Anyone used Rainex??

[sawood12]

I thought i'd take the plunge and give Rainex a whirl. I applied it on the windscreen of my 944 and Focus and my 944 hatch. I does work. The rain collects in very small water droplets that you can see beyond quite well even at night, and when you get going the droplets run off the windscreen like water droplets off a ducks back leaving very thin tracer streaks that don't impair your visibility. In fact you can practically do without using your windscreen wipers at dual carridgeway speeds in light rain. I do have one issue with it though - when you do use your winscreen wipers it seems to have made the windscreen quite tacky and the wipers judder accross the screen. I cringe to think at the shocks being sent through my wiper mechanism due to the juddering. I also get this juddering on my Focus as well, though not as severe.

Has anyone else used Rainex? If so have you had the same experiences as me? Have I applied too much?

Update on the flat blade wiper setup - I posted a while back that I was deermined to replace my wiper blades with a pair of the more modern ones . I have tried an interim step by getting some flat blade wipers blades that fit to the standard wiper arms. These do work OK. I had some initial problems with them but the seem to have settled in. However I have now taken the plunge and bought the drivers side arm off a VW Lupo GTi. There was a VW Corrado in the car park at work with the Lupo GTi wipers on them and they do look very good. Thanks to the side mounting of the blade onto the arm instead of the top mounting on the 944 arm, the wiper arm fits very neatly paralell to the blade and no taller than the blade iteslf, so the whole arrangement has a very low profile and hugs the windscreen barely half an inch off it's surface. Having bought one and offered it up to the existing wipers I can say I think this will work. I think you'll need two drivers side wiper arms as the longer Lupo passenger arm will be too long, however although the arm is about 1 inch longer than the 944 arms I think the wipers will fit on the windscreen nicely. The passenger side wiper blade tip will get very close to the edge of the windscreen when parked, but there is more than enough height in the screen to accommodate. I'll post pics when i've got round to installing them. I'm hoping that when installed they will have a much lower profile (which they look like they will) than the standard arms, create less noise at speed and generally work and look better.

 

[Diver944]

I have used the Halfrauds equivalent when I used to regularly commute in the cars and found it did exactly what it said on the tin. The low rake of our windscreen and tailgate seemed perfect for the rain to easily bead off without ever needing the wipers - those who do the rear wiper delete should definately use it.

I haven't used it for a while but I seem to remember getting the best results by using as little as humanly possible and giving it plenty of elbow grease to buff off. The only downside I ever noticed was a slight 'sparkling' when driving through mist.

 

[lali]

I use it all the time...

A little does go a long way. Its best applied indoors and I always make sure I clean my blades really well and then give them a wipe over with some neat rainex. I have never experienced any juddering.
Try repeating the spraying on with a light mist of water and polishing off and give the blades a wipe and see if that helps.

 

[sawood12]

That's were I may have gone wrong then - I used quite a lot. It was only a small bottle but I have pretty much used it up on two windscreens and the tailgate!

 

[xenon]

Scott - if you try your Lupo arm / flat blade mod, would you mind posting a few pictures so we can see how they look?

 

[poprock]

I'm really interested in the flat blade idea as well.

I've been using Rain-x for a couple of years and agree with most of the above: it works really, really well and makes the rear wiper delete a practical, usable thing. A little goes a long way, and the buffing part of applying it is essential"”polish until your arms are sore!

 

[Big Dave]

Ive used the RainX stuff, BUT unlike most of you chaps HATE the stuff.....
I had no end of problems with squeeking / juddering blades when i applied it..I also found it didnt last long at all, i was forever re-applying it... Yes the screen did clear well + must have cut down on the use of wipers by at least half.. BUT the juddering......[][][]

I use a product called Rain Away now. I get it from my local car shop. I found its WAY better than the RainX stuff, so i stick to that, NO Juddering etc....+ Its CHEAPER....[][]

 

[sawood12]

Thanks for that - i'll try rain-away if I the juddering continues, but it sounds like i may have applied too much.

The flat blade wiper project is ready to go as soon as the weather breaks. I'm also installing a replacement wiper linkage and a new rain-guard at the same time to have resisted the temptation to fit the wiper arm in advance and do the lot at the same time. In terms of fit I am pretty sure it will fit fine but my only concern now is the spring on the wiper arm feels a hell of alot stiffer than the spring on my 944 arms. Now I know my wiper blade arm springs will have softened over time but this feels really stiff. I'm concerned the wiper motor might not be able to drive the things! It may turn into a Lupo wiper blade and a wiper motor retro-fit!

 

[John Sims]

I love RainX. I don't have any issues with wipers juddering 'cos I don't use them.

 

[sawood12]

You obviously get dryer weather in the SE!! However I didn't use my wipers once on my drive home from work and it was light rain.

Just a thought - would it work on the headlights and keep them cleaner for longer. I get a bit sick and tired of always cleaning my headlights. I guess the heat from the light probably dries off the dirty water splashed onto them leaving he muck behind but Rainex might just mean the dirty water washes off before it gets time to evaporate.

 

[jr2015]

Hi Scott,I`ve been using rainx for the last 15 years or more, it works really well provided you use it sparingly ( if you used a bottle on the front and rear that`s way too much) and polish it in with a damp cloth. A bottle lasts me a couple of years .I`ve never had a problem with juddering wipers as the screen has to be really wet before it becomes necessary to use them. I also like the way insect entrails slide up the screen in Summer.
regards.
jr.

 

[John Sims]

My son Peter likes playing races as the water droplets run up the screen.

I've never really had a problem with heavy rain. It is low cloud and fine drizzle that is a pain as it isn't wet enough to form big droplets which then get blown off.