Film on Exterior Windshield

[Murr1525]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

I dunno... unless it is something with the wiper.... ***** to spend more money, but could try to upgrade the wipers... I have had good luck with RainX (not the ones that 'leave' RainX behind) and Bosch brands that are those single bar style wipers.

[Anne2]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

Great demonstration. Thanks. Ummm... is a DA that power tool he used? If so, you are right. I do not have one of those.

Does anyone have any idea as to why the "film" problem is terrible under the driver's side wiper, but not so much under the passenger side wiper? I was wondering if there is some type of adjustment on the wiper arm that is maybe off on the driver's side or something like that.

[The Guz]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

Good video to watch. It sounds like you don't have a DA but you can still use ultimate compound by hand.

[Anne2]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

Thanks again! I'll give it a try and see what happens. Wouldn't it be nice if the car dealership prepped your new car by doing things like this? But what do you expect for $25-30,000?

[Murr1525]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g1016-smooth-surfacereg-clay-kit/

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g17216-ultimate-compound/

[Anne2]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

Thanks for your reply. It gives me hope! But, what is "clay" and "Ult. Compound"?

[Murr1525]

Re: Film on Exterior Windshield

Whenever I have a new car, or clean someone else's, there always seems to be a film on glass to get rid of.

I usually do:
1. Wash or clean the glass
2. Clay
3. Ult. Compound
4. Glass Cleaner (I use the Meguiars brands, but others work too)
5. RainX - This could end up being similar to your alcohol idea, so maybe either one.
6. Second coat of RainX

When my car was new, I basically had to do that twice (like once right away, and once a week or so later), and seemed to be good ever after with just regular cleaning, occaissional clay, and RainX.

[Anne2]

I have a 2015 Subaru Forester. There seems to be some type of dappled "film" (by "dappled", I mean it looks like a lot of thumbnail-sized densely-placed dried-on water spots covering the area) on the exterior windshield mostly on the driver's side. Here are the specifics: (1) This is visible, and a problem, only at night (2) when it is raining and (3) when an approaching car's headlights or an overhead street light's beam reflects on it. Under these circumstances, , my visibility basically goes down to zero for the second or two it takes for the light source to move by. (But, when you are doing 55 mph, a second or two is a lot of time and covers a lot of distance.)

I have thoroughly washed the windshield repeatedly with Windex to no avail (but it sure does sparkle during the day and when it is sunny! It is seriously crystal-clear.) I took the car to the dealer yesterday (during the day, of course) and they (of course) could not duplicate the conditions (night, raining) although they did try for over an hour, to see what I am talking about. They checked the wipers, too. (Only 5400 miles on the car.) They said they could detect no visibility problem, and the wipers are in perfect condition, so--- there ya go--- there is no problem.

This did not help me, as I was driving home that evening in the rain and going into the "white-out" situation every time a car approached or I went under a streetlight.

One more piece to the puzzle: The passenger wiper leaves a distinct line where it ends its counter-clockwise sweep. On the passenger side, the windshield is not perfect, but much clearer. On the other side of that distinct "end" line, the driver's side wiper's area has the extreme dappled film that I am talking about, the one that reflects the light and destroys the visibility. Additionally, water droplets bead up differently in the passenger side blade field than in the driver's side field.

And, by "film" I mean it "looks" like a film. But with how much I have washed this windshield, it is hard to believe anything survived. Today I am going to try alcohol (as a solvent on the windshield... but I might just have some wine if this situation persists!) and then wait for it to rain again at night so I can see if it helped.

Anyone else ever have this problem and can help me solve it?