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Opinions on Rain X windshield products?

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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 02:49 PM
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Opinions on Rain X windshield products?

Anyone have any opinions on Rain X or any other windshield water repellants? I've used it in the past and I've been happy with it, but after a while it seems to leave a haze on the windshield and actually disturbs my visability. it seems like you "have" to keep applying it or else you get the haze.

I'm considering a new wiper blade system from PIAA. They are silicone wiper blades that come with a silcone windshield treatment. These blades are supposed to glide very smoothly because of it being silicone on silicone. My concern is the same as with the Rain X- having to reapply it consantly.

Any feedback on these items would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 02:51 PM
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I used Zaino on my windshield, bugs wipe right off. However I have not been in rain to see how it does.
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 03:21 PM
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Been using Rain-X for years. Works great.
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 03:42 PM
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Yes, big fan of Rain-X. But it does have to be reapplied at least twice a year or it looses it's effectiveness.
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 04:50 PM
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Originally posted by Omicron
Yes, big fan of Rain-X. But it does have to be reapplied at least twice a year or it looses it's effectiveness.
do you use fog x on the inside? I always found fog x to be very filmy
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 04:54 PM
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I use Rain-X water repellent and Rain-X windshield washer fluid. It makes it last longer but you still need to reapply, specially after many car washes or a lot of road salt.

Edit:
I also tried Fog-X... Doesn't work at all!! Makes my windows fog even worse. Maybe I applied it wrong?
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 05:20 PM
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I used to use the original Rain-X wipe-on-buff-off fluid. These days I use their windshield washer fluid, which applies Rain-X for me every time I use the squirters. Works great!
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 05:48 PM
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Rain X works great for me too, just remember to wipe off the haze very thoroughly with a damp cloth not dry. Works better that way
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 06:33 PM
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Rain-X has worked well for me, and seems to last a couple of months, although I have not had the same luck with their anti-fog product for inside the windshield.
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Old Jan 20, 2004 | 11:25 PM
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Originally posted by TitaniumRX8MD
Rain X works great for me too, just remember to wipe off the haze very thoroughly with a damp cloth not dry. Works better that way
Wish I saw this before I did all my windows. Spent an hour buffing with a dry cloth. At least between the thorough cleaning and thorough buffing I did manage to get rid of all the waterspots from my neighbor's sprinklers.
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Old Jan 21, 2004 | 06:23 PM
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As rxeightr noted Rain X comes in an anti-fog version and "original" for those concerned about foggy windows.

Just tried the antifog version and it works well for me. A good microfiber towel should help get any streaking out, but it does take a bit of scrubbing.

For any that haven't tried a microfiber towel for cleaning the inside of the cabin (don't use armorall!), it's *highly* recommended (also works great on cleaning computer monitors and televisions and just about anything else without the need for any cleaning liquid product. I just do a quick rubdown when I park it for the evening and it keeps everything clean and lint free.)

Last edited by Xlorn; Jan 21, 2004 at 06:30 PM.
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Old Jan 21, 2004 | 09:13 PM
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Re: Opinions on Rain X windshield products?

Originally posted by mdw33333
Anyone have any opinions on Rain X or any other windshield water repellants? .... I'm considering a new wiper blade system from PIAA. They are silicone wiper blades that come with a silcone windshield treatment.
I've used Rain X for years, just great in my opinion. I hate wipers going back and forth in my face and with that stuff, often and even esp. in very hard rain, you don't even need wipers, in fact, visibility is better cause the rain just bounces off!

I also saw and purchased some TEFLON coated wiper blades recently* (6 months ago) I think from the Auto Zone, and the price was $10-13 (each - Yikes!) depending on length. Happily, the are absolutely GREAT! They clean like a squeege, don't skip or jitter, are very quiet, and they work IMO Sooooo much better than the regular type I'm never ever going to go cheap wipers again :D !

* for my old beater

Last edited by Spin9k; Jan 21, 2004 at 09:16 PM.
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Old Jan 21, 2004 | 09:21 PM
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Take a look in the owners manual if you are going to change the wiper blades. The 8 has a pair of flat metal stiffeners that go into slots on either side of the replacement blade. The stiffeners need to be transferred from the existing blades to the new set.

This might only be for the OEM Mazda replacement blades, but it is worth noting.

In 35 years of car ownership I have either never seen this before or I have always thrown them away on the first wiper change.
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Old Jan 22, 2004 | 01:34 AM
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Rain-X does what it says. But keep in mind once you use it you've got a monkey on your back. At least for me, if I didn't apply it often enough the wipers would start to chatter. It doesn't fade away gracefully.
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Old Jan 24, 2004 | 10:28 PM
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I've found the longest lasting windshield treatment is or was VisionBlade from STP. That stuff was awesome. About as hard to apply as rain-x, but lasted WAY longer. Lately, it's been hard to find. I don't think they make it anymore. I've found that Castrols windshield treatment in the purple bottle works well and is very easy to apply.

Windshield wiper blades--Bosch MicroEdge Excel. Better than anything else I've tried.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 11:59 PM
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try liquid glass on your windshield

Liquid Glass (available at Pep Boys) is absolutely awesome on paint and glass! Apply it in the sun and let it "bake" in the sun for 4 hours after you wipe it off. It is VERY easy to apply and buff off. I have switched to it after many many years of using liquid lustre. Donna
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Old Jun 11, 2004 | 08:33 AM
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I've been using the same pair of silicone wiper blades (not PIAA) on my Civic for at least the past two years. They have not stiffened or cracked and still clean wonderfully. Here are a few observations:

1) After a few weeks of use, they do indeed deposit a thin layer of silicone on the windshield. I am at the point now where I do not have to use my wipers at all if I am travelling over 40 mph (unless it's a monsoon or something) - the water simply beads up and rolls off. This is obvious when washing, as water sprayed on the windshield will not "stick" in this area, even after it's been scrubbed.

2) They never squeak or chatter - UNLESS your windshield is dirty (pollen, dust, anything, even a little bit will make them squeal like a pig). However, with sufficient water/fluid and a few sweeps the surface should be cleaned enough to reduce the squeal significantly.

3) The more rain there is, the better they work. As I stated previously, in light rain I don't even use them, since the water will roll off on its own, and the less water there is, the more likely they are to squeal.
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Old Jun 11, 2004 | 03:01 PM
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ALRIGHT DRACO COOL, WHAT BRAND ARE THEY????
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Old Jun 11, 2004 | 03:08 PM
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Cap'n Limekitten says arr
 
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To be honest, I don't know. I got them before silicone blades were widely available, and they came packaged with some godawful chrome wiper attachments from APC. I kept the blades and tossed the attachments :D
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Old Jun 11, 2004 | 03:13 PM
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Originally posted by Sea Ray
I used Zaino on my windshield, bugs wipe right off. However I have not been in rain to see how it does.
Same here. It's been over a month since I put any zaino on my windows, but they bead up like they were freshly waxed. I can drive in the rain without the wipers on.
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Old Jun 11, 2004 | 03:52 PM
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I have never liked Rain-X. I currently use Stoner Invisable glass cleaner and it allows the water to bead off the window. It works best in direct sunlight.
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 06:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Omicron
Yes, big fan of Rain-X. But it does have to be reapplied at least twice a year or it looses it's effectiveness.
Do you? I found it work the best once a year... maybe we don't get much rain here.

The bottle said to use a damp cloth with some rain X for maintainence... it make sense
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 07:24 PM
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Along the lines of the Zanio users...

...I just apply Klasse All-In-One on all my windows as well as the head/tail lights and lamp areas. Works great...cleans off all the bugs and gimes, buffs off easily and makes everything super clear. At highway speeds, it beads water just like Rain-X. For me, Rain-X just was a pain to apply and I did get some "hazing" between applications on my previous cars.

I've heard great things about the Bosch MicroEdge and PIAA wiper systems...thinking about switching to one of these for the winter season. :D

Arvin
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Old Feb 13, 2005 | 11:04 AM
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Thumbs up Vr

The "VisionBlade" is still available and cheaper than before. :D I was looking on Ebay and found "Rain Repellent"
I suggest applying the "VisionBlade" first then use RainX in the water for the silicone, and the results are EXCELLENT , and the duration is even longer than 6 months

Item number on Ebay (USA) 4526403005 & (UK) 7953682246 copy and paste into search
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