and contaminants you’ll find on the interior glass the first time.
I find that when there are kids involved, and there are sticky fingerprints, you will occasionally need a second clean to remove everything.
By the time you’re cleaning your glass on the outside of the car, you’ve probably already cleaned the glass with your shampoo and wash media.
If this is the case, you only need a quick spritz on your exterior glass to add that extra sparkle and clarity and Fast Glass does the job perfectly here.
If you haven’t already washed the car and need your glass cleaned, Fast Glass can be used directly on the dirty glass. It will do a much better job than your wipers and washer jets, and you may need a couple of passes for really dirty windows.
I rarely see any streaks using Fast Glass, especially using the wipe-then-buff process. Most streaks are usually down to water droplets being dragged in with the product, so make sure the glass and the surrounding trim are completely dry.
Dirt Repellency 2/10
Fast Glass contains no hydrophobic ingredients, so it offers little dirt-repelling properties. This product is a pure cleaner, so if you want something to limit the build-up or give your glass hydrophobic properties, you should follow Fast Glass with an additional product or use something that cleans and protects.
Value for Money 6/10
Fast Glass will set you back around £8.50 ($9.54 USD) for 500ml, which works out at around £1 ($1.12 USD) per average-size car if you’re cleaning all glass. This includes the wing mirrors, interior mirror, screen (s), and clocks/dash.
It’s not the cheapest on the market, so as always, look out for Halfords three for two offers and Autoglym’s own discounts. The versatility of this product does add to its value for money, though.
Safety On Materials 9/10
It’s safe on tinted glass, plastic, and Perspex. Autoglym themself recommend using Fast Glass to remove polish wax and sealants from plastic trim, which is a bonus.
Bottle Ergonomics 8/10
You can’t fault the Autoglym bottle design, they just work well!
You get a decent mist with each spray, and the bottle is great to hold and use. The nozzle is either on or off, so no mist or spray options here.
The mist isn’t too wide but if you do prefer to spray directly onto the glass, you can do this from a comfortable distance without coating everything in sight.
Specialist Features 9/10
As a ‘quick’ glass cleaner, Fast Glass does a great job. The fact that you can use it on all glass, mirrors, screens, Perspex, acrylic, and plastic windows makes it a great, versatile cleaner.
Its additional specialist feature is its ability to remove unwanted polishes or wax from plastic trim. It’s especially effective on Autoglym Super Resin Polish, so keep Fast Glass handy when using SRP.
PRO TIP: Autoglym Fast Glass is a great cleaner to spot clean any unwanted polishes from trim after a polish. This is handy! Keep this little hack in mind next time you do final touches after a detail.
About Autoglym Brand and their specialist area
Autoglym doesn’t need any introduction and a brand. They’ve been in this game for years and are good at what they do.
Fast Glass is one of their better products and is very popular with a range of users from the family car cleaner right up to professional detailers.
Fast Glass is one of two glass cleaning products in the Autoglym range, the other is Glass Polish. While Glass Polish will offer much better cleaning power, it requires far more effort to apply and takes way more of your time.
The spray and wipe performance of Fast Glass is hard to beat.
Final Thoughts
Fast Glass is a great product and one of the Autoglym range that I have no problem picking up and using on any car. For your everyday glass cleaner, it’s excellent.
If you have kids or find your glass is regularly really dirty, Fast Glass can let itself down here. I personally use a different glass cleaner in this situation.
Autoglym has Fast Glass and Glass Polish in their range which is at opposite ends of the cleaning spectrum. They could do with adding a product that sits in between the two that adds hydrophobic properties to the glass to help visibility and dirt repellency.
Grab it Now!
- Fast Glass is a highly effective car glass cleaner spray, free of abrasives, waxes and silicones which leaves no residues but a crystal clear finish
- Car glass cleaning spray perfect for use inside and out including screens used in car video and navigation equipment
- Cuts through dirt easily removing road grime, insect remains, tree sap, oil, grease and bird droppings
