Smearing / streaking on windshield
 

So I've tried cleaning the windshield with windex, ammonia and water and some kind of commercial glass cleaner before I replaced the blades and I still get this smearing when using the washers or worse when it rains and it gets hard to see. Anyone else have this issue or know what I can do to make it go away?

PS. Not sure why photo is sideways. Did this from cell ph. Taken at normal rotation - vertical - and uploaded frm ph. Sorry

Try stronger cleaner
 

You may have some old RainX or something on the glass; there have been posts on this occasionally. It doesn't get along well with the wipers over time in various ways. Likewise, hard to get rid of the residue once it's on there.

Whether or not that, try cleaning both the glass and the blade edges with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. Or perhaps a bit stronger, denatured alcohol like you get at the hardware store. Solvents beyond those could have paint risks.

hmm, I was going to recommend RainX. I swear by it down here in Florida where we regularly get these amazingly heavy thunderstorms that drop tons of water in a small localized area, tropical storms and yes, I have driven through the outer rain bands of hurricanes too.

It makes the water bead up and the wipers will fling it off. Without it (or after it wears off in a few months) the water forms an uneven film on the windscreen that you can't see through and the wipers can't even clear it fast enough before more water collects between wipes.

I've had it on my car since new. Reapplied it every few months. 13,000 miles and 11 months old now. Same original wipers still going fine. They have even scraped across hundreds of dead love bugs plastered on my windscreen.

I saw this yesterday. Quite a bit of work, but the results may address your problem.

http://drive.jalopnik.com/heres-how-...win-1238692399

i've never used rainx because i didn't want to get streaking, etc.. good idea on the ammonia. i'll try it. tks

serious stuff. thanks for the link. When i got to claying part, i thought he'd be done. if the ammonia doesn't work, i'll go this route. it gives me an excuse for a new wheel polisher! Tks

so I thought I'd try one more time before going all out. I decided to go to Safelite Auto Glass and ask their thoughts. They gave me a can of what they use to clean the windshields after installation. Went home and used it to clean the glass and blades 2 more times. Seems to taken care of the issue, but won't know for sure until after the next rain.

I've used this on two of my Audis and never had any issues and it has worked great here in Colorado

I use this for wiper fluid... buy it at pep boys. Helps with streaking and bugs too!

http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/8617022/00701/

I wonder what this stuff might do to the clear coat and paint over the long haul.