new wipers!!!

[shepd]

Originally Posted by NYC-SE

Concerning Rain-X, I can't understand the accolades thrown at it. Everybody seems to love it but I can't see why. Several years ago I tried it out. It worked, I mean it did repel water, but there was a haze on the windshield that refracted light. During the day it was fine but driving at night was a harrowing experience. If the headlights from oncoming traffic hit at a certain angle my windshield would literally "white out". You could not see out of it and would be driving blind. Terrifying.

I figured I must have applied it wrong. (Although wipe on, buff off seems fairly straightforward.) So I removed what was there (it was a pain in the butt to get it all off), got the windshield nice and clean and tried again. Same result. Scary. I couldn't get it off my windshield fast enough.

No, you applied it properly. Rain-X is a silicone grease. It is unsurprising that it left film on the windshield.

Clean the windshield really well (use Bon Ami--if you don't clean the windshield properly the grease will prevent bonding--the shop might be able to do it for you) and have a professional glass service treat it with Aquapel. Aquapel is used on airplanes and instead of being a grease (which leaves haze and quickly wears away) it is a fluorine based compound that bonds chemically to the glass. This means it will last 2 or more months without needing re-treatment, does not affect visibility in any way, and water will bead up FAR better than Rain-X ever did. You'll find that wipers aren't necessary.

This video shows just how useless Rain-X is:

https://youtu.be/K-qhq_AigpM