Damaging wiper blades

[Wickenman]

I have a one year old A Class, the near side wiper had scored the windscreen in its arc as it moved over the windscreen, on inspection the metal fingers holding the wiper blade on the cheap wiper blades had jumped out of their holders and made a right mess. Why are manufacturers of very expensive vehicles sending them out with the cheapest possible accessories? I’ve replaced them with Bosch Aerotwins, with no chance of them causing any damage.

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes, Hymer do fit crap whisper blades always replace mine with aero blades.

 

[Winger]

Yes, Hymer do fit crap whisper blades always replace mine with aero blades.

So Lenny are whisper blades not a good add on!

 

[Wickenman]

Update on wiper caper
The original factory fitted Hymer wiper arms have scored the newly fitted replacement windscreen where the rubber blades have jumped out of the steel fingers that hold them, great! After contacting my friendly local body shop theyve put me in touch with a local firm who do nothing other than remove scratches in glass. £120 for the job to get my windscreen back to new.

 

[2GB Racing]

£120 that is a very very reasonable price

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[Wickenman]

They came highly recommended from a local body shop I’ve unfortunately got to know too well! They charge a minimum of £120, which normally gets the job done but if more time is required due to it being a big scratch they charge a bit more. I’m amazed windscreen firms don’t even know that scratches can easily be polished out. Obviously they’d rather charge to replace but when they’ve scratched it themselves it’s a far cheaper option than replacing it (again) for over £2,500.

 

[Paul.L]

I've used this type of glass polish on windscreens, and on scratched aquariums with excellent results every time.


Amazon product ASIN B005HWBC5S
It takes some effort by hand, but easy with a polishing pad.

 

[Wickenman]

Thanks Paul, the metal fingers on the wiper had scored the windscreen fairly badly, considering the wiper was only used intermittently for a half-hour they're a very poor product to fit with the damage that can be so easily caused The guy was here for over four hours patiently polishing out the scratch, as he told me it's necessary to remove the surrounding area of glass to get down past to the scratch so it's way more than just a polish. He had some really good kit with him, very professional so I'm sure it's not something any DIY'er could have done. Given my experience I'd highly recommend anyone with metal clawed wipers to remove them and replace with Bosch Aerotwin, there's no chance of any damage then for a very small investment.

 

[OCD]

Windscreen insurance + ...

 

[Paul.L]

Years ago at work we had a Hiace van which decided to part with one of it's wiper blades . . .on the wettest day of the year.
I had to drive it back to Watford from the West End, in time to get the cargo out for delivery up Norrh, and had no choice to use the wipers for the entire journey, all the time knowing that the wiper arm was doing damage - the sound was comparable to fingernails on a blackboard!
Cerium Oxide and a DA polisher made a pretty good job of repairing the damage, but It took over 2 hours.

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[pappajohn]

Years ago at work we had a Hiace van which decided to part with one of it's wiper blades . . .on the wettest day of the year.
I had to drive it back to Watford from the West End, in time to get the cargo out for delivery up Norrh, and had no choice to use the wipers for the entire journey, all the time knowing that the wiper arm was doing damage - the sound was comparable to fingernails on a blackboard!
Cerium Oxide and a DA polisher made a pretty good job of repairing the damage, but It took over 2 hours.

Never thought to lift the arm up then.....

 

[Paul.L]

Never thought to lift the arm up then.....

And get soaking wet on the A40 Westway and M25???