What's better than Rain-X?

[TTQ B4U]

this group doesn't want to like rainx because it's not unique, but truth is, for the cost and ease of application, the stuff is good. I have some flyby30 I've been waiting to apply and I'm interested to see if it'll last that much longer and function that much better that it's worth the whole process. Because for a polish and decon it better, otherwise the wash and application of rainx will continue to be my go to.

Rain X works too when applied properly. IMO the difference comes in that coatings will last longer.

 

[acuRAS82]

Rain X works too when applied properly. IMO the difference comes in that coatings will last longer.

Agree 100%. I still have a soft spot in my heart for RainX because even before this detailing obsession, all my family’s car windows beaded from RainX and helped keep my family safe.

I moved on to the coatings mostly for longevity, but the ability of RainX to shed water is basically the same as the coating, and it’s very affordable, the bottle lasts forever. Anyone can buy it and keep their family safer while driving in heavy rain.

 

[Coleroad]

For a few minutes each month and a bottle for less than $6 that lasts me a couple of years. I see no reason to use anything else. I don't get streaks from the wipers. Before I wipe the haze off I give the glass a quick mist of distilled water. That makes wiping off the haze quick and streak free.

 

[AaronE]

I have been a long time RainX user and very happy with my results. I just hate every four to six weeks applying it to a Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee so I switched to McKee's 37 Glass Coating and think very highly of it! For covering all the windows on multiple vehicles it was cheaper than Aquapel and I wouldn't be under the gun on time before my applicator ran out. I also like how running the wipers doesn't degrade the hydrophobic properties near as fast as the RainX would have.

When I detail on the side for someone, if they don't pay for a glass coating, I hit the glass with RainX instead of wax. It lasts longer than a wax, looks just as good, and improves safety.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[Belo]

Rain X works too when applied properly. IMO the difference comes in that coatings will last longer.

yeah but generally there's not the prep required, so it's important to know if it lasts that much longer. that was my point.

 

[AaronE]

yeah but generally there's not the prep required, so it's important to know if it lasts that much longer. that was my point.

McKee's claims 12 months regular use. I've seen a lot of reviews range from 9-14 months. There's a lot of environmental factors. For me, in the Mid West, the coating made way more sense on the bigger vehicles because it took so long to get a good application of RainX on. The McKee's I won't have to touch but once a year.

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[acuRAS82]

I’m with AaronE. For large vehicles where you can’t easily reach all spots of the glass, coating is the way to go to avoid getting the step stool out every month. This includes sunroofs.

For small cars where the reach is easy, Rain-X monthly isn’t a chore.

 

[SWETM]

My 2 cents is that it depends on what kind of roads you are driving on. If you drive on mostly highways I would go with a glass coating. And if you drive on lower speed roads I would go with something like RainX or gtechnic G5 Water Repellent Coating. The later one is very effective to repelle water from low speeds. And this is useally the little drawback from a glass coating with long longevity from it when compareing them. The G5 has a little longer longevity from it than RainX but not by much. And the downside with RainX and G5. Is when you are at higher speeds it can be a little of separation of the rain drop. And get you almost as a foggy apparence when looking through it vs a glass coating.

So I decide on which kind of speeds I will be driving in mostly. Or on what speeds I would want the most water repellent effect from. Aquapel I would place in the middle of these as no extreme in both ends but works good through the low and high speeds. With a longevity from it it between them too.

For low speed roads and the water to repell on lowest speed possible. I would give the Gtechnic G5 Water Repellent Coating a try. And get their glass polish to clean up the glass thoroughly or any other that deep cleans the glass. The prep is very important for getting great results when useing all kind of glass protection.

GTechniq G5 Water Repellent Coating 100 ml.

Gtechniq G4 Glass Nano Polish 100 ml.

/ Tony

 

[acuRAS82]

Great post by Tony above, and I love this forum because I try new things based on discussion I read here.

So I went ahead and used Pinnacle Glasscoat window sealant on top of 8-month-old PBL Glass Coating. The coating was still working fine but it’s been on so long that I couldn’t remember if it used to shed water better when it was new; in other words wasn’t sure if it has degraded at all. Both cars have been through Pittsburgh winter and now a very wet, T-storm prone spring.

So it’s not like the windows needed the sealant but I have it and want to use it and the Pinnacle glass cleaner with repellent up eventually to increase shelf room. Applied the Pinnacle Glasscoat. I figured I can ride the summer out using up the sealant and repolish for a fresh coating before winter.

Luckily, and one of the things I love about northeast whether despite what anyone complains about, the weather always changes. In came a massive T-storm last night.

Side note, I often take my 3 year old out for a drive before dinner to change it up for him. This gives me opportunity to go storm chasing in the spring. No tornadoes here, but plenty of dark storm clouds to drive towards if I plan the drive at the right time. He loves it, as do I because I get to watch my cars LSP and windows in action (dork!).

So we get caught in this massive storm and I instantly see what SWETM refers to above. At low speeds the sealant looks good and large drops are gathering and moving up the windshield. But there also thousands of tiny splatters that accumulate, causing this ‘cloudy’ effect on the windshield. Not a big deal at low speeds but it is a highly noticeable difference from the coating as I get over 30-40 mph.

My overall observation summary: I like the 8-month-old coating behavior on my windshield more. It may be the same as brand new coating behavior, I don’t recall. It groups drops into larger drops that get out of my eyesight’s way. The fresh sealant leaves lots of tiny traces of splatter everywhere that accumulate and appear as a foggy/cloudy effect when not wipered away soon enough. I posted earlier in the post that the behavior of RainX and the coating are the same but I take that back now. Pinnacle Glasscoat behaves like RainX, in my memory.

Nonetheless, for those that do use RainX, it’s still great for the price and even though I’m nitpicking above, protecting your windshield with RainX OR coatings makes rain driving waaay easier and safer than using nothing at all. Sorry for the rant.

 

[SWETM]

Great when you can compare 2 side with how they behave. And to see which you like. A lot of highway driving and the coatings is what I go for. And when driving in the city a lot and the sealant/ RainX is great. I used Turtle Wax Clear Veu which is like the Rain-X and worked great for me. At 25mph it's started to roll off the windshield. When I reached around 50-60mph it was necessary to use the wipers. Also depending what kind of rain it is. And also which vehical and windshield you have. Some angles and material of the windshield don't like anything on it. And also the longevity can be very low on some windshields.

 

[Oz_TCH]

I've been using this. Am happy with it.