Mantis Fast Glass Review

I have to admit to giving my car’s windows very little thought when I clean it. Even though I might occasionally lavish care and attention on the paintwork, the glass only gets seriously looked at when it starts to become a problem. If the windscreen is misting up or the kids have left a few too many smeared fingerprints, that’s when I take notice and reach for the glass cleaner.

The trouble is with some glass cleaners is that they can be difficult to work with. The creamy solutions can be difficult to apply evenly and leave hard-to-shift white marks on plastics whereas the water-based sprays can leave horrible streaks or are too weak to cut through grease.

So it was with some interest that I accepted a sample bottle of Mantis Fast Glass. I’ve looked at the Mantis range before when I tried the Instant Shine waterless cleaner and Fast Glass is the latest addition to the same range.

The bottle contains a bright, almost luminescent, green liquid that promises to do two things. Obviously the first boast is that it cleans glass, can cut through grime quickly and leaves a streak free finish using nothing more than a microfibre towel.

The second and most interesting claim is that it acts as a water repellent. The blurb on the bottle says it ‘forms a protective layer over glass, sealing microscopic imperfections that trap dirt and liquid.’ Think of it like Rain-X in a squirty bottle.

It’s really easy to work with. Fire a few squirts of liquid onto the glass and wipe it down with a clean microfibre cloth. If you don’t get carried away with the trigger (like I did in the video below) it’s really easy to wipe off without leaving streaks.

In the video the car had already been cleaned so the windows were almost spotless to start with but in the name of science I tried it on our other, dirtier car afterwards. The Fast Glass cut through road grime without any fuss but to get the best results you really need two cloths, one to wipe the spray and muck away and a second to buff the glass up afterwards. Even then it still takes very little time to get decent results.

You can see for yourself how well the Fast Glass works when the car is stationary but it’s just as good on the move too. Water beads as soon as it hits the glass and once you’re travelling above 30mph the rain slips straight off the windows.

The price for a 500ml bottle of Mantis Fast Glass is £9.99 . That puts it at around £1 a bottle more than the few direct competitors on the market but that really is the only negative point I can make.