A major improvement to driving in driving rains...
Written: Sep 05 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pros: Keeps water mostly off of your windshield
Cons: Takes a few extra minutes to apply
The Bottom Line: If you live in a rainy environment like the southeast, you should really consider putting this on your windshield to make driving in the rain much easier and less stressful.
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| tgregoryt's Full Review: Rain-X Glass Treatment and Cleaner |
I live in Florida, and one thing that it tends to do in Florida is rain. Every day. And not that drizzle stuff you get up north; here every day there’s a thunderstorm complete with water that hits your windshield far faster then the wipers can get it off. A few drops of water on a windshield aren’t too bad, but when you have a stream flowing down your windshield, that is not so good.
Rain-X gets rid of the stream. In fact the beading of water on your windshield is so amazing that you can barely tell it is raining when it rains at night! I give this product five stars because it performs far better then I had ever anticipated. I the daytime you will find that there is no storm that you can’t see through. In fact, in the daytime while you can clearly see water hitting your windshield, you can probably drive without windshield wipers if you have just applied Rain-X (note, this is not recommended – your visibility improves the best with both windshield wipers and Rain-X).
The product is a clear water repellant. This means that it is clear, so you can see through it without any kinds of smears or haze, and when water hits the glass rather then spreading out as water tends to do, it will bead up, keeping most of your windshield water-free. Thus, as you drive down the road in the rain you’ll find that only a small percentage of your windshield is ever covered with water at any given time, and this is despite the heaviest rains you can through at your windshield. With Rain-X on my windows, I can use the slow setting for my wipers even in the heaviest rain and still see as well as if it weren’t raining.
Application is very easy. The product comes in several forms – you can get moist towellettes (usually one-use and for sale at your local car wash) for $1.00, a small bottle of a liquid (3.5 ounces, about 12 applications) for $3.25, and a spray (16 ounces, maybe 50 applications) for $6.99. I find that the towellettes are the easiest to use – just wipe them on your windshield, and then re-wipe your windshield with a clean paper towel. This takes a good 2 minutes. The other products are slightly less easy to use, in that you need an application paper towel in addition to the buffing paper towel.
All of the products are like a wax but much easier to put on. Basically you wash and dry your car, then apply them, wait a minute or two, find a clean paper towel, and wipe them off. Total application time might be three minutes, and if you break a sweat you need more exercise.
Once on it lasts a little bit less time then a paste-based wax. For me this is about a month, sometimes less. When I whack a bug, which is about every day, there will be a little spot where the Rain-X is no longer effective. Enough bugs – like two weeks worth – will make the Rain-X cover less then 50% of the windshield and it will need to be re-applied.
By the way, back when I had a motorcycle, I used this on the Lexan face-shield of my motorcycle helmet. It was very convenient, although it didn’t last long (about two weeks). This is a great way to improve visibility in the rain. I also know of people that have airplanes that use this on their airplane windshield. If it is good enough for a Cessna it is definitely good enough for you.
I’ve never noticed that the product will stain plastic or metal finishes. To be sure, however, make sure that you put a little bit on a spot of whatever it is you plan on putting it on to make sure it doesn’t stain whatever you are putting it on.
There are two problems with driving in the rain: visibility and traction. If good visibility decreases the chance of an accident, and you have a $1,000 deductible, I would say this makes a great investment. Rain-X increases visibility by over 100%, and really makes driving in the rains much easier and less stressful. This is a five-star product because it performs better then anticipated.
Recommended:
Yes
Ease of Application: Excellent; a breeze to apply and shine - lasts forever
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Epinions.com ID:
tgregoryt
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Member: Thomas Gregory
Location: Winter Garden, FL
Reviews written: 249
Trusted by: 8 members
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