Army installs windshield coatings on Humvees destined for Iraq.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe
• Position: Brief Article

A peel-away coating used to protect Humvee windshields, earlier reported as a failure by the U.S Army's Tank and Automotive and Armaments Command, is now moving forward.

TACOM officials told National Defense last fall there would be no further work performed on the product because it caused bubbling and distorting effects on windshields. However, that problem has been solved and the project remains viable, officials now assert.

The cause of failure was not related to the mating of the Mylar laminates to the Humvee's glass-polycarbonate windshield, officials said. Rather, it was caused by a thorough application of a preservative known as Carwell to the M1114 up-armored Humvee. The preservative is applied to the Humvee before the installation of the tear-off coating. It leaves a residue on the windshield that is difficult to see, and more importantly, it is virtually impossible to remove using standard cleaners.

The Carwell residue also seeps under the windshield molding, which...