Bill Wood posted some info a while ago on how to strip a windshield to help get rid of smearing and visibility problems. My windshied had some kind of gook on it (faint spots and runs, visible mostly under bright sunlight). It also had many tiny lines that follow the path of the wiper, and many tiny pinpoint pock marks

After reading Bill's post, I looked for and eventually found the WiperMates product called "Strip-It" at Pep Boys. (It buried under a pile of stuff by the wipers.) Last weekend I tried it out.

After two applications and a lot of elbow grease, it did seem to remove the spots and runs, which helped somewhat. It also began to fade the thin lines that followed the wiper path, but not to the degree that would really improve visibility. Unfortunately, the blue paste collected in the tiny pock marks and made them more visible. I think that'll probably get washed out eventually.

Overall, visibility improved a little, but not much. The worst culprit is the wiper lines. I'll probably try future applications of the stuff to see if I can make it any better.

Does anybody know how much a new W124 windshield goes for?

My 91 300E had allot of the same symptoms as what you describe. It also had way over 100K miles and the original windshield. The blue-goo will help some, but you have to pressure hose ad nauseam to really get it off. Buffing very aggressivley with a wet terry helps too. I've heard Bon Ami (in the household cleaning aisle of your supermarket) also works well on windshields. One step that made worlds of difference in my experience is the use of the STP "Vision Blade". It takes the old Rain-X idea and goes a genereration further. From what I understand, it is a polymer that bonds to your windshiled that wears itself off in about 6 months. It causes water to bead rather than sheet on the glass. I noticed a bit of difference in that A: I didn't have to use my wiper as much, B: when I did it cleared with virtually no streaking, and C: when I was done washing the car and dragged the chamois or terry over the treated glass it only took one quick pass and was literally 100% dry. The untreated glass took a couple passes or left a film that lingered for a second or two. The stuff costs about ten bucks and really does last months. It is sort of odd to put on, and you have to clean the glass like hell beforehand, but all-in-all it is worth the effort. Give those steps a try before you get a new winshield. I'm not saying it will be perfect, but it should improve significantly from what it is now.

Best of Luck...Lee

One thing that works really slick on really cleaning glass, it to use Brasso with a small 3M pad. It works wonders at getting off smoke residue and does not scratch the glass at all.

After this, I would apply Rain-X to the outside glass surfaces only. You will be able to see well and won't have to use your wiper much during down pours.

Bill