Annoying Smeary Windscreen

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
160,307
Hey guys..

Anyone know how to stop your windscreen going all smeary when it's raining? I'm not talking about uncleared rain - my wipers clear all the rain off perfectly smear-free, but the sort of filmy residue thats often left over which then gets nicely lit up by oncoming car headlights.

I'm not sure what it is or where its come from - both my wipers and my windscreen are under 4 months old and it's pretty much always been there.

So, what is it, and how do I get rid of it?
 
Do you find it builds up more on the passenger side of the screen?

I found giving the screen a coat wax helps.
 
Give your wipers a good scrub because they're probably caked in road grime, then after that it might be down to your wash wipe solution. I used some concentrated stuff from Tesco but it's ****. Got some from Halfords to replace it but that smells like vomit so I doubt I'll use that either.
 
hilly said:
Wipe your wipers with vinegar, this will clean of the muck it may have gathered.
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and put the smallest amount of fairy liquid in with your normal screen wash.

Ive found this helps, however the missus insists on taking her car through the car wash wich results in it getting wax all over the windsceen. Makes it a bloody nightmare!
 
Me and my dad get this too, and its started happening on the cars after topping up our screenwash, it leaves like a foggy mist type effect on the screen?
 
Stellios said:
Me and my dad get this too, and its started happening on the cars after topping up our screenwash, it leaves like a foggy mist type effect on the screen?
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Yup - which makes me think it isnt the wipers themselves as they wipe flawlessly... something on the screen perhaps?
 
[TW]Fox said:
Yup - which makes me think it isnt the wipers themselves as they wipe flawlessly... something on the screen perhaps?
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I'm sure this caused by filth coming out of old bangers (esp. diesels) on fast roads (e.g. A38) as every car I have had has suffered badly from this, yet the wifes Octavia which only trundles 10 miles a day to Derriford and back never seems to have this problem.

I use some domestic window cleaner (Windowlene type stuff) making sure I clean the blades thoroughly (you get a LOT of black smeg off them) and then follow up with Autoglym glass polish. This gives a lovely clean screen for a week or so, then it's back to the smeary film that's hard to see through.

G00SE said:
Wipe your blades with a cloth and a little white spirit :)
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Not white spirit, that leaves a greasy residue by itself. Meths would probably work ok though.
 
Yup as all have said:

Step 1:
Remove wiper blades and give them a right good scrub with a scouring pad, some fairy liquid and a bit of vinegar. Then rinse them with clean cold water until they're completely free of the fairy liquid and vinegar. Hang them up to drip dry.

Step 2:
Get a bucket of hot water with plenty of fairy liquid and a scouring pad (as DreX said in another thread, make sure it's not a metal scourer, just one of the green on one side, sponge on the other jobbys) and give your whole screen a right good going over (use a cloth too after the scourer). Then rinse it off with fresh cold water, making sure you get it all off.

Step 3:
Get some Autoglym glass polish or household window polish and give the whole screen a mighty good going over, covering the whole screen from pillar to pillar, top to bottom.

Step 4:
Get some NXT tech wax or any bodywork wax you might have and give the entire screen a good coating. Leave it for half an hour in the dry and shade then come back later to buff it off.

Step 5:
Put a tiny amount of fairy liquid in to your washer bottle (talking 1tsp here) and try not to use your wipers until you really have to - using a bit of spray to clear it when needed.

That's what I do and it works pretty well, keep us posted.
 
AmDaMan said:
pretty obvious but make sure your side of the windscreen is spotless too.
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That's one of my pet hates, when you see other cards and the inside of the windsreen has a dark haze all over it and you can see where it's been rubbed by hands and fingers. Ergh! Amazing how a window looks clean, but actually has a horrible film over it.
 
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