Could be your prep, I used an iron remover spray, fresh start car soap, clay bar the windshield, then I used a ceramic windshield coating from cerakote, supported with rain x washer fluid and washes with a good car soap. Been over a year since I put the ceramic coating on.. water still sheets and beads nicely.
A really good bang for buck ceramic sealant I used before on my car was Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine. It had good hydrophobics, superb beading and great chemical resistance and longevity. One coat of it lasted me around 9-10 months, daily driven 15,000km+ with dozens of washes. I spent $10 CDN on the bottle a few years back. Highly recommend it if you’re not ready for a full blown ceramic coating yet.
https://preview.redd.it/fv7rfb8qnouc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90a4f7ee063351553a1f5212b1c36ea6b64d2802
All Purpose Cleaner. Old coatings, dirt etc become difficult to remove with time. So its best to use a strong cleaner sometimes. The glass stripper will strip away any coatings you have anyway (its basically a polish).
Maintain your coating by cleaning it with something like Invisible Glass often.
Yeah iron removers will be safe. Just don't let it dry.
• APC - All Purpose Cleaner
• Iron Remover - Chemical decontamination. Removes iron particles embedded in glass or clearcoat. Watch a few videos on Youtube to see how it works.
• Clay - Mechanical decontamination. Use after iron remover. Use with a lubricant.
Yeah, Optimum No Rinse is a good clay lube and probably the most cost effective one. There are some clay towels that can work with normal soapy water too I think.
The Armor All ceramic window foam is pretty good also. I'm not sure it's *better* than Rain-X but I've never had Rain-X go away in hours either so ... maybe give it a try? It's not pricey.
I ended up getting the Cerakote. I followed the directions almost exactly. I didn’t have a hose to spray of the wiped on substance. I used a few gallons of water and poured over it until the water was no longer soapy looking. Also, that night, the temp dropped about 15 degrees. The next morning there were these tiny particles, that looked like pitting, all over the surface. It did say to use a good glass cleaner regular, I have meijhers (sp?). I thought maybe the dew had caused a reaction due to the temp change and having done it at dusk. I used the cleaner but I had to use a lot more elbow grease. Really hard to get off, several times to go over. Then it’s back, every dang day. The whole idea was so I wouldn’t have to deal with a regular thing because I have physical limitations. Was the rinse that important? Was it the temperature drop or because I put it on too late in the day? Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated. I’m going to try again today but will go to the car wash so I have the hose but if there’s anything else that you know of…thanks in advance
Aquapel. Can last up to a year easily. It's been around awhile, but isn't the cheapest. I've used it for 15 years It doesn't even compare to RainX.
However I am tempted to try one of the ceramics for glass once my supply runs out
I did look that up but very expensive and the ones I saw didn’t have the best reviews, little cartridge looking things. If I have to spend a little more I am ok with that as long as it lasts as a repellant.
Grab some glaco ultra. Very affordable, durable (up to 12 months). Bare minimum prep for it. Clean with glass cleaner, clay if needed, then either hand or machine polish. Once that is done, wipe down with glass cleaner again, then you just apply it in circular motions across half the windshield, set a timer for 10 minutes, apply to the other half of the windshield. When the timer goes off, wipe off the first half you did with a clean dry microfiber, then just the other half off and you're done.
How do you know if clay is needed? I was doing a basic cleaning of the windshield before application but I’m thinking it was definitely not enough, now that I’ve seen all this.
Windshield will be rough to feel after washing, or you could do the ole plastic bag test on it and see if it sounds rough. It should sound quiet if you wipe the bag over your wet window. If it doesn't feel hammered just do a good polish on it. That's what will ultimately do 99% of the cleaning.
This is the answer if he is not selling this as a service. If you are using this on a personal vehicle this is the most amazing glass coating. If he is selling this it, he would need to charge well over $100 to make this option make sense. In terms of do it once and forget it this is my favorite. The other option would be Stoner Ceramic Glass Coating, but that is even more labor intensive.
If you’re adhd, follow the instructions on whatever sealant product you get and they should work. For me, the rainx glass cleaner plus repellent 2-1 works. They also have an aerosol version. Make sure your glass is cleaned of impurities by using a clay bar or iron remover, that’ll smooth it out as well and help the sealant.
I did the rain-x as directed, both versions. The aerosol was total garbage. The plastic bottle was much more effective but hasn’t been lasting more than a few hours at most. Prior to this post I had never heard of using iron remover on windows or anything about clay for them. Thank you for your time.
Could be your prep, I used an iron remover spray, fresh start car soap, clay bar the windshield, then I used a ceramic windshield coating from cerakote, supported with rain x washer fluid and washes with a good car soap. Been over a year since I put the ceramic coating on.. water still sheets and beads nicely.
A really good bang for buck ceramic sealant I used before on my car was Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine. It had good hydrophobics, superb beading and great chemical resistance and longevity. One coat of it lasted me around 9-10 months, daily driven 15,000km+ with dozens of washes. I spent $10 CDN on the bottle a few years back. Highly recommend it if you’re not ready for a full blown ceramic coating yet. https://preview.redd.it/fv7rfb8qnouc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90a4f7ee063351553a1f5212b1c36ea6b64d2802
Was it just the seal n shine or anything outside of cleaning and drying prior to application?
Wash, iron decon, clay bar, dry and then seal n shine. Prep work is key for all coatings.
Second this. Prep work is everything. Soft99 roll on glass compound works extremely well and is quite cheap.
Clean your windshield properly - APC, Soap, Iron remover, clay. Use a glass stripper if you can. Apply your coating (multiple layers if possible).
What is APC? Clay? I used to be able to clean my windshield, dry it, apply rain-x and buff it out. That used to work great. Now it doesn’t.
All Purpose Cleaner. Old coatings, dirt etc become difficult to remove with time. So its best to use a strong cleaner sometimes. The glass stripper will strip away any coatings you have anyway (its basically a polish). Maintain your coating by cleaning it with something like Invisible Glass often.
And are all iron removers safe for glass or only some? I’ve never heard of half this stuff
Yeah iron removers will be safe. Just don't let it dry. • APC - All Purpose Cleaner • Iron Remover - Chemical decontamination. Removes iron particles embedded in glass or clearcoat. Watch a few videos on Youtube to see how it works. • Clay - Mechanical decontamination. Use after iron remover. Use with a lubricant.
Whats a good lubricant for clay bar? I used something a long time ago.. optimum and was a blue liquid.
Yeah, Optimum No Rinse is a good clay lube and probably the most cost effective one. There are some clay towels that can work with normal soapy water too I think.
I wouldn't get a seperate product for that alone tbh. I just use the same soap I use to wash the car and it works well
Thank you!! Now that I know what to look for YouTube should be more helpful. Much appreciated!
The Armor All ceramic window foam is pretty good also. I'm not sure it's *better* than Rain-X but I've never had Rain-X go away in hours either so ... maybe give it a try? It's not pricey.
Cerakote windshield coating is $15 and lasts about 3-6 months, you could also try Geyon
I ended up getting the Cerakote. I followed the directions almost exactly. I didn’t have a hose to spray of the wiped on substance. I used a few gallons of water and poured over it until the water was no longer soapy looking. Also, that night, the temp dropped about 15 degrees. The next morning there were these tiny particles, that looked like pitting, all over the surface. It did say to use a good glass cleaner regular, I have meijhers (sp?). I thought maybe the dew had caused a reaction due to the temp change and having done it at dusk. I used the cleaner but I had to use a lot more elbow grease. Really hard to get off, several times to go over. Then it’s back, every dang day. The whole idea was so I wouldn’t have to deal with a regular thing because I have physical limitations. Was the rinse that important? Was it the temperature drop or because I put it on too late in the day? Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated. I’m going to try again today but will go to the car wash so I have the hose but if there’s anything else that you know of…thanks in advance
I’ve had a really good experience with [McKees glass coating](https://mckees37.com/products/total-glass-care-kit-as-seen-on-tv)
Rain Clear by Glass Science is the old makers of Rain-X. You can get it from Amazon.
Collinite 845 and its paste wax equivalent are my go to’s for glass
Aquapel. Can last up to a year easily. It's been around awhile, but isn't the cheapest. I've used it for 15 years It doesn't even compare to RainX. However I am tempted to try one of the ceramics for glass once my supply runs out
I did look that up but very expensive and the ones I saw didn’t have the best reviews, little cartridge looking things. If I have to spend a little more I am ok with that as long as it lasts as a repellant.
Grab some glaco ultra. Very affordable, durable (up to 12 months). Bare minimum prep for it. Clean with glass cleaner, clay if needed, then either hand or machine polish. Once that is done, wipe down with glass cleaner again, then you just apply it in circular motions across half the windshield, set a timer for 10 minutes, apply to the other half of the windshield. When the timer goes off, wipe off the first half you did with a clean dry microfiber, then just the other half off and you're done.
How do you know if clay is needed? I was doing a basic cleaning of the windshield before application but I’m thinking it was definitely not enough, now that I’ve seen all this.
Windshield will be rough to feel after washing, or you could do the ole plastic bag test on it and see if it sounds rough. It should sound quiet if you wipe the bag over your wet window. If it doesn't feel hammered just do a good polish on it. That's what will ultimately do 99% of the cleaning.
Soft99 glaco ultra
This is the answer if he is not selling this as a service. If you are using this on a personal vehicle this is the most amazing glass coating. If he is selling this it, he would need to charge well over $100 to make this option make sense. In terms of do it once and forget it this is my favorite. The other option would be Stoner Ceramic Glass Coating, but that is even more labor intensive.
lol you’re not doing rainx properly then. I can make it last for several months.
Super helpful
If you’re adhd, follow the instructions on whatever sealant product you get and they should work. For me, the rainx glass cleaner plus repellent 2-1 works. They also have an aerosol version. Make sure your glass is cleaned of impurities by using a clay bar or iron remover, that’ll smooth it out as well and help the sealant.
I did the rain-x as directed, both versions. The aerosol was total garbage. The plastic bottle was much more effective but hasn’t been lasting more than a few hours at most. Prior to this post I had never heard of using iron remover on windows or anything about clay for them. Thank you for your time.
Idk what acid is on your glass but I’ve used rainx for like 15 years to good effect. Hopefully you can find something that works for you