Rain repellant for windshield

CYYJ said:
... Honda Spray Cleaner & Polish (mentioned above in post #10) work just as well as far more expensive products (including aircraft-spec products) for a day or two immediately after application...
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+1 on the Spray Cleaner & Polish...
Methinks that the treatments on bike- as well as aircraft-screens just suffer from the road/tarmac spray containing all kinds of contamination...
Exhaust, fuel, oil spill, salt/thawing agents, fertilizer, manure, etc...
No way to find a permanent coating resisting the chemical bombardment there...
 
ST1100Y said:
Methinks that the treatments on bike- as well as aircraft-screens just suffer from the road/tarmac spray containing all kinds of contamination...
Exhaust, fuel, oil spill, salt/thawing agents, fertilizer, manure, etc...
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Well, we don't often get road spray on aircraft windshields, or manure, although I did hit a pig once during a take-off roll. :)

But I do agree with your general point that there is no way to find a rain repellent coating that has any long-lasting effect.

Michael
 
CYYJ said:
... although I did hit a pig once during a take-off roll. :)
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Picking pine-cones from props and landing gear... ;) <inserting a Dreyfus/Goodman scene here... :biggrin:>

Methinks that taxiing and runways are sprayed with Kerosene, hydraulic oil and exhaust sooth getting washed up by the prop/jet-blast...
Definite stench around airfields as well as discoloration/stains/corrosion on every surface equipment nearby would confirm this...
(had leaking A/C condensers due heavy corrossion by the (aggressive?) jet fumes on the rooftops near the VIE maintenance hangars...)
 
My 2 cents FWIW: I only use water and plexus on my stock windscreen. poly-carbonate. If you use anything else you are risking damage to the clarity of the screen. Like I said my thoughts only.
:bigpop:
 
JimTid said:
I rode in heavy rain recently. My visibility was poor through my face shield and windshield. I am looking for a rain repellant for plastic. I see RAIN-X has a product for plastic that received poor reviews on this forum. Has anyone used this HNP product?
https://smile.amazon.com/HNP-Repell...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SNWXSHSY10XBSQG9YF5H
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I got smoked in a sudden downpour the other day. It was scary. My windshield is a clearview and they recommend the rain x for plastic. They also told me to apply it to the softest rag i can find. So, i ordered a bottle and will be putting it on both shields soon. Sorry i cant tell you if it works yet.
 
CYYJ said:
although I did hit a pig once during a take-off roll.
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Have you watched "TheFlightChannel" on YouTube?
Despite the horrific outcomes of these events, i find them intriguing.

For example, United Flight 232 in 1989 - absolutely amazed at how calm the pilot sounded on radio - even chuckling at one point.
.
 
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Jeff F said:
So pigs can fly then?
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They do when you hit them at 80 knots with one of the main gear wheels. :biggrin:

It happened in Angola in the late 1980s, when I was delivering food supplies for the Red Cross in the middle of the Angolan civil war. My guess is that the local citizens had a "pulled pork" meal that night.

Michael
 
CYYJ said:
They do when you hit them at 80 knots with one of the main gear wheels. :biggrin:
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Wonder about the "pig-hit..." entry in the log though... ;)

On this topic Michael: do you aviation guys have at least some decent UV-protection solvent for plexy in your arsenal?
Every couple of years my screens start to show internal micro cracks across the entire width of the material...
 
I used to use Honda Polish I have since switched to F11 I keep a small 2 oz bottle for doing my face shield. And I use it to clean and shine the paintwork as well. A little goes a very long way.
 
ST1100Y said:
...do you aviation guys have at least some decent UV-protection solvent for plexy in your arsenal?
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No, I don't think such a product has ever been invented.

The "officially approved" product for cleaning plastic aircraft transparencies is Meguiar's #10 - that stuff has been around since I was a kid, and I'm a senior citizen now. But I have been known to use Honda Spray Cleaner & Polish on aircraft windshields if I can't get my hands on the official stuff. Works just as well. :)

I've flown a lot of aircraft that are 30+ years old and have plastic transparencies - never noticed any significant yellowing, and these were aircraft that spent all their time in Africa, sitting outside under a hot sun. I think that perhaps a higher grade of plastic is used for aircraft transparencies.

Michael
 
JimTid said:
I rode in heavy rain recently. My visibility was poor through my face shield and windshield. I am looking for a rain repellant for plastic. I see RAIN-X has a product for plastic that received poor reviews on this forum. Has anyone used this HNP product?
https://smile.amazon.com/HNP-Repell...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SNWXSHSY10XBSQG9YF5H
Click to expand...
I just bought this product. It consists of two moistened towelettes. One is to "deep clean" the surface and the other is to apply the product. One use. I applied it to my face shield as well as the windscreen. Haven't had the chance to ride in the rain yet, but it does seem a little expensive for a one-time application.
 
RainEx or other similar silicone base repellants.

I use them on my visor, inside and out. The silicone covering helps to prevent the rain from spreading across the surface, instead forming into beads - large and small. These are rapidly removed by the airflow, and greatly improve visibility through the visor.

On a screen you get a StarTrek effect of spaceship flying at warp through the stars, but the rapidly shifting beads of water are very easy to see through.

On a car windscreen in the dark in the rain, you don't need to use your wipers. in fact, you cannot tell that it is raining. It is only when you get light from the side that the beads of rain show up. So in towns you need wipers on, but on unlit country roads you have a clear view.

On the visor, the droplets are easy to ignore, and applying it to the inside has some slight benefit in resisting fogging, but I ride with visor up most if the time, and in rain slightly raised to allow airflow. But that means the inside of the visor can get wet. The beaded droplets are much easier to see through.

The pinlock antifog devices dont work well for me, and I have stopped using them.

On the bike screen - I look over the screen, not through it. Applying the fluid to the screen has limited advantages for me, and one big disadvantage - the rain flows off very easily and rapidly, and the beads fly straight off the top edge of the screen into my face. This is much worse than not having the fluid applied.

Someone mentioned shampoo? Some seem to have a similar acting fluid in them-as do conditioners. But shampoo in general seems to be much better at cleaning than detergents. Eg sap from windscreens after parking under a tree.
 
CYYJ said:
The "officially approved" product for cleaning plastic aircraft transparencies is Meguiar's #10 - that stuff has been around since I was a kid
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Yep, excellent products, bit pricey though...
And I agree that the Bike Spirits cleaner (original MFG of the spray cleaner & polish) works brilliantly (on pretty much any surface/material)

www.originalbikespirits.com

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I think that perhaps a higher grade of plastic is used for aircraft transparencies.
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Acknowledged, considering the price difference (as well as the construction though...)
Haven't experienced any discoloration as known from the car headlights, but a gazillion tiny micro cracks inside the screen material...
But that probably roots in structural compromising due the heat treatment while forming the motorcycle windscreen.
 
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