I thought my Windshield was clean. But when I changed wipers to new, high-quality wipers (Michelin), they quacked more than a happy duck. Turns out, there's a reason for that. You see, Tesla coats the glass, then the wipers remove the top coat, leaving the underlying adhesive and chemical gunk behind. This causes rain to sheet (not bead) and wipers to streak and squeal.
How to fix? Here's what worked for me:
- Prep the glass. You can lightly polish the windscreen and remove contaminants with one of the following:
- CarPro Ceriglass Kit
- Griot's Garage Glass Cleaning Clay and Speed Shine
- Chemical Guys Heavy Duty Clay Bar and Luber (what I use)
- Clean the glass. Clean the windows with an alcohol based cleaner such as Griot's Garage Window Cleaner to remove any residue. Polish/dry with a waffle weave towel. I suggest doing this twice to make sure the window is as clean as possible before moving to the next step.
- Seal the glass. This will ultimate make that water bead. Use a good sealer such as Griot's Garage Sealant with a microfiber towel. Here is the procedure:
- Apply a liberal amount of Griot's sealant to a clean microfiber towel and wipe it horizontally across the windshield until the whole windshield is covered.
- Immediately apply a little more sealant to your towel and apply a second coat vertically to the entire windshield (you are cross hatching).
- Let the product dry for 5-20 minutes.
- Once the product is dry, apply a second application in the exact same manner you did the first (cross hatching).
- Let the product dry 5-10 minutes.
- Buff off the hazed sealant with a clean microfiber cloth. If you are having problems buffing the sealant, lightly dampen your towel and it will make the buffing process much easier.
That's it! If the previous steps were completed correctly, you may not have to use the wipers for most rain - it should bead and roll right off.
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone....
