stash64

I've not done it myself, but I thought a clay bar was also a good option for cleaning grime off glass. Don't custom window tinters use clay prior to applying tint ?

MP4.2+6.0

Agreed w/ various comments--
Add to the list: if blades are more than a few years old with some noise, consider replacing. They get some wear at the coupling joints, plus the rubber folds over from the constant pressure and takes often a set/are no longer perpendicular to the glass like they are new.

Redd

Alcohol cleans rubber well, but also dries it out. Removes "plasticizers" every time it is used. When there were typewriter repair men, they used a special cleaner on the (rubber) carriage rollers, with an additive to prevent that. Today I would use very sparingly some ArmorAll Cleaner or your other favorite rubber "protectant" rather than alcohol.

The clay bar on the glass, I just don't get. Who needs to use a 3000 grit abrasive bar to remove dirt from glass? Where the dirt can't be embedded, anyway? There are so many fine glass cleaners. "Stoners Invisible Glass" works great, pump or aerosol, I prefer the aerosol because the solvents can't evaporate out of the can. No residue, no smearing like RainX does with some rubber compounds.

And IIRC, our wipers return to the "park" position and are raised off the glass to prevent the rubber from taking a set when they are not being used. That should be a key to longevity--raising them off the glass.

ex-quattro PETE

On that subject, an old trick used to be to soak paper towels with vinegar, and spread them on the glass for a few mins.

MP4.2+6.0

We are on different pages.

It isn't just dirt. It's sap (sometimes in a fine aerosol sort of form as it blows off trees, more of if they have an aphid thing going on), residues from car detergents with wax (another oft biggie), all kinds of stuff. You can scrub your brains out sometimes with Windex type cleaners and not get that kind of tougher stuff out at a microscopic level. I have used Stoners glass cleaner too, which works better than Windex but still won't cut the tougher stuff. And if RainX ever went on the glass, it's a big time clean up party to get it off. Being clear, this isn't any given week, month or even year, it's when wipers are acting up and a regular cleaning won't work, or the adhesive cutting type stuff like the 3M product or stronger alcohols.

Armorall? That stuff seems akin to silicone oil in a water carrier. I don't put oil on my windshields. And if the rubber is gone, just replace them--regular maintenance parts.


Park position. Another gimmick. Overall set up makes it harder in snow compared to prior hinge design. Meanwhile, seems like same old pressure to me on the glass 24/7/365 whenever I clean the windshield--multiple times a week. More specifically, to my feel exactly the same wiper to glass pressure as my 2006 A8, which thankfully still has the prior folding arm design. But, I can just get the wipers folded outward on the A8 in less than a second, instead of the lift 'em up baloney of the "new and improved" Q5 set up.

Redd

Even tree sap would still respond to a good solvent, a 3000 grit abrasive would not be needed. Why grind away glass when you don't need to?

You also can't mix silicone oil with water. There are two ArmorAll formulas, the original white and the new clear, which even smells "solvent" based to me. They would have done us all a favor by giving it an all-new name.

Pete-
Vinegar is a good point. Storekeepers used to use vinegar and old newspaper to clean their display windows. The vinegar is a good cleaner, and the newsprint (wood pulp that has been chlorinated, bleached, boiled, steamed, and superheated dry in a sterile plant) is a mildly abrasive mildly absorbent damned cheap source of paper. It will scratch plastics mercilessly (unlike Bounty or microfibers) and it isn't a great fast absorber...but that combination still works, too. Vinegar just won't strip waxes, the way ammonia does. Unless they are water-based waxes, in which case it is still the water doing most of the work.

There's science behind this stuff, despite all the claims the glitz-makers try to hype us with.

Tree sap, bird crap, all sorts of odd stuff to complicate car care. But on *glass* all of that stuff also comes off with a nice new clean single-edge razor blade, bought dirt cheap in a box of 100 that lasts forever. Cleans off everything include registration stickers and leaves just the glass behind.

Blades: They're not just for coke users! Neat & flat & easy to stash in a wallet or book.

Redd

Got a long (TMI!) reply from Bon Ami today. On the east coast we must be on the "b" list, because they say they've got TWO products and have had them for many years. The "1886 Original Cleaning Powder" in a mainly red can, and the "Powder Cleanser" in the gold can, formerly a yellow rectangular box, which is the only one I've ever seen on the east coast.

They say that they tweaked the 1886 formula in 2010 to remove some solvent-based soap, but that there's still TALLOW in it, which makes it the better choice for cleaning vintage auto windshields, mirrors, and glass, among other things leaving a residue that will discourage fogging.

Both still use mainly feldspar, the original gentle abrasive, which shouldn't harm the glazing at all.

Who knew, Bon Ami was "twins". (shrug) I wonder what tallow residue does to wiper blades.(VBG)

uberwgn

Peter, the blade should be contacting the glass at 90* angle. VW did have a tool for checking this: VW P/N US9201


It was a verification of the 90* contact and you'd simply bend (twist) the metal arm until it was at the correct angle.


Did you try fresh blades?


Windshield glass gets dirty. And it can be a real challenge to truly clean it and relieve it of build up.

ex-quattro PETE

Yes, that is what the dealer did. In the paperwork they noted that the passenger side wiper blade was distorted, so they replaced both of them.

Bob Petruska

and it works extremely well on the most difficult windshield/wiper issues............

CarPro FlyBy30 Windshield & Glass Coating Kit