Windshield Streaking- Wiper, motor, windshield or all of the above?

[Cybermo]

Hey everyone, like some of you, I’ve had a really disappointing experience with the windshield wiper. This past week was the first time I drove in the rain (around 5 a.m.), and it was utterly unacceptable. (See video).

When I took delivery of my car back in June, one of the first service requests I made was for a replacement wiper because the streaking was terrible. Now that I’ve seen how it performs in actual rain, I find it genuinely dangerous.

Has anyone found a successful fix for this? It seems like a combination of issues — the main problem area is right in my line of sight, where the wiper doesn’t make full contact with the windshield. Even during dry wipes, it leaves a streak that makes driving unsafe, especially when facing the sun.

It seems like the wiper arm doesn't put enough downward pressure on the blade, with the combination of the delayed release of windshield wiper fluid where it barely even contacts the windshield before getting wiped away seems to be in desperate need of fixing. Hoping someone has some insight before I make a service appointment.
Thank you!

Sponsored

 

[TyPope]

I just changed my sorta streaky wiper with a new one. It's a LOT better. Have you tried taking something like a wet wipe and run it down the length of the blade ensuring you lean the two corners that make up the two wiping surfaces? (one wiping down, the other wiping up)

It's in the manual to do that (just noticed this yesterday). But, with my old blade, I was having a less than stellar day with rain and just doing that made the wiper pretty decent. The old wiper seemed to get dirt stuck to it which would then not let the blade wipe right. The new one must be a different compound. Maybe not.

2nd, make sure that the blade is seated all the way in. That's an odd thing you've got going on there in the video.

 

[CyberGus]

That's not streaking, that's surface contamination on the glass. Even using aggressive solvents and a clay bar will have difficulty removing it.

I cleaned the glass and then used "Adam's Glass Polish" with a DA buffer (lowest speed). It removed all that scum and the glass became very slick. Even dry-wiping was smooth and quiet.

I'd follow that with a hydrophobic coating of your choice. I've had good success with RainX. Most recently I used Pan's 8-Year ceramic, but it's not as slick and slippery as I would have expected. (This might be user-error: I'm a novice with ceramic coatings, and I might not have buffed enough between application and curing.)

 

[Cybermo]

Ill definitely give this a shot first. Thank you.

That's not streaking, that's surface contamination on the glass. Even using aggressive solvents and a clay bar will have difficulty removing it.

I cleaned the glass and then used "Adam's Glass Polish" with a DA buffer (lowest speed). It removed all that scum and the glass became very slick. Even dry-wiping was smooth and quiet.

I'd follow that with a hydrophobic coating of your choice. I've had good success with RainX. Most recently I used Pan's 8-Year ceramic, but it's not as slick and slippery as I would have expected. (This might be user-error: I'm a novice with ceramic coatings, and I might not have buffed enough between application and curing.)

 

[CyberGus]

Ill definitely give this a shot first. Thank you.

Note that Adam's states the polish should not be used with a buffer, and only applied by hand. Since my windshield is the size of a football field, I decided to save what is left of my shoulder joints and took the chance lol. But, I did use the lowest speed and light pressure. We're polishing, not grinding.

Presumably, any glass polish will do, but this is what I used.

 

[devdrone6]

I went through a car wash, then used Sprayaway and a ladder to really clean every part of the windshield. Then applied RainX, and it has been great. Reapplying RainX when I remember and it does great. I have driven through a downpour and don’t need the wiper when above 40mph.

 

[Tallgeese179]

The method that Gus mentions is something I've accidentally discovered when paint correcting our X7. Typically you want to prime a fresh pad with polish and an easy way is to make an "X" with polish, then run the pad without moving it in a low speed for something like 20 seconds. Being OCD, I didn't like the idea of doing this on the paint, so I did it on a much harder surface that I knew I could never 'blow through': glass

Source:

When I went to remove the residue with CarPro Eraser (great smelling oil/polish residue remover used right before coating application), I noticed how the spot where the pad was working was exceptionally clean and had great wetting out properties (opposite of beading). Since glass is insanely hard and can only be polished with Cerium Oxide and Rayon pads (I've done this on my shower door), I decided to use a Meguiars microfiber cutting pad and Rupes Coarse DA polish on all the glass. You can use foam as well, but I liked the idea of MF since it has many small fibers and really gets into all the imperfections (no science behind this, just opinion). This ended up being a great prep before applying Adams Ceramic Glass coating. Note they came out with a windshield specific one, since a regular ceramic coating isn't designed to survive repeated mechanical wiping and even they admitted it would reportedly cause rainbows/streaks. So pick something for windshields specifically. Just be sure to tape off any rubber trim surrounding the windshield, because getting polish off of rubber/plastic can be a PITA.

TL;Dr: clean your windshield with a DA polisher and any cheap pad/polish because it will mechanically remove all coatings and debris way faster than a clay bar. If you want, coat the windshield with a windshield specific coating and avoid using the wiper too much since it will reduce the coatings life. This is now my go-to deep cleaning method for glass btw.

 

[HaulingAss]

Simple contamination. Clean glass, without residues, is clear glass.

Rain-X is all good until the coating starts to fail and requires repeated applications. Eventually it all needs to be stripped so you can start anew. Too much work for me, I just keep the glass clean and all is well. Oh, it's good to clean the wiper blade occasionally with a clean rag with some isopropyl alcohol on it too. I'm not saying Rain-X cause your problem, but it's caused by some kind of residue.

If you have streaking, not the kind cause by a wiper blade with a nick in it, it's almost certainly a residue on your glass and/or wiper blade that needs to be stripped off.

 

[Cybersurfer88]

Out of Spec detailing has a good video using adams brilliant glaze, which I tried and it works. I also use rainx X-treme Clean on my old car and it seems to work about the same. Both super clean.

 

[Langestreet]

Clean window.
Apply RainX.
Use RainX wiper fluid.

 

[chadair]

I use Rain X washer fluid and swear by it. My CT has great vis in the rain.

 

[Poporbit]

These are great suggestions for the exterior windshield glass. How about inside windshield cleaning? I use Sprayway glass cleaner applied to a pad with a long handle but that still leaves streaks that are blinding when driving with the sun setting straight ahead. ( I know, don't drive at that time)

 

[Tallgeese179]

These are great suggestions for the exterior windshield glass. How about inside windshield cleaning? I use Sprayway glass cleaner applied to a pad with a long handle but that still leaves streaks that are blinding when driving with the sun setting straight ahead. ( I know, don't drive at that time)

My favorite method for a deep clean is using something like a 50/50 Isopropyl Alcohol and Distilled Water mix (or CarPro Eraser) sprayed onto a scrub pad. Clean sections of the windshield like this and then wipe up with a microfiber towel. This will get all of the off-gassing, oils, grime loose/suspended in the IPA and then removed by the MF towel. Just make sure to wipe off before it dries.

Then do a second wipe with a fresh damp microfiber to get the last 10% of residue left behind. After the initial wipe I switch to something like Invisible Glass spray instead of IPA or a foam like Sprayaway. The trick is to keep the MF towel damp so it doesn't stick. I never dry wipe since that just leaves behind a bunch of MF fibers. Also the Invisible Glass reach tool is useful and can be used with regular MF towels if they are damp.

Speaking of microfiber, there are definitely good and bad ones for glass. The usual Costco/bulk ones have the ends of the fibers frayed and these will leave little specs of fabric behind. Closed loop is much better here. Some good ones I've used are from The Rag Company: Waffle or Diamond weave.

 

[Cybermo]

I use a swiffer telescoping mop handle with microfiber towels and sprayaway. Does a perfect job.

These are great suggestions for the exterior windshield glass. How about inside windshield cleaning? I use Sprayway glass cleaner applied to a pad with a long handle but that still leaves streaks that are blinding when driving with the sun setting straight ahead. ( I know, don't drive at that time)

 

[CyberGus]

Out of Spec detailing has a good video using adams brilliant glaze, which I tried and it works. I also use rainx X-treme Clean on my old car and it seems to work about the same. Both super clean.

I think this is the video you're referencing:





And this is the Out Of Spec video on Adam's polish:





Once, I used RainX's "Xtreme Clean" with a DA and foam pad, but since I was outside in the sun the product dried very quickly. I noticed that buffing with the dry powder really made that area "wet out" significantly. That's what gave me the idea to use a glass polish (instead of just grinding in power lol).

Sponsored