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re: RainX for a saltwater boat windscreen

Posted on 7/25/14 at 11:15 pm to
Posted by bapple
Capital City
Member since Oct 2010
11910 posts
Posted on 7/25/14 at 11:15 pm to
quote:

I'd be nervous about putting that stuff on plexiglass, unless of course your windshield is glass.


Why would you be nervous? It's a virtually invisible water-repelling layer.

So why does water stick to clear things like glass or plexiglass?

1. Dirt and grime

2. Water spots

What causes these things? Well for the materials to stick to your windshield, they must first dissolve in water. Then this water dries on the surface and leaves behind all the materials that were dissolved in it. Salt water has a lot of different materials dissolved in it besides salt. So having that dry on the surface will leave plenty of material for water to stick to. This is why people who rely on their wiper blades for visibility are wasting their money on buying new blades every few months. Your windshield should repel water like waxed paint.

As you can see, even with bug guts on my windshield, I still have plenty visibility here:



Now for the OP, if you were to properly apply Rain-x or even some type of wax, you need to first remove the layer of gunk on the plexiglass. Use a dual-action polisher or polish by hand. Get a highly abrasive polish, like Meguiar's M105. It can be found at Autozone.



After wiping the haze off the plexiglass surface, it is now bare and ready to receive a coating of Rain-x or wax. You will now have true protection rather than just sticking Rain-x or wax on top of a dirty, water-attracting surface. The water should now bead with ease.

As many of you can see, I am a huge fan of the stuff. Rain-x is truly awesome and should be applied from the factory on every new car.

EDIT: To answer the OPs question, the water still has the potential to leave spots on your plexiglass. The easiest way to prevent this is to wipe the water off before it dries. This prevents it from leaving deposits. But having a properly treated plexiglass surface, the water will bead much easier and has the potential to roll off without drying.
This post was edited on 7/25/14 at 11:17 pm
Posted by Boats n Hose
NOLA
Member since Apr 2011
37248 posts
Posted on 7/26/14 at 7:46 am to
quote:

This is why people who rely on their wiper blades for visibility are wasting their money on buying new blades every few months.

more like every year or 2
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