Screenwash with Rain-Ex

[white exec]

Need to be careful when condemning a product because it contains acid - it could well be there just to bring the finished product to near pH neutral. Unless you're a chemist (which I'm not), then reading MSDS sheets can be a bit haphazard.

What interested me with the Rain-X products, though - and I looked at several - was the absence of any recognisable water repellant or surface tension modifier (like silicone); the ingredients seemed to my untrained eye to be mainly intended to keep the glass clean. Don't take my word for any of this, though.

Quite right about keeping salt-laden products away from cars and mixed metals. WUL a complete no-no; salt is added to thicken it. I have tried bio and non-bio washing liquid, but it doesn't seem to contain anti-bacterial protection, so slime and bugs can grow in the reservoir.

[RichardW]

I wouldn't worry about a tiny bit of salt that may be in WUL - the amount that gets deluged on the car in the winter from the roads far outweighs anything you might put in screenwashers!

[ekjdm14]

I wouldn't worry about a tiny bit of salt that may be in WUL - the amount that gets deluged on the car in the winter from the roads far outweighs anything you might put in screenwashers!

Yes I'd agree that WUL is probably fine salt-wise as far as going in the washer bottle (a bit foamy though, from experience in the past lol & can go slimy too), but it is still a no-no for washing the car as I believe the salt & type of surfactants used in it strip wax etc from the paint and can damage the finish too. Only time I've used it to wash paintwork was as a cleanse prior to cutting/polishing and waxing, otherwise I'd avoid it going on the paintwork as much as possible.

[Hell Razor5543]

While I get judder and noise when I use the wipers to clear debris from the windscreen, I have no issues when I use them in wet conditions (not that I often need to). I wonder if it is because of the way I apply the Rain-X?

[white exec]

I think I've written about this before, but I've had that sort of judder, too, on and off for years.

- Some makes of wiper blade don't seem what they once were, eg Bosch
- Some makes are better than others at working quietly - I currently find Denso (Toyota) excellent on RAV4 and XM
- As blades age, they get worse
- Deposits can build up on blades, as well as the screen
- A clean with something like Mer can work wonders, or not, depending on the luck of the draw and your postcode

But
- As wipers age, and are exposed to sun, they can get "set", i.e. harden
- When left parked up, the blade usually sits angled to one side, from its last sweep
- They harden and acquire this angle to one side semi-permanently
- New blades don't have this: they are perpendicular to the screen, equally flexible in both directions, and "trail" quietly as they wipe
- "Set" blades trail in one direction, but "dig in" in the other - this is the judder

One cure:
- If leaving the car parked up, especially for lengthy periods, lift the blades clear of the glass slightly by propping up the arm with a wine cork (wine variety as preferred)
- This stops the blades becoming set at an angle

[old'uns]

When I use Rain-X I will do a serious number on the windscreen (to make certain it is as clean as I can get it), and then I will apply Rain-X liberally (drivers side, passenger side, then repeat). After 10 minutes or so I will then polish the residue away. That seems to work for me (although I have had a company van that had some treatment on the windscreen that made the Rain-X ineffective).

this is what you're supposed to do anyway isn't it?
my knowledge of RainX is from French supermarkets and going by the cartoon/pics on bottle i've never had a problem with it.
i've always thought that RainX fills in the 'dimples' on the screen surface and this is what allows the 'beading'?

[van ordinaire]

How do you keep screenwash away from paintwork? Or is just the neat additive?

I distictly remember from Chemistry at school, that one of the tests/properties was taste!

b-t-w, found the Rain X in the back of the C15 (when pulling out something else - obviously) - all I've got to do is clean the back door windows