A little trick my father taught me was to spray the rubber of the wipers and
seals with silicone when cleaning the window.  It protects them from getting
dried out, and keeps them supple so they grip the glass well and leave less
streaks.

To do the wipers, we spray silicone on a green scrub pad and scrub the
wipers with it, making sure it soaks in pretty well.  You don't want to get
it on your windshield though, so don't let it drip.

If you get the good wipers and take care of them, they can last a while.  My
mom's wiper's usually last a couple years, not months.

-eric
----------------------
'85 GL Camper (Moby)
San Francisco, CA

On 5/25/02 12:04 PM, "John Rodgers" <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET> wrote:

> pensioner wrote:
>
>> The wipers glide on a molecular film of water.  They skip when they
>> encounter a surface that doesn't have this very thin film.
>
> That thin film is important.
>
> When out driving, all kinds of stuff builds up on the windshield and it
> prevents
> the water film from forming properly. So you get skips, beading spots, and
> streaks. And of course the rain always catches you before you do your next
> window cleaning, right?
>
> Well, to combat this, I keep a bottle of 409 cleaner in the VAN box that I
> maintain at all times. This stuff will cut the oily film right off the
> windshield. A few squirts, and a wipe with a towel about gets it. The water
> film
> will form perfectly and the wipers will absolutely clears the wind shield. Try
> it.
>
> One thing, rinse the rubber around the windshield pretty good. It tends to
> take
> the oils out of the rubber and can cause dry rot at an early age if steps are
> not taken. Same for the wiper blades as well.
>
> But knowing is half the battle.
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL driver