Re: Good windshield wipers?

T <[email protected]> wrote:

> Forester 2006
> 
> Where can I get good windshield wipers that don't
> crap out in a year?  I really only need the blades,
> not the whole assembly.

Have you ever cleaned the wipers?  Get some 303 protectorant
(https://s.yimg.com/aah/autogeek/303-automotive-protectant-44.gif), wet
a rag, and run along the wipers several times.  You clean the wipers,
and you rejuvenate them.  You may be amazed how much filth comes off,
and then notice how squeaky clean is the windshield with the old wipers,
but without any squeaks.

I've bought several different brands.  I found the RainX don't live up
their claims, the frame is flimsy (it'll unsnap from the wiper arm when
you are brushing off snow), and they don't clean that well, even if you
get the ones with the tension bar arm (instead of the multi-point
contact scheme).  In the past, I wasn't impressed with Trico, but that
was with the multi-point contact assembly.  I very much like the Trico
Titan (22" driver, 20" passenger, 15" rear on my Subaru Legacy wagon).
They're not cheap at $30 apiece, so $90 to replace all 3 together.  The
above cleaning method made them last several years.  I just cleaned them
preparing for winter, they're a year old, so I'll be using them another
year.  Barring physical damage, they'll probably last more years.

303 protectorant is excellent, used by many detailers.  One hint: after
wiping with a wetted rag or cloth-covered applicator sponge, wipe with a
dry cloth to remove the excess, especially on shiny plastic, like the
interior handles.  If the surface is dripping wet, you can get marks
left behind.  Except for the wipers and tires, I always buff after using
the protectorant.  Unless you apply a thin coat (just barely damp rag),
this protectorant does not air dry.  It contains water, but you should
buff after applying.  Not scrub dry, just run a dry rag over the
coating.

Another reason why I like the 303 is it not depositing a film on the
inside of the windows.  I hate cleaning the windows, especially to get
rid of any film, applying protectorant, and having the protectorant
redeposit a film on the windows.  With some protectorants, you have to
wait a week for them to stop effusing their solvents before you can
clean the window of old and the newly deposited film.

I even use the 303 on my acrylic headlights.  I buff them to get them
clear again, and apply 303 as a UV protectorant.  I only apply
protectorant once a year, and on a warm-to-cool day, not on a hot day in
the sun.  That also means I clean the wipers only once per year.  I like
303, but it is pricey.  Stoner Trim & Shine is about half the price, and
performs equally, but the pricier 303 is often sitting on the shelf
since customers buy out the Stoner Trim Shine.  Because both are water
based, do NOT leave them in your garage with your car cleaning supplies.
Bring them inside to prevent them freezing.

A couple reasons why I don't use Stoner.  If the application is new, and
the car sits in the sun on a hot summer day, Stoner can emit
formaldehyde.  Stoner is also more aggressive at cleaning.  Users have
reported that it will remove paint.  They'll use on the pull-up bar for
exterior door handles, or on the painted plastic inside, notice some
black is coming off onto the rag, and notice the paint is from the
application surface.  I've not had that with 303.  When using a cleaner
on wipers, the black you see is from oxidized vinyl or rubber coming off
the wipers which is why they don't clean as well, along with the dirt
you don't see on the black blades.  Don't scrub the wipers with a
protectorant.  I only pass over them about 3 times, and don't press down
hard on the blades.

If you don't want to buy protectorant at $8 to $17 per 16 oz bottle, to
clean wipers you can use isopropyl alcohol.  Use 70%, not the 90% stuff.
It cleans the wipers, removes the oxidation, but it is corrosive to
rubber, so don't keep cleaning them every week.  Once a year is enough.
I've used those alcohol cleaning pads inside a sealed pounch since I buy
a box of them at a time to resupply my first aid kits.  Or, I can use
Stoner Invisible Glass since that has isopropyl.  I use it to clean the
inside of my windows, first using a vinegar cleaner, and then Invisible
to get a streak-free clean.  When used to clean glass, spray it on the
rag while outside the car.  You don't want to be spraying alcohol on the
interior plastics.  Same when wetting a rag with it to clean the wipers.

How are you gauging your wipers aren't cleaning well?  Streaking is not
caused by the wipers, unless you left them resting atop debris that
deform the blade, like leaves or their stems sitting under the blade.
It's what is on the blades, like road grime, sand, dirt, oil, grease on
the blades that cause most of the streaking.  Wet a rag with alcohol or
protectorant, pinch the rag against the blade, and wipe up and down
several times.  They'll be black streaks on the rag.  Do it again with a
new wetted section of the rag.  Repeat until no more black streaks on
the rag.

Some streaking may be attributed to the cleanliness of the windshield.
Washing and waxing helps until the wipers rub off the wax, but there can
also be junk stuck to the glass, even small stuff you can't see without
a magnifying glass.  Wash the windshield (don't use ammonia).  Rinse
clean.  Get some 000 steel wool (and store it so it doesn't rust).
Glass has a higher MOH than steel, so the glass wool will not scratch
the glass.  Scrub the glass with the steel wool.  Lastly use a good
glass cleaner, like Stoner Invisible Glass (don't let its spray hit the
painted parts of the car, so, again, apply to rag away from the car).

Then comes the WD-40.  No, not on the window.  On the hinge at the
bottom of the wiper arm nearest the car.  The pivots can get corroded or
have debris between the mating surfaces of the hinge.  Lubing the hinge
helps ensure the wiper is pulled onto the window with max force.
Exercise the hinge several times to work the lube into the hinge.  I use
torsion bar (beam aka aero) wipers.  If using multi-point contact
(conventional aka cheap) wipers, lube their hinges on the arm.  You want
the most force pressing the blades onto the glass.  You don't want
corrosion or debris adding friction to the hinges.

First clean the wiper blades with protectorant, or alcohol.  Then clean
the windshield. Then lube the wiper arm hinge, and hinges for any
multi-contact bridges.

Some wipers have a spoiler on their arm.  This adds more downward
pressure of the blade against the glass.  My car has one, but only the
driver-side wiper, and it's attached to the arm which, so is part of the
car.

Don't get snow wipers unless you get to park your car inside a garage
where ice that accumulates inside the rubber cover can melt away.  I
live in an area where winter is very cold and very snowy.  Everytime
I've used a snow wiper, I tossed it after a couple snowfalls.  My car
sits outside, not in a garage.

I never use RainX on the outside of the windshield.  I don't use it
anywhere.  All that does, even after lots of buffing (which thins the
coating), is cause a starry effect to oncoming headlights.  The coated
is still smeared on the glass.  If you just must have a coating on the
outside, and don't want to take your car to the wash a lot, use glass
wax (there's old stuff around that's been used on mirrors for many
decades), or car spray wax, and buff very well.  Clean first, then wax.

The isopropyl cleaning of the wiper blades will likely be the most
dramatic improvement to clean your windshield.  Dirty wipers don't
squeegee well.