[sadnabrina]

Hi,
My Swift is 1 year old. Last few months I have noticed whenever I am driving in rain with my wiper on (at any speed) after some time the windshield gets prominent swiping marks. It makes driving very difficult specially at night. They look like a layer of deposits on the glass.
The marks go away if I clean the glass with a glass cleaning solution and a soft cloth. But reappears after some time of wiper use. Last time I was at the service station I asked the service engineer about it and he said he will check the wiper for aging. But after servicing he said the blades look ok.
I do not think they are scratches on the glass as the marks are totally invisible on a dry night even with glaring highbeams falling on it. They reappear only when wet and the wipers are running. In light rain if I do not use the wiper the marks are not visible.

I use a Johnsen's Year Round Windshield Washer Concentrate (Cleaner and Anti Freeze) diluted with regular drinking water in the windshield washer tank. I have also tried using regular car wash solution in the mix. Nothing works.

Can the experts suggest what is the problem and the solution to it?

Thanks in anticipation
Anirban

[Rudra Sen]

Keep doing whatever you're doing to clean the glass..only change your wiper blades. You should be able to get a pair of Bosch in Hyderabad.

[caroholic1]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

get a pair of Bosch

Hey how much will it cost???

[Steeroid]

Normally about Rs.300-400 depending on the model of your car. Cleaning the glass is fine, but do you also raise the wiper blades and wipe them clean?

Like Rudra says a pair of bosch wipers and some decent cleaning fluid (Black Chic Shampoo works great and costs just Rs.1 or 2) should do the trick.

[Zappo]

actually it happens even with my car... in fact they also leave light scratch marks all along the wiper's path of sweep. After lot of mulling I realized some of it is inevitable and can not be altogether avoided. And it may not necessarily have to do with the age of the blades.

The problem is that when you drive on the road a lot of fine dust particles settle down along the blades. With the first few sweeps these minute dust particles cause the glass to get those marks. In fact if the windsheild is not yet sufficient wet (rains have just starfted falling) you will hear a screeching noise the first few times. Thats the culprit.

[ess_a]

Originally Posted by Zappo

actually it happens even with my car... in fact they also leave light scratch marks all along the wiper's path of sweep............................................. ........In fact if the windsheild is not yet sufficient wet (rains have just starfted falling) you will hear a screeching noise the first few times. Thats the culprit.

Hey zappo are you using your blades without using the windshield washer?? "scratches" can only be formed if you wipe dry... And in rains it doesnt take long for your windshield to get covered with water droplets.. And this much is sufficient to moisten the dirt particles adequately...
Though my blades dont leave scratches... (touch wood!) but they do leave swiping marks... But i fell its just that they need replacement.. Havent changed them for around 2 yrs!

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by ess_a

Hey zappo are you using your blades without using the windshield washer?? "scratches" can only be formed if you wipe dry... And in rains it doesnt take long for your windshield to get covered with water droplets.. And this much is sufficient to moisten the dirt particles adequately...
Though my blades dont leave scratches... (touch wood!) but they do leave swiping marks... But i fell its just that they need replacement.. Havent changed them for around 2 yrs!

No, I never do that. I am a bit too cautious to do that. However it happens when you are driving and it starts drizzling. On such occassions you need to wipe the screen as droplets are all over your screen and yet the wipers are not completely wet. Although the sides of the blades do get wet with the first few drops the dust particles trapped between the screen and the blades are still there... and they go off only with the first two wipes... but those two wipes are enough to leave light marks on the screen.

Well I probably can not exactly call them scratches but the marks they definitely are. And yes, on a normal dry day you won't see them... at least not till the car has aged another few years I guess

[ess_a]

Originally Posted by Zappo

the dust particles trapped between the screen and the blades are still there

Oh well that can happen... But i think only if sufficient dirt particles are there.. And in that case it means the car hasnt been cleaned for a long period... I still feel your wipers need a check... Scratches, minor or major, will become prominent in the long run...

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by ess_a

Oh well that can happen... But i think only if sufficient dirt particles are there.. And in that case it means the car hasnt been cleaned for a long period... I still feel your wipers need a check... Scratches, minor or major, will become prominent in the long run...

Its not actually like that buddy. In fact my car gets a thorough mopping everyday. The problem is that it drives a lot... at least 60kms everyday. At the end of the day when it comes back it has a thin layer of loose dust covering its body and glass area. So you see... any time it starts raining while returning back there is not much one can do. One good thing I have hit upon off-late is to start spraying the wash-fluid on the screen and start the wiper through that spray. This way the damage is non-existant as the force of the spray washes of the wiper when it starts moving through that incoming jet of water from the nozzles.

[goldsun]

Originally Posted by Zappo

One good thing I have hit upon off-late is to start spraying the wash-fluid on the screen and start the wiper through that spray.

Keep doing this. Probably the damage would have been caused earlier when you were not following this. I feel that the marks that are getting visible when the class is wet is due to the fine surface scratches that could have been caused due to use of wipers without splashing wash fluid on a non rainy day.

[vikram_d]

The simple solution I use for this problem is to get the wiper blades replaced every year at the beginning of the rainy season whether they need to be replaced or not.

[esteem_lover]

The best way to avoid this would be to keep the windshield free of dust. please do not feel that using wash wipe is safe. that is actually the culprit. just a little spray & using the blades will leave scratches in the wiindshield. this is more useful on rainy days to get a clear vision or when there is only fine dust & when you are driving in the night.

before you take your car out, just wipe the windshield with the yellow cloth & then drive.

[normally_crazy]

Short term solutions = Clean your windscreens and wipe it dry with a black and white newspaper. Also lift your wiper blade and very slowly WIPE THE BLADE WITH A TISSUE/PAPER ON ITS EDGE ..TOP TO BOTTOM 2-3 TIMES.

[sadnabrina]

The newspaper idea may not be the best one. They are known to cause scratches. I had my windshield damaged in my M800 few years back and have stopped doing that now. Ideally you should use the glass cleaning mop commonly available in the market to clean the windshield. I really do not know the name of it but it is the one with a sponge (with soft net like cloth covering it) on one side and a rubber (wiper like) blade on the other side with a short handle. It also has a spraying mechanism in-build. Spray a little cleaning solution / water with it and use the sponge side to remove all stubborn marks then use the rubber blade to wipe the remaining water / liquid off the glass.
I agree to the other formula of cleaning the wiper blade itself.
Thanks to all for the ideas provided. I will have the blades replaced within a few days time and report back.

Regards,
Anirban

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Short term solutions = Clean your windscreens and wipe it dry with a black and white newspaper. Also lift your wiper blade and very slowly WIPE THE BLADE WITH A TISSUE/PAPER ON ITS EDGE ..TOP TO BOTTOM 2-3 TIMES.

[gd1418]

And I had heard for long that nothing cleans glass better than a moist newspaper. And I have always seen that happening..

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

The newspaper idea may not be the best one. They are known to cause scratches. I had my windshield damaged in my M800 few years back and have stopped doing that now.
Regards,
Anirban