Rain-X and other glass products that sheet away water

M

metroplex

New member
I noticed that Wal-Mart no longer carries a wide variety of glass treatment products. They used to have all types of different Rain-X treatments, and now just have the Original Formula and the Anti-Fog. I recall there used to be an easy to use Formula. Wal-Mart also used to have Castrol Accuvision, which I found to work VERY well and was easy to remove.



Any ideas? Are there any longer lasting and easier to use products on the market? Or should I stick with regular good ol Rain-X original formula?
 
I just use Optimum Poli-Seal to remove any gunk that washing didn't get, and AquaWax to remove the poli-seal. Works great for me, I think I get around 3 months of beading, haven't had any problems with wiper chatter.
 
Aquapel is said to be longer lasting and better than Rain-X. However, it costs more. Otherwise, you can look into using sealants or waxes. I've used Collinite 476S on the glass, and it works very well. I may be trying out my AW on the glass next.
 
mikebai1990 said:
Aquapel is said to be longer lasting and better than Rain-X. However, it costs more........
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+1 on the Aquapel, but you want to make sure your windshield doesn't have any traces of anything like RainX or a wax/sealer on it (very clean) before you apply it. For a short term product I think that ClearKote Quik Shine (QD) performs better than RainX, but you'll have to reapply it more often.
 
Eliot Ness said:
For a short term product I think that ClearKote Quik Shine (QD) performs better than RainX, but you'll have to reapply it more often.
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+1 on the QS. It lasts at least a week, and since my car gets wiped down at least weekly, it works great.



I've always had wiper chatter with Rain-X :nixweiss ?
 
Although I agree, Rain-X isn't the longest lasting stuff on the market, I decided to give it another try a few weeks ago. Works great for me.



I apply it a little differently than most, though...



1)I throughly wash (with soap and an old body brush or mitt) the glass that I intend to treat.

2)After this, I will clay.

3) If necessary, I will use CLR and a magic eraser as well.

4) Wash again.

5) Dry window immediately with leafblower.

6) Apply Rain-X well with MF towel.

7) Let be for 20-30 minutes.

8) Come back, apply another thing of Rain-X.

9) Let be for another 20-30 minutes.

10) Buff until the haze disappears, but don't worry about doing it super well... because step 11 fixes everything

11) Wash the car as normal!



(during the wait times you can do stuff like wash wheels/tires)



No streaks, no "loose" rain-x, just a perfect application that doesn't streak with wipers. Anyway, Rain-X works for *me* using *this* method, so maybe it won't for you. who knows. I know that there's better out there, but I have a bottle of this stuff, so I'm going to use it until its finished.
 
I generally just use Klasse AIO, the light acrylic layer it leaves seems to last months. Glass beaded for 6 months easily for me. Now I just do a touch up of AW, just cause I can lol.
 
My glass beads without nothin'. At first it didn't but after multiple washings and drying, I assume w/e was on the surfsace of the glass came off. I think when it comes to front glass, its best to just clay and clean. Do any of you guys get chatter from using sealants or rainx?
 
no chatter here



and yes, its true, perfectly clean glass will bead water just fine



to tell you the truth, I hate the feeling of "naked" glass... so much friction when going over it with a towel, its just nasty



A sealant of some sort makes glass super smooth to glide towels and such over.
 
Surfer said:
I generally just use Klasse AIO, the light acrylic layer it leaves seems to last months. Glass beaded for 6 months easily for me. Now I just do a touch up of AW, just cause I can lol.
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ditto, same here. That's what I offer to customers as a window treatment wax.
 
I use Rain-X regular. It has never given me problems.



I wash the whole car with my car wash.

I dry the car off.

I clay bar the windshield.

I then rub alcohol all over the windshield.

I clean that off with more car wash and the dry that off.

I then use a 100% Cotton Terry towel to apply Rain-x in tight circles all over the whole glass.

I let that haze fr about 10 min.

I wipe te haze off with a MF. You dn't have to get it totally off in this step.

THIS IS KEY...I then add a second coat of Rain-x with a 100% Cotton Terry towel in tight circles all over the windshield.

I then let it haze for 10 min.

Lastly, I buff that off completely with a MF. (You will notice that the second time, the haze comes off so much easier.)



I have NEVER had wiper chatter or problems buffing off the haze with this method. Adding the second part is the most imprtant thing. I do this to every window on the car.:2thumbs:
 
i use standard rain-x.



1. clean glass w/ ONR QD

2. apply rain-x

3. let haze for 15-20 min

4. wash car normally (pretty much an ONR wash these days)

5. dry car and glass



no buffing needed...the standard wash removes all excess and beading lasts long enough that i've never noticed a drop-off in performance before "needing" to do it again. :)
 
paradigm said:
i use standard rain-x.



1. clean glass w/ ONR QD

2. apply rain-x

3. let haze for 15-20 min

4. wash car normally (pretty much an ONR wash these days)

5. dry car and glass



no buffing needed...the standard wash removes all excess and beading lasts long enough that i've never noticed a drop-off in performance before "needing" to do it again. :)
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Yeah, if you're going to use Rain-X the key, as paradigm mentioned above, is to apply it before you wash. That way you don't have to hassle trying to buff it all off.



I still prefer Aquapel because it lasts so much longer on a properly prepped windshield, but that is the most painless way to apply/remove Rain-X.
 
This is a very personal area I would think. I tried "Rainx" about 4 years ago, but for some reason I just didn't like it!! I don't know if it has changed or what, maybe I should give it another go!

It's kind of hard to beat ANCO blades, as long as you change them every year!!

Changeling
 
I would get tremendous chattering and smearing with rain-x, and a few others that I tried.



Best thing I accidently found was the rain-x windshield washer fluid. It doesn't freeze in the winter, disolves the crud on the glass very well (like road salt spray), and does impart the rain beading properties of rain-x without the smearing and chatter.
 
As other say, Aquapel is worth hunting down and trying. It really does last 4-6 months or more. I find mine on eBay, as the distribution is closely kept to commercial.
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
As other say, Aquapel is worth hunting down and trying. It really does last 4-6 months or more. I find mine on eBay, as the distribution is closely kept to commercial.
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I've bought it at O'Reillys but not under the name Aquapel. It's something like Glass Treatment, is produced by PPG, and is in the same type of package. It's lasted months for me, so I'm fairly positive it's the same thing but that for some reason they don't want to use the name Aquapel in the retail channel.
 
velobard said:
I've bought it at O'Reillys but not under the name Aquapel. It's something like Glass Treatment, is produced by PPG, and is in the same type of package. It's lasted months for me, so I'm fairly positive it's the same thing but that for some reason they don't want to use the name Aquapel in the retail channel.
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Yeah, there was a short thread about that not too long ago:



http://autopia.org/forum/detailing-product-discussion/82545-ppg-makes-but-aquapel.html



I haven't really seen the retail version of it around here yet, but I haven't looked very hard because a local CarQuest that carries PPG paint also stocks Aquapel.
 
I tried RainX many times and finally came to the conclusion it was why I got so much chatter and noise from my wipers. Plus I mostly do around town driving at speeds that make RainX a waste for me.



But, I found Liquid Glass to be perfect on my windshield. No chatter, lasts a long time, frost is easier to scrape off, and makes the glass very easy to clean. Still not much help during rain since I rarely drive above 40.
 
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