Rain-X Nightmare

[SabrToothSqrl]

So, like most people who 'care' about their cars, I used Rain-X on my windshield. I've had success with it on some cars, and other not as much, and will never use it again.

While it does work, and on the highway is amazing as you don't even need wipers, the water just runs up and over. (And works very well on side windows/mirrors/etc).

I would never use it on glass where a wiper reaches. (Side windows, etc, all good)

The problem is, it modifies the friction of the glass/rubber. And on many cars, it seems no biggie, no change. On my Model X, it resulted in wiper noise so loud I want to drive it onto a train crossing and watch from the sidelines as the train gently takes my car away.

I promise, in real life, it's 10x louder than the video. And... I'm over it. So, I tried (this was a while ago) removing the coating and in doing so, am fairly sure did more damage. I tried every product/chemical/concoction under the sun, and the video is how it stands today.

I noticed that there are now, micro-scratches on the glass, and can only assume this is what's causing the noise - 3 sets of brand new wipers later and no change. so it's not the wipers... (Best guess, 0000 steel wool did the scratching).

the scratches are ONLY visible at night from oncoming lights, if you look VERY closely, or at dusk, and also look very closely. The scratches I could live with, barely notice them unless you look just right. The problem is the wiper noise.

I keep hoping a nice happy deer will like my car and necessitate an insurance covered replacement, but that doesn't seem likely. (I've had like 3 in 20+ years).

Seems my choices are

1. find a place to try to polish the windshield - going tomorrow to get a quote/see if they can help
2. replace windshield.

I did use my dual action buffer and some correction compound and a medium foam disc, which seems to have made the surface smoother, but have not yet driven in the rain to know if it made any actual difference. This is the first time in history anyone with a black car wants rain... so of course it doesn't rain here for like a week.

 

[mxnym]

Sorry about your experience. I'm not sure why 0000 steel wool would be involved in RainX, but I haven't used it in a long time. When I did use it, I'm pretty sure the instructions simply said something to the effect of "fully clean the windshield" as opposed to giving specifics on what tools to use. Based on other reading, I would expect the use of clay bar to make more since than 0000 steel wool, but what's done is done. Personally, I haven't used RainX since discovering PIAA Si-Tech Silicone (fka super silicone?) blades. The wipers come with a packet and instructions for cleaning and a wipe for pre-treating the windshield and then they keep it coated in silicone via use (IIRC, instructions even say to run them on the clean dry windshield occasionally if it doesn't rain frequently enough). In my experience, they work way better than Rain-X, and I've hated not having them on my X for the last 5 years due to the X blades having washer outlets in the rubber. I believe I once saw a thread on this very forum showing an aftermarket product that could be used with the X so that washer fluid was better distributed (and not through the blade), which I suspect would allow me to use those blades. Unfortunately, I didn't write anything down or bookmark it because I didn't own an X yet at that time, and I haven't been able to find it since. Regardless, if you get rid of the microscratches one way or another, maybe this information will give you another potential option.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Yeah, I was just desperate to remove it and tried all the things. every cleaner, every device, anything I could think of. Quad Zero steel wool is supposed to be 'fine' for cleaning glass - but apparently all glass isn't the same hardness.

Ppf Paint Protection Film | Apex Auto Surface Protection | Wernersville worked on it for about an hour last night.
You can't go too fast because the heat will distort the plastic between the sheets of glass.

He thinks it would take a solid 1/2 day of work to get it as good as he can, but for the work done thus far, I'm impressed. When I get time I'll take it back to him and get it worked out. Much less than a new windshield!

Before:

After:

 

[TriniB]

I had similar results with Rain-X. On one of my prior ICE cars no issues for years, the other car had the same buildup and issues with the wipers and noise. It took the #0000 steel wool to get rid of it completely, luckily no scratches with that glass. I am probably going to stay away from anything that adds buildup to the windshield of my new MY

 

[EbS-P]

I use the rain X washer fluid. No issues at all.

 

[Genie]

you probably don’t want to hear this again, but 0000 steel wool with glass cleaner for lube (lots)

 

[TriniB]

Yes, I should state that I did use a lot of soapy lube with the #0000 steel wool. No way you should use that on glass without good lubrication.

 

[CyberGus]

Watched this video recently, which showed the same chattering wipers. In the comments, someone claimed to have resolved the problem by making the wiper's angle-of-attack steeper. However, there's no way to adjust this AFAIK, other than bending things that were not meant to be bent. YMMV

 

[Kristoffer Helle]

Aquapeel. It's the only thing that's worth using time and money on

 

[mxnym]

In the comments, someone claimed to have resolved the problem by making the wiper's angle-of-attack steeper. However, there's no way to adjust this AFAIK, other than bending things that were not meant to be bent. YMMV

I can't speak as to how and/or whether any given thing is meant to be bent, but when my MX was new and the wipers were worthless, the service center made them work much better and claimed to have done so by adjusting the angle of the blades. That was multiple sets of wipers ago and the original problem has never resurfaced.

 

[aerodyne]

I'm kinda trigged by the fact you actually drive in the rain...

 

[CyberGus]

I can't speak as to how and/or whether any given thing is meant to be bent, but when my MX was new and the wipers were worthless, the service center made them work much better and claimed to have done so by adjusting the angle of the blades. That was multiple sets of wipers ago and the original problem has never resurfaced.

Basically the blade needs to be straight and 90 degrees perpendicular to the glass, so that it can easily bend against the direction of travel. Try taking a squeegee and pushing it across glass instead of pulling it. Yuk!

The reason this issue appears after applying Rain-X is that the surface friction is significantly reduced. The off-angle of the wiper was offset by the glass grabbing it well.

 

[agmonaco]

has anyone used vinegar water solution to remove rainx? would that hurt the windshield?

 

[Genie]

has anyone used vinegar water solution to remove rainx? would that hurt the windshield?

Isopropyl alcohol works. I don’t see how vinegar would harm the windshield though.