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DPDISXR4Ti wrote:On a related note, any experiences (good, bad, otherwise) with Rain-X Anti-fog treatment? I figure I need to plan on humid conditions and the potential for a fogged windshield. Frankly, I'm more concerned about that than cool weather and no heat.
Luck would have it that I was nearly 200 miles away from home the first time I needed to use this product. Due to the combination of cool temperatures, heavy rain, and no defroster left me with no other options but to use Anti Fog. I applied this product exactly the way it was prescribed and was confident that I would be in the clear. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Perhaps the worst side effect of using this product was the uneven fogging patterns that formed on my windshield. To explain, there would be little patches of clear areas on my windows, but other areas on my windows would have extreme concentrations of steam. I guess having a few clear patches is better than nothing, but having to search for areas where I could see the road was definitely not safe or a solution for a broken defroster.
Thinking that a Rain-X product couldn't possibly be this bad, I reapplied this product a few days later thinking that somehow the negative effects I experienced the first time was my fault for not applying it evenly or perhaps just not using enough of the product. Unfortunately the exact same scenario happened the 2nd go-round.
When I got my defroster working my visibility woes didn't exactly end. Another problem I had with this product was the streaks left behind on my windshield and my defroster only made them more prominent. It seemed as though this issue reduced road visibility just as much as the steaming that I was trying to avoid. Using a product called Turtle Wax ClearVue helped remove most of these streaks, however it was days before I could get this product completely off my windows.
So what about household mirrors i.e. mirrors in the bathroom? While Rain-X claims that this product will prevent the steaming on bathroom mirrors/windows, I found that using this product in the bathroom was just as useless as using it in the car.
Yet another gripe I have with Rain-X Anti Fog is the smell of this product. With an obviously high alcohol content, it smells like you are applying rubbing alcohol to your windows. Fortunately this smell doesn't last but a few minutes after application.
Just received this response from MotoSolutions, makers of Fogtech...
Brad,
Thank you for your request. Fogtech is too expensive to coat windshields with. Also it is difficult to apply evenly to surfaces that large as it dries so quickly.
Best low cost glass anti-fog might be Parker's Perfect.
Odd. I've had good experience with Rain-X products, especially since my rear-window defogger doesn't work. (Not trying to start a flame war, i'm just saying ... ). I have found that ambient temperature when you apply is important, and that sometimes -- not always -- some extra buffing is required.
Richard Curtis
Fairfax Station, Va. '89XR (gone to a new home but not forgotten)
DPDISXR4Ti wrote:
Oddly enough, it's sold through Cabella's, the giant store in Hamburg PA, on the way to Carlisle. I might have to finally stop there.
I've already been there, on the way home from the junkyard.
DPDISXR4Ti wrote:
Oddly enough, it's sold through Cabella's, the giant store in Hamburg PA, on the way to Carlisle. I might have to finally stop there.
I've already been there, on the way home from the junkyard.
Mark- Do you really want to go public with the fact that you drove 5 hours each way to visit a junkyard? I thought I was bad enough with my 5 hour round trip to that same yard!
DPDISXR4Ti wrote:
Mark- Do you really want to go public with the fact that you drove 5 hours each way to visit a junkyard? :P I thought I was bad enough with my 5 hour round trip to that same yard! :lol:
It's not something I'm likely to make a habit of, but I only drove ~half of it anyway. The stop at Cabelas really was an added bonus, I've been a catalog shopper for years. Unfortunately they were out of stock on what I was looking for.
I used some awhile back and seem to remember it not working very well. I tried it when I had no A/C or heat and was working a job that required me to drive my POSXR in the cold night.
If I park in the garage when it's cold outside. I don't have bad fogging problems. If I park outside, I just run the heater for awhile and it works well enough. Don't need no stinking A/C...
The RainX for the outside of the windshield works well, but unfortunately does not last very long.
Oh, and for maintaining driver/passenger comfort, as well.
I thought I was bad enough with my 5 hour round trip to that same yard! 
