New wiper blades leaving visible smudge/ residue

[ryanschillinger]

At the end of the sweep, where the blades stop, they are leaving a visible smudge. Seems like some kind of residue. Blades are brand new Goodyear hybrid blades from Costco. I cleaned the windshield, then clay barred it. I cleaned the wiper blades themselves with invisible glass and figured that should take care of it. Definitely better now, but passenger one stops right in my line of sight and leaves a smudge the length of the blade.
Any ideas what else to do? My next idea was to clean the blades with 90% rubbing alcohol and maybe scrub the glass with comet and a sponge.

 

[3800Series]

Its probably just a protective coating on the blades to keep them from drying out.

Wiping them down with 50/50 water to alcohol would probably work. Could even just turn the wipers on and spray the windshielfd down for a few mins.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Do NOT use rubbing alcohol it will dry out the blades or crack them.

You might try vinegar or just use dawn dish washing liquid on them.

 

[ryanschillinger]

I was getting awfully frustrated and starting to eye the dishwasher. Don't tell my wife but it does an awesome job cleaning all types of automotive stuff and tools haha! I didn't think of dawn liquid but thought cleaning them directly with invisible glass would've done the trick. I don't know if the problem lies in the rubber blades or on the glass itself. After the clay bar and cleaning the blades, the problem is much better, but still there.

 

[RF Overlord]

I hope you find an answer...I've tried everything with mine, new blades (both cheap and expensive), new arms, clay bar, Bon Ami, 0000 steel wool, special deep cleaning windshield kits, white vinegar, and they still streak and chatter.

 

[Vikas]

The Costco Goodyear blades are one of the worst one on the market. I should have returned them when I had the chance. Usually Costco does not carry junk stuff but this one sure is.

 

[raytseng]

Agree. I threw mine out after a week.

But its what you paid for.

If you are sick of the wiper trial and error, go back to oem-that means the actual part from your cars make. not trico exact fit or or OEM equivilant or anything thirdpary from the parts store

 

[Garak]

The local Ford dealer always carries the Motorcraft blades and at a price better than the big box competition. I go to Infiniti to ask for blades and they look at me like I'm from Mars.

 

[BRZED]

I clean all wiper blades regularly, which prevents smearing and prolongs the life of the blades. I use a wet paper towel with a drop of dishsoap on it. I don't apply a lot of pressure, because it might damage the fragile edge of the blade.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Well, I washed the Civic today, and cleaned the windshield again. This time with 0000 steel wool and glass cleaner. Went ahead and scrubbed the other glass while I had the steel wool out, but did those a bit lazily.
I took a closer look at the blades, and they looked like they had some kind of gray residue on them, so I went inside and wetted a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and cleaned the rubber. A lot of junk came off and now they look black instead of gray. Car was already clean, so I didn't test them out yet. If they still leave the smudge now, I might have to just give up haha! Or, like mentioned, buy some wiper assemblies at the dealer. When the Corolla blades stopped working so well, I went to the dealer and got just the rubber refills since it still had the original assemblies. Only about $8 each refill, and it works perfectly.

 

[BRZED]

Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
I took a closer look at the blades, and they looked like they had some kind of gray residue on them,


I have seen new wiper blades coated with graphite.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Whatever was on them sure blackened the cotton pad I cleaned them with. I remember a lot of blades used to come with an alcohol wipe in the package to clean the blades before installation. Still enjoying a semi clean car for now but I hope the smudging is over with after all this cleaning.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Well it rained last night so I just used the blades to clear the windshield and the smudge is still there! Not nearly as bad but still there... Driver side blade doesn't seem to do it now but passenger blade leaves a line where it stops and reverses direction in the up position. Much better than before so maybe I should try cleaning the blades again.
Anyone have a suggestion for next step if it doesn't work? Dealer blade assemblies probably best but I bet they're expensive.

 

[raytseng]

More time you spend on it, the more you're trial-and-erroring. Many people wouldn't care and it wouldn't bug them.
But since it keeps bothering you, you might want to cut your losses and bite the bullet. At least find out how much the dealer blades cost.

Don't know which car you're using it for,
But if your ends up being a regular framed blade where you can replace the wiper inserts, then just pick up a few refills at the same time and that'll greatly cut your costs versus buying a whole wiper every time.
(Note, try to store the refills straight or at least without kinks or heavy twists)
On one car, I've been using the same wiper frame for 10years and 5changes. The paint has faded on the frame, but still wipes fine.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Yeah it's my civic. The Corolla was bought new so I keep the stock frames and just replace the rubber refills. Only reason it really bugs me at all is that the wiper stops almost directly in my line of sight. Worst case I learn to ignore it best I can but it's improved a lot so in thinking cleaning them again might just do it. Never had to mess around so much with new wiper blades! Haha

 

[Garak]

You're just fussy like I am. I understand your pain!

 

[HerrStig]

Some folks have had luck claying their windshelds. The "pretreatment" liquid sprayed on the roads up here last winter is causing smearing I have never seen before, on a brand new windshield.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Hmm yeah I already clay barred it and scrubbed with 0000 steel wool and glass cleaner after that. It's better but still there. If the blades are both same size, I'll swap side to side and see if that helps. Next I just might toss them in the dishwasher. I suppose Costco has a good return policy and I could always return them and try something else.