Did Rain-x ruin my windshield or is it normal (how to make it better)?
Oct 06, 2007 85 Replies
D
dpb
Nate Nagel wrote: ...
Don't know how similar it is to the old stuff, but Rain-X makes a product labeled as a glass wax. While looking for the MSDS to see what is in the aerosol, discovered there are some 20-30 products under the Rain-X brand...
I've never used any of them so have no opinion on their efficacy nor knowledge of what the product actually is, just noted your plaintive cry and had recently seen the listing... :)
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J
Jeff Dittmar
Finally, the voice of wisdom! Rain-X even sells all-weather cargo bags & windshield wipers!
So, let's stop calling it "rain-x" and start calling it 'rain-x '. Otherwise, we're all talking about something different. Let's start by listing the rain-x products of interest first. Then we can get to their ingredients and then to how they work.
Here are the rain-x brand products I found in a quick search
Rain-X Bug & Tar Pro-Shield (16 oz Aerosol Can) .99
Rain-X De-Icer Aerosol (15 oz) .99
Rain-X Fast Wax (16 & 23 oz Trigger Spray) .99
Rain-X Foaming Car Wash Concentrate (100 oz Bottle) .99
Now, someone tell me, WHICH rain-x product above are we talking about that streaks your windshield inside and outside and that which can't easily be removed but which apparently works if properly applied?
J
Jeff Dittmar
H
hls
I used a glass cleaning product from the FLAPS that has some clay dispersed in a solvent system. The clay is not abrasive to glass, but provides a large surface area which helps compete for the surface active materials in RainX and the like.
No magic bullet...just elbow grease.
For all those who like RainX, good on ya'. I dont. I applied it properly, and just dont like the effect.
W
willshak
on 10/7/2007 12:21 PM hls said the following:
Like jewelers rouge?
C
cuhulin
I recently read an article about cleaning glass top stoves with baking soda mixed with warm water and follow up with some vinegar.Baking soda (whenever I have an upset stomach, I mix a big spoon full of baking soda with a cup of warm water and drink it down, it works every time for me) and vinegar are good for a lot of household chores.I don't know how it would work on a windshield though. cuhulin
G
George
Not sure why you keep repeating this. You don't know if it is Rain-X and you are treating the clerk at the big box stores opinion as gospel.
J
John Weiss
In my experience, what you describe as a "haze" is simply the remaining water on the windshield broken into much smaller droplets than normally are deposited by the rain. It happens with a cold windshield, and is more like the misting from morning dew, but much finer. A single wipe from the wipers will remove it. Once the windshield is warmed by the defroster, it goes away.
J
John Weiss
H
hls
No, not jewelers rouge, but that would also provide a large surface area.
Kaolin, typically, may be used.
The material I bought was packaged in sealed foil envelopes, but I dont remember the brand name.
You may also remember the old BonAmi product which was of a very low order of abrasiveness. It was ground feldspar, IIRC.
W
willshak
on 10/7/2007 3:18 PM hls said the following:
It's still around.
formatting link
P
Pete C.
He just want's to bash Rain-X apparently, and keeps repeating it because he knows most people know he's full of it, especially given his initial admission that he has no idea what is actually on his windshield if indeed he is actually old enough to have something with a real windshield at all. Were he mature and responsible he would not persist in blaming a product he has no knowledge of and no proof is at all involved in his problem.
S
Stormin
If you bought the car used it might have been repainted or in a bodyshop where it got overspray on the glass. I have used lacquer thinner and 000 steel wool to remove paint as it does a good job polishing the glass. I have used Rain-X for years and never seen a problem with it! Of course if you live in the rust belt God only knows what is on the glass.
Stormin harmony forever spebsqsa
D
Daniel W. Rouse Jr.
'.
The inside windshield product would be the Rain-X Anti-Fog treatment (3.5 oz or 7 oz) which is in a bottle and needs to poured onto a towel or cloth to apply to the inside of the windshield.
The outside windshield product would be the Rain-X Glass Treatment.
In my experience, both gave unsatisfactory results.
The Anti-Fog "worked", in a sense that the inside of the windshield did not fog up, but left a film that would give a very bad haze in full sunlight.
The Rain-X Glass Treatment only seemed to bead up the water with at most a light drizzle. For heavier rain, use of the wipers is still necessary and the wiper blades soon begin streaking the windshield rather than effectively removing all of the water.
I'm also finding the same issue with the Rain-X Washer Fluid Additive--wipers are beginning to streak and not fully wipe away all the water or washer fluid.
Now I just use the defogger function when the inside windshield begins to fog up, and I just use high quality wipers when it is necessary for me to use the windshield wipers.
For sure, these ideal laboratory-perfect clean windshield surface cleanliness conditions are not specifically mentioned anywhere on the bottles of those other two Rain-X products, and the Rain-X Washer Fluid Additive does not even list a clean windshield as a requirement before use.
D
DanG
Stormin,
harmony forever - which part? chorus? quartet?
Dan Bass OkChorale Mature Moments
G
Gini
"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." wrote ................. > The Rain-X Glass Treatment only seemed to bead up the water with at most a
Rain-X Glass Treatment doesn't bead--it sheets. And, it sheets in the heaviest downpours. You obviously didn't follow the instructions ;-)
D
Dan Beaton
If you bought the car six months ago, the Rain-x would have worn off by now. Do you go to carwashes often? They love to spray wax on your windshield. It doesn't help visibility at all. Dan
(This account is not used for email.)
M
mm
I wouldn't use rainx on the mirrors, because they don't fog up and they don't get wet normally, but maybe someone does.
I used rainx once and I like it. In a mild rain you don't have to turn on the wipers, because the rain is flat and you can look right through it.
But it needed reapplication in less than 3 or 6 months and that was too much effort for me since the car came with windshield wipers.
If the wipers were broken, it would be a tremendous asset until you got them fixed.
I'd be surprised if somone put rainx on and it lasted longer than 6 months, but maybe they put on more than one coat.
When mine wore off, I noticed no patches, but maybe I konw how to; put it on evenly.
I don't know what adsorb means, but I'm pretty sure you can remove the stuff, or the patches will get bigger until it's all patch, like impetigo.
M
mm
The pesticide kills the rain.
Don't use the pesticide in an open convertible.
(It's fun to drive in the rain in an open convertible. The harder it rains the faster you have to go, but even a heavy rain won't get in at
55 or 60.)
M
mm
I understand that in 6 US states, past elections have turned on the Rain-x versus the Anti-Rain-x forces. It's expected that this will determine about 31% of the vote, November 2008.
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