Glass Treatment - Good for Windscreen?

Pugliese

Pugliese

A2OC Donor
Driving my son back to uni yesterday I encountered some very heavy rain and flooding. I am pleased to say the A2 was brilliant at going through stretches of the M25 covered in an inch or so of rain but the widscreen wiper on full throttle wasn't up to much and visibility was poor - I have a floppy wiper blade.
So to improve matters would there be any benefit in using a glass treatment on the windscreen? If so, how long do they normally last and how clean does the screen need to be before application i.e. do you need to use some sort of alcohol wipe?
I bought some Rain-X by Shell the other day as I remember that when the A2 was launched that they said it did not need a rear wash/wipe because the glass was treated - clearly that is now missing on mine! Now just waiting for a dry day to apply it:mad:

P.S. Bizarrely on the Rain-X instructions it says to remove - 'remove with dry cloth or by sprinkling with water and wipe until clear' - isn't that the same as rain on your windscreen and the wipers on?????
 
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no.

If you want Rain-X to stay on for a while:

- clean the screen
- clay it
- apply layer 1 with a microfibre. let it dry.
- mist
- polish
- add layer 2, let it dry
- mist and polish.

If it doesn't dry, it won't adhere. If there's dirt on the screen, it won't adhere.

Mine tends to last around 6 months. I'd also strongly recommend it on the side windows, where it lasts for 2 years or so.

Bret
 
Thanks for the reply Bret. Forgive my ignorance but what does 'clay it' mean - I have seen references to it re bodywork and assumed it was some way of filling imperfections in paintwork.
 
clay is a very fine abrasive that removes imperfections / contaminants.

If you wash the car, you can run your hand over the paint and it will probably still be "sandpapery". Clay will remove that and leave it seriously smooth.

On glass it removes a lot of junk that even window cleaner leaves behind.

Link: http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclay.html

Text:
Auto-clay provides a method of removing harmful contamination from vehicle paint finishes, improving its durability and increasing the gloss level of subsequent waxes.
Click to expand...

"...looks more like a large square of plasticine but it makes an excellent job of removing surface debris, without resorting to harsh abrasives that actually eat into the paintwork.
Auto-clay is the first one we’ve tried that can be used with water. Most need a special lubricant. We were surprised to find it more effective than the others too, as it looks and fells[sic] almost identical."
Click to expand...

Bret
 
I read a comparison from a motoring magazine a while ago. While rain-x is the product of choice, the value product is halfords' own brand which is just as good, only last slightly shorter but also a fair bit cheaper. So if you don't mind topping up more frequently, you can get that instead. I use wipers more at town speed so rain-x doesn't last too long anyway. So I use the cheapo halfords and top-up after a wash, which is about every 3 months.
 
I was having the same problems with my A2.

I dreaded having to drive in any kind of rain as the wiper was next to useless. Also when I used the washers I'd just end up with great streaks of water running up the windscreen in my line of sight which I had no choice but to switch on the wiper which resulted in more smears which dried and left me with even less visability!

Along with other little niggles I was all set to sell the car. Then I found this website and my A2 was saved!

I went to the Audi garage and bought a brand new floppy blade (which someone recommended be replaced every 6 months) and bought a product called Ombrello. If you search this site you'll find more info about it but the general opinion is that it completely out-performs Rain-X. Ombrello sells for £20+ on their website but I bought mine on ebay for £8.27 inc p&p. It is also supposed to last for 10 months.

I read that rain-x doesn't last too long and (if I remember rightly) when it does stop working can actually make visability very poor by leaving marks on the windscreen.

Since I've applied Ombrello, which is so simple btw, and having the new blade the A2 has been transformed. When I use the wiper it glides over the screen and leaves it streak/smear free. In light rain and at speeds over 30-40mph you don't even need the wiper as the rain seems to cluster in droplets which run up the screen. Its quite hard to describe but it fantastic to watch!

I'm certainly sold on this and won't hesitate on replacing the blade (£14) and the Ombrello at first sign of anything other than a perfectly clear screen. And for the price of both (less than £25) it has to be worth every penny for just how much safer you are on the road.

Hope this helps

Matt
 
I used to have Ombrello as well, but they kind of disappeared on the internet and stopped selling things on their site when I needed a top-up. I thought they went out of business!

Thanks for the tip on ebay purchase, I would definitely use Ombrello over rain-x. It last almost twice as long in my experience and effective at even lower speed. I'm glad I can get it again! I can throw away the halford stuff now :)
 
I honestly don't think it makes that much difference what you use if you apply it correctly. I don't see much rain here (tends to snow) so mine lasts. I also don't have halfords, so....

Pick it up, test it, see what happens. I use mine also on the OSS.

Bret
 
Another possibility - Clear Safe

I bought this in the summer, and it has proved very effective (certainly beats Rain-X):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clear-Safe-Wi...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item29fa018488

Nice and quick and easy to apply, but you only get one dual, pre-packed application - just enough, really, for the windscreen and back window. It's pretty long lasting, but perhaps a bit amaterish compared to the other higher-tech products in this thread, which seem to have contents for more applications, so probably much better value.
 
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