I replaced my wiper blades on my 2004 SCAB F-150 FX4 with some "premium" ones from Rain-X. Aprroximately 5 weeks and only about 4 or 5 uses of the wipers later, I noticed an arced scratch forming on the passenger side at the outer edge of the wiper blade.....suffice it to say I removed the new wiper blades and replaced them with some from ANCO I've beeen using for years without incident. The Driver side also has a very minor scratch at the outside of the wiper arc at full travel just abeam the A-pilar, but it's not nearly as noticeable as the full arc on the passenger side. The scratch is just enough to be felt by a fingernail as you run it over it, so I'm hoping that it's not beyond repair.

I take good care of my wipers....never run em on a dry window, change em annually, wipe the blades off every time I fill up at the gas station or wash the truck......any ideas on what caused the scratch. The Rain-X blades I believe are made of silicon instead of rubber, and the end corner of the wiping surface does feel a little rough.

Now on to the more important question, how to get rid of this scratch.......has anyone attempted to buff out a windschield scratch at home, or is this a job best left to the pros.

I contacted RAIN-X and they will refund the price of the blades, and said to send pictures and a claim form for potential reimbursement of the damages....its a shame, cause those blades really worked well---a little too well i guess.

 

hnnm Rain-X blades... I've always liked the "wax-on" stuff but N-e how..
I never did like the idea of using a "premium" miracle wiper blade. On all my trucks I've had, I've only Used Bosch. Not only b/c they are a customer of mine(ours) but I'm also familiar with the manufacturing and QC levels.

I Hope Rain-X corp. makes good on your case...
Good Luck...!

 

I've noticed the same thing on my 2 year old 04 scab. But it has the original wiper blades on it. You can really notice the scratches, later in the day, when the sun shines through it at an angle. Otherwise, they are very hard to see. The scratches look like a clear LP record. Funny thing is the wiper blades still feel like new ones, nice and smooth. I don't see how they are scratching the glass.

 

Thanks for letting us know about it - I was considering buying some literally yesterday! There had to be something other than silicone contacting the glass - i.e. - the body of the wiper. I guess it's back to the design room for that truck model anyway. I'm glad the are giving you good customer service though.