Which rain repellant for glass?

[Phooey]

I have never used rain repellent before and was just about to order some Rain X but a quick search on the internet and Gyeon Q2 won in a test recently so just wondered what are your best rain repellants? ps - needs to be easy to apply! Thanks

[Huzzah]

Phooey said:

I have never used rain repellent before and was just about to order some Rain X but a quick search on the internet and Gyeon Q2 won in a test recently so just wondered what are your best rain repellants? ps - needs to be easy to apply! Thanks

I use rain x, tiny bit goes a long way, wife uses it on shower screens too. loves it.

[InitialDave]

Soft99 Glaco glass compound to clean, followed up with Glaco DX as the coating.

[trickywoo]

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I’ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

[Defcon5]

trickywoo said:

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

Likewise

[Pica-Pica]

Defcon5 said:

trickywoo said:

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

Likewise

Indeed, never found the need for a special windshield application.

[InitialDave]

trickywoo said:

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

When I first used RainX twenty odd years ago, I had that issue, but I've found the Glaco stuff to work fine in terms of how much ghosting I get.

[Huzzah]

InitialDave said:

trickywoo said:

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

When I first used RainX twenty odd years ago, I had that issue, but I've found the Glaco stuff to work fine in terms of how much ghosting I get.

It easy to use and the glass seems to stay cleaner. Yrs ago as a biker I used to use it on my visor, helped with misting and she'd rain more easily.

[matt5964]

Used to use rainy but wiper blades judder too much after applying, so moved to Raceglaze, no issues and lasts longer

https://raceglaze.co.uk/shop/race-glaze-car-care-e...

[Gad-Westy]

InitialDave said:

Soft99 Glaco glass compound to clean, followed up with Glaco DX as the coating.

The compound is fantastic. Jury still out for me a little on the coating. It works very well but I really struggle with the application and getting rid of smears.

[dhutch]

Pica-Pica said:

Defcon5 said:

trickywoo said:

Do these still smear with light rain / mist when you need to use the wipers?

I ve found keeping the glass clean and having decent wipers the best option.

Likewise

Indeed, never found the need for a special windshield application.

Yeah. Usually just a mit wash and make sure you don't get any wax on it.

If in doubt, or getting smearing, clean with fast glass.

[PaulWoof]

Have tried both rainx and glaco compound/ultra on my tesla model 3 to try defeat its terrible auto wipers. neither did the job greatly but i believe thats down to the low rake angle of the massive model 3 screen.

putting side by side. For driving rather than looking pretty. I would take the rain-x

Both have had smearing/juddering to an extent despite all the work beforehand. Claying windscreen/cleaning. Application/buff off. Again i think this is varies by car and the rake of the screen and how much pressure is applied on the screen from the wipers.

used rain-x first and for driving. this was fantastic. Genuinly from about 20mph water just dissapeared up the screen. and in lighter rain it creates such tiny water beads its like looking through a slightly matte screen rather than anything preventing visibility. Could get away with pretty much never using the wipers or in the tesla leaving auto-off and occasional tap of the stalk when needed. Downsides were the juddering/wiper squeak which was pretty annoying. also didnt last the longest. Its cheap as chips but the process of applying would get painful every 3 months.

glaco compound/ultra - the compound stuff is great. Like a glass polish in an applicator bottle and did bring out a very clear screen on its own. the ultra is easier to apply with its own applicator and same buff off as rain-x. was very dissapointed with performance from all the reviews. It makes nice little beads when parked up but it takes to about 50mph before it behaves like rain-x. If you watch youtube "reviews". they are all spraying a hose at a windscreen which isnt exactly driving. so looks pretty for detailers but not great for actual driving. the beads it makes are larger so when driving in light rain still need wipers but just less often. Still had juddering and occasional squeak and smearing less than rain-x but also performs worse. About 3 months in with it and still seems to be going ok. Not sure about the 12 months though.

Next time round im going to do ultra compound and back to rain-x

[Ritchie335is]

Apparently most of these coatings are just isopropyl alcohol, glaco certainly smells like it, might be worth trying the raw stuff as it will be a fraction of the price.

[InitialDave]

PaulWoof said:

Next time round im going to do ultra compound and back to rain-x

That sounds like a worthwhile choice, while I've been very happy with Glaco, perhaps my disappointment with Rain X was due to not cleaning to the level I did with Glaco. In my defence, this was 25 years back, when I was young and stupid (I'm now merely stupid).

[Gad-Westy]

InitialDave said:

That sounds like a worthwhile choice, while I've been very happy with Glaco, perhaps my disappointment with Rain X was due to not cleaning to the level I did with Glaco. In my defence, this was 25 years back, when I was young and stupid (I'm now merely stupid).

I use both on and off. Glaco lasts far, far longer but I think rain x is more effective. I do find glaco a challenge to apply though. Really hard to prevent smearing.

[jimmyjimjim]

The best results I've had have been to get the screen really clean, then ceramic coat. Any time it stops doing the millenium falcon impression, clean the screen thoroughly. Lasts for about a year, then recoat.
I used Adam's advanced ceramic coat. US brand, local to me. They do a glass specific one that I haven't been bothered to try yet. I'm sure that anything that advertises that it works on glass will be fine.

I've been experimenting with different detail sprays, but the best long term result is a ceramic coating. Rain-X works well, but I find it a pain to buff off the haze.

[zsdom]

I’ve used a few over the years, I’m currently using Soft99 Ultra glaco, which is about 6months in & still going strong, I’ve also had good use out of Angelwax H2go, Gtechniq G5

The only one I’ve not been that fond of is Gtechniq G1

[vikingaero]

I currently going through a bottle of Glaco which is very good, but I have used Turtle Wax ClearVue, RainX and a million of the other ones in the past.

RainX was the original and I still have a couple of bottles left. Some people really freak out about the smeariness, but I find that after applying any product using the instructions, I get a clean wash mitt, dip it only in water, and wipe and dry the windows again to take off the excess that causes smearing. I rarely use wipers on motorways now with rain repellent applied.

I now exclusively use Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray (the green label for ~£12 a bottle) on paint, trim and glass after every wash so I've given up on using a separate rain repellent. It certainly doesn't last as long as the others, but a bottle lasts around 3 months over 4 cars.

[Robertb]

I watched a video testing various repellants (it was a slow day) and the conclusion was that RainX stood up very well, particularly for the money.

Like everything else preparation is everything- it goes on best I find when I decontaminate and polish the glass first.

[Ranger 6]

InitialDave said:

When I first used RainX twenty odd years ago, I had that issue, but I've found the Glaco stuff to work fine in terms of how much ghosting I get.

Likewise - RainX 20 years ago was rubbish.

I switched to Gtechniq after that and more recently was seduced by the RainX twin pack in Costco - much, much better these days, and if applied properly doesn't smear.