Rain-X or Motorcycle Based Repellant

S

Simon Tibbett

Well-known member
So the upcoming Road Atlanta Majors shows it will rain at SOME POINT throughout the weekend and I have never raced a car with lexan windows before. I've done some Googling and can't find a good answer as to how to keep visibility on track without wipers.

Some say use Rain-X while others say it'll destroy the plastic.
Some say use a motorcycle helmet/windscreen based repellent.
Some say use regular car wax.
Some say use dish soap or hand soap on the inside to prevent fog.

So...what's my best option? Does Rain-X ruin the plastic or just make is a pain to get off afterwards? Anyone that has used the bike stuff...does it work like Rain-X works on a street car? No wipers so whatever I use has to be good.

Thanks!
 
Simon
I use a product called Brillianize seems to work great for the outside but won't keep the inside completely clear
 
It really depends on what grade of polycarbonate you have. Almost all scratch/swirl without too much effort. I would suggest trying the liquid rain-x washer fluid, gently applied with a very soft towel. The regular rain-x requires it to be "waxed in". For the inside....although dish soap works great, I prefer to have a some sort of implement to manually clear while I'm driving. I have a 2' aluminum pipe that has a rage taped to the end. Simple but effective.

Brillianize is a great product that will also help to polish the plastic.
 
Last thing I knew, RainX made an anti-fog - black container.
Been using it on the inside of my faceplate, regular on the outside.
Faceplates are Lexan and I haven't noticed any degradation or scratching
I use an old cotton handkerchief.
 
Something that should be common sense, but sometimes isn't remembered.. clean the windshield and dry it first with a very soft soapy rag. (don't use any sort of paper on Lexan or it'll scratch.) once the Lexan is clean, ONLY then should you think about rubbing in anything like Rain-X..

it surprises me how many people I see that just grab the bottle of rain-X and start rubbing away on a dirty windshield. That works OK for glass, but not on a poly window.
 
Here is the answer: Raincoat(R) Pro

http://store.motosolutions.com/clear/A/RCSPP030.html

I used it this weekend at Road Atlanta on Sunday, we had heavy rain during the race and this product is AMAZING. It worked so well I couldn't even tell when it was actually raining or when it was just spray! The only way I could tell it was raining harder was when I paid attention to puddles and what not on the track surface. I had absolutely no visibility issues. Forget everything else, this is what you need.

I also used their Fogtech wipes because I wear glasses while driving and have always had issues with fog on my visor and glasses (I always drive visor down) and once again zero problems this weekend. Check them out if you have similar issues!
 
I'll check that product out.

We ran in the rain this weekend in Portland. I used Rain-X on the outside of my lexan window and dishsoap on the insides of the windows.

Results/Lessons learned:
-The rain-x was "acceptable" but not good.
-Reapply the rain-x after each session. One session I got behind 4 cars and had to back off as I couldn't see. Rain-x had been on for two wet sessions then. I put the fuse back in the wipers after that session as well.
-Dish soap worked great! No fog at all! And it's easy to apply. It's almost clear when it dries and just needs a little polishing.
-Dish soap adds a neat "bubbles" effect to your race videos!
 
FWIW, if you call Rain-X(and I did) they will tell to never, ever use their product on a plastic like surface .
This would include both your windshield and/or helmet visor.
The dish soap application on the inside is something I learned from the captain of our fire dept.Thats what fireman apparently do.Good enough for them, good enough for me :D

Tom B.
 
Seems odd in light of their 1993-1996 sponsorship of Scott Sharp and Pickett Racing in the Trans-Am Series. They applied the product liberally to those Lexan windscreens and talked about how great it was.
 
Sharp and Pickett were advertising to the street driven cars. They failed to mention not to use it on lexan. And, they had additional sponsorship money as a result....

I found slightly opening the visor bottom one click up, minimized my breath fogging the face shield.
And wearing my glasses while on the grid, allowed them to equalize to the helmet temperature.

In a rush to get to the grid, arrived "just in time" for the one minute signal, pulled out my glasses and put them on as we were leaving the grid, and couldn't see Turn 1 when I got there! And most of the field was behind me. :oops: The glasses were warm coming out of my nomex top pocket and quickly fogged up in the colder humid air of the helmet...
 
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