Rain-X

justinclay said:

careful with ammonia, not only if it touches any sort of bleaxh it makes chlorine gas which is deadly but, When ammonia enters the body as a result of breathing, swallowing or skin contact, it reacts with water to produce ammonium hydroxide. This chemical is very corrosive and damages cells in the body on contact.

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You should be just as careful while cutting up onions. The fumes form sulfuric acid as a result of breathing, swallowing or skin contact, especially in the eyes. This chemical is very corrosive and damages cells in the body on contact.

And be especially of that bad boy dihydrogen monoxide.

You think its funny to be a smart &&&. While im simply stating facts and caring about individuals health. Ammonia is much more dangerous. People dont dispose of it right, or just dont take precautions when using it full strength. Comparing onions to ammonia shows your intelligence and ignorance. Im done with this subject.

Justin,
Thanks for your info!

Your welcome god speed and safe waters to ya buddy.

Many common cleaners and chemicals can cause harm to us and the environment if used carelessly. You can hardly log on to a boating forum without someone recommending chlorine bleach for something. And of course, the old standby, acetone is nothing to sneeze at.

All these products have use instructions and health warnings on the containers and for anyone smart enough to follow the manufacturer's recommendations and cautions instead of something he/she read on a boating forum, these products are relatively safe to use. Ammonia has been in common use as a cleaning product for many, many years, but like many other products, it can be hazzardous if misused.

I've used Aquapel for the last few years, it used to be sold under the NAPA label. I find it last much longer than Rainex

After using Rain-X on cars for many years, with somewhat mixed results totally based on wiper use, I am in the process of putting it on all of my windows.

On road use, in moderate to heavy rain it works great (as long as you do not use the wipers!). With drizzle on the other hand, once you have to start using the windshield wipers, it produces that dreaded film. The film is removable mechanically, i.e. elbow grease and Bon-Ami, which doesn't have the abrasives that Comet or Ajax have.

Richard

Wxx3 said:

.............The film is removable mechanically, i.e. elbow grease and Bon-Ami, which doesn't have the abrasives that Comet or Ajax have.

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I found a product at Ace hardware called Never Streak (or something close) that is similar to Glasswax from the good old days. The guy at Ace didn't know he had it. It works well at removing films that liquid cleaners can't.

meridian said:

I've used Aquapel for the last few years, it used to be sold under the NAPA label. I find it last much longer than Rainex

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Absolutely!

I am a complete convert to Aquapel from RainX. Use in on my truck and boat. Lasts all year long with no streaking -- not kidding!

Takes longer to apply though: deep clean first (barkeepers friend is what I use), then apply one applicator per windshield-sized-window area. Only use the applicators, not the spray or wipes.

After a few failures iwth Rainex I basically gave up on the product. Then one day I arrived at the marina in Greenville, MS around noon and decided to stay there for the night due to coming storms. Unless you enjoy riverboat gambling, which I do not, there is not much to do there, so I decided for some reason to apply Rainex. To show how much time I had on my hands, I actually read the instructions.

I now use the stuff on a regular basis, if I have an afternoon to burn. The key is to take a lot of time cleaning. When you are through cleaning you have just started. Go back and really rub hard to clean a couple more times. When you think you have cleaned enough to rub a hole through the glass you might be through.

Apply by really rubbing it in and you have an excellent window for about a year. Reminds me of painting and old house, which means weeks of prep and a few hours to paint.

justinclay said:

You think its funny to be a smart &&&. While im simply stating facts and caring about individuals health. Ammonia is much more dangerous. People dont dispose of it right, or just dont take precautions when using it full strength. Comparing onions to ammonia shows your intelligence and ignorance. Im done with this subject.

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You sound like you're quoting an MSDS from anhydrous ammonia, not the regular household cleaning product. As a degreed chemist, I guess I have to question YOUR intelligence. You don't seem to understand that the comparison is pretty valid. Sulfuric acid is pretty dangerous stuff, and is formed in your eyes when you cut onions. That doesn't mean you need an MSDS for onions though, and they have been doing this for years without ill effect.

Where's your smart &&& comeback about dihydrogen monoxide? I'm sure you need to quote an MSDS for that too. Can be dangerous stuff.

bikeandboat said:

The key is to take a lot of time cleaning. When you are through cleaning you have just started. Go back and really rub hard to clean a couple more times. When you think you have cleaned enough to rub a hole through the glass you might be through. .

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OK, I'll bite! I don't want to stomp on anyone's "exuberance" with any product, but for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would want to go through all that when a perfectly good pair of wipers work so well!

I'll bite. Rain X is quieter and uses less moving parts.

Northern Spy said:

I'll bite. Rain X is quieter and uses less moving parts.

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Well, I consider my hands, arms & back as "moving parts" & I don't intend to wear them out prematurely doing something that a relatively cheap mechanical devise can do much better.

It's clear to me now that Rain-X is one of those love it or hate it products. I have never experienced or even heard rumors of either the hazing or application issues voiced in this thread until now.

If ignorance is bliss I certainly have named my boat appropriately

SeaHorse II said:

Well, I consider my hands, arms & back as "moving parts" & I don't intend to wear them out prematurely doing something that a relatively cheap mechanical devise can do much better.

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I'm a reliability guy, not a doctor...

CPseudonym said:

It's clear to me now that Rain-X is one of those love it or hate it products.

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For every person I have talked to who likes Rain-X I've talked to 10 who think it's one of the most worthless products on the market. It works as advertised under such a limited number of situations--- can't use your wipers--ever, increases glare at night, won't bead off light mist, etc. etc. etc.--- that it's simply not worth the effort. Either that or you have to keep applying it on an almost continuous basis.

I've tried it off and on for decades on vehicles and boats. I guess in the hope that "this time it will work." It never does and our damp, misty, rainy climate here forces you to negate it's effectiveness almost immediately. I know people who have told me that "they use Rain-X so I never have to use my wipers." On occasion they have followed me in their cars to go somewhere. If it's raining, guess what? Their wipers are always on, just like mine.

Perhaps in a drier climate where it doesn't rain much and when it does it's hard, Rain-X might be worthwhile. But it's a total waste of time and money up here, at least in my and most everyone else I know's experience.

And it's not operator error. I've followed the directions to the letter. I've buffed it out multiple times with things ranging from soft cloth diapers to electric buffers. Nothing makes any difference.

So if it works for you, great, keep using it. But if you've never tried it and want to, don't be surprised--- depending on the conditions under which you operate--- if it fails miserably and makes things worse than they were before.

I'm 100% with Walt. Our boat has great wipers. They work with fine mist, heavy spray, and everything in between. When they are operating we get a clear view forward, not a view through glass speckled with beaded drops or streaked with countless rivulets of water running down the glass. We never have a problem seeing debris in the water or little things like crab pot floats. And the effort to get this great view forward involves pulling a knob.

Marin said:

Perhaps in a drier climate where it doesn't rain much and when it does it's hard, Rain-X might be worthwhile. )

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Hmmm. That's a good point, and down here in the tropics, when it rains it typically isn't a misting. Really rare to have fog too. I've got some Rain-X pads stuffed in my chart table drawer.... I may try the stuff.

healhustler said:

Hmmm. That's a good point, and down here in the tropics, when it rains it typically isn't a misting. Really rare to have fog too. I've got some Rain-X pads stuffed in my chart table drawer.... I may try the stuff.

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...and your windows are slanted the correct way.

Northern Spy said:

...and your windows are slanted the correct way.

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That's right. According to you wannabe window proponents, he shouldn't have to use either Rain-X or wipers. Any water that threatens to hit the glass should just magically vaporize at the sight of his looming, butt-ugly windows.

Marin said:

Our boat has great wipers. They work with fine mist, heavy spray, and everything in between. When they are operating we get a clear view forward, not a view through glass speckled with beaded drops or streaked with countless rivulets of water running down the glass. We never have a problem seeing debris in the water or little things like crab pot floats. And the effort to get this great view forward involves pulling a knob.

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God! that's funny! I've got you beat, though, Marin. All I have to do is "push" a rocker switch. If I want to clean them, though, I have to push another rocker switch and that's where I start to get a little tired.

Yeah but....... Our boat was built in 1973 and rocker switches, along with electric toasters, vaccum cleaners, and the automobile, hadn't been invented yet. Our pull-switches were considered state-of-the-art miracles of modern science.

Which is the reason we don't have windhield washers. They hadn't been invented yet, either. Frankly, I'm surprised our boat even has glass in the windows. I'd have thought something from 1973 would have had really thin papyrus mats instead.

Mistake

Marin said:

Frankly, I'm surprised our boat even has glass in the windows. I'd have thought something from 1973 would have had really thin papyrus mats instead.

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=really funny!