Most car owners are very careful about their vehicles. They try to keep them not only in excellent technical condition, but also to ensure excellent appearance.
The easiest way to bring beauty is to wash it. You can wash your car in special boxes, or do it yourself. Here everyone decides what to do better. Many people alternate between visiting car washes and removing dirt themselves, followed by polishing and treating the body to preserve the paintwork.
And when treating a car after washing, the service of applying a product called anti-rain is becoming increasingly popular. It requires additional costs, so many people try to do something similar with their own hands for use when washing their cars themselves.
Dirty windows and traffic safety
Any car enthusiast strives to ensure maximum comfort when driving, as well as minimize the time spent on servicing the car, especially when it comes to appearance.
Different weather conditions, especially in the spring-autumn period, and driving a car on different surfaces lead to rapid contamination of the windows and car body.
Driving during rain on a busy road significantly affects not only comfort, but also traffic safety, since driving in such conditions is accompanied by a decrease in visibility due to the constant presence of water droplets and rapid contamination of the glass.
Of course, to minimize this, the design of the car implies the presence of a glass cleaning system.
But, over time, the cleaning effect of windshield wipers decreases, since during operation small scratches appear on the glass, which may not be visible, but they make the surface rough, which prevents water droplets from flowing down.
Also, the service life of wipers is not that long, and over time the quality of their work decreases significantly.
In addition, wipers cannot clean the entire surface of the windshield and there are always places that are not cleaned.
But the side windows are not cleaned at all, and the rear window is not always equipped with a windshield wiper, but if there is one, then its cleaning area is quite small.
As for the body, the presence of drops and dirt on it, of course, does not affect safety, but it does spoil the visual appearance of the car. But you don’t always have time to constantly wash your car yourself, and it’s expensive to go to a car wash.
Experience of car enthusiasts
I used High Gear, I liked the effect, but not for long, on average it was enough for a week in normal weather, in rainy weather for 3-4 days. It's been on my brother's side windows for six months now, the effect is amazingly visible. I heard that RainX is for sale somewhere in METRO, I'm looking for it. In England, the guys only use it.
Brain
https://forum.car-care.ru/index.php?showtopic=45
Made by turtle, it rubs in without leaving a residue, lasts about 3 months. All glass is rubbed in half an hour, a very convenient thing. Costs a penny, no cons found. There are left-wing anti-rains, but you get tired of applying them, you rub and rub, and the glass is covered in a whitish coating.
506
https://highlander-autoclub.ru/forum/index.php?threads/Antidozhd.10348/
I apply the usual anti-rain from Turtle and someone else. I apply it myself, the method is simple, but it lasts for a maximum of a month - this is ideal, but 2 weeks is good, then the effectiveness drops considerably, but it’s done quickly: I washed the glass, applied it, rinsed it, wiped it off.
RRC
https://highlander-autoclub.ru/forum/index.php?threads/Antidozhd.10348/
Turtle Wax is quite an anti-rain medicine - ours, cheap, cheerful, helps a little. Runway Rain - quite enough, at work they give it. Aquapel - spoiled. Q2 View - very expensive, good, they used to give it at work, then they stopped.
Lokot
https://wroom.ru/index.php?id=forumtopic&topic=18523
It is quite popular among car enthusiasts to independently prepare “anti-rain”. This is due to the low cost of the components and their efficiency. In addition, special skills are not required to obtain this or that composition. Every car owner can prepare such a product, since it will require a minimum of time and financial costs.
Anti-rain for glasses
Here, all kinds of auto chemicals come to the rescue of the car enthusiast, making life easier.
Recently, glass treatment products with a water-repellent effect have appeared, popularly known as anti-rain.
According to the manufacturers, these liquids, after use, create a thin transparent layer with hydrophobic properties on the surface.
This layer prevents a drop of water from lingering on the surface of the glass and makes it easier for wipers or air flow to drive it away.
In essence, anti-rain, when applied to the surface, fills all the scratches of the glass, giving it the most even surface possible, without roughness, so there is simply nothing for water to cling to.
And the hydrophobic agents included in the composition repel water from the applied layer, thereby significantly reducing the area of contact of the drop with the surface, which also contributes to its rapid drainage.
We will not now consider certain manufacturers of such auto chemicals; there are indeed a lot of offers on the market now and prices also vary greatly, starting from 160 rubles and above.
Here it will be enough to simply read reviews on specialized forums to decide on a purchase.
Compound
Almost always, anti-rain for glasses consists of silicone polymers and solvent.
The composition may also include fixing chemical components that provide wear resistance to the applied layer.
Thus, the protective effect after using this product can last up to six months.
Where did the remedy come from?
It is not difficult to understand the essence of such a solution as anti-rain coating. Every motorist probably knows how serious and dangerous an obstacle on the road becomes heavy rain or downpour. Water not only forms puddles on the asphalt, causing the risk of aquaplaning, but also significantly impairs the visibility of the road.
To minimize the impact of water falling from the sky on the driver’s view of the roadway, a product such as anti-rain is used, which is actively used for cars. But long before it appeared on sale in car dealerships and attempts to recreate the recipe with your own hands, the technology was used in the defense industry.
Special substances were used in aviation and in the creation of space satellites, rockets and other installations. They were designed to prevent excessive moisture accumulation on the fuselages, which helped cope with the icing problem.
After the aviation and space industry, the so-called anti-rain, which ensured the creation of a stable hydrophobic film, entered service with the military. Here, optical components were treated with preparations so that moisture would not interfere with the study of the surrounding environment.
The result largely met even the wildest expectations. Experts admitted that after treatment, various wet dirt, water and snow rolled off the surfaces, leaving virtually no traces. This guaranteed maximum visibility in bad weather conditions.
The technology could not remain unnoticed by civilian consumers for a long time, and passed into the hands of ordinary people. And anti-rain looks most promising in relation to the automotive industry and vehicle operation. Anti-rain is not developed using secret technology, and therefore each manufacturer has the opportunity to sell the product on the market.
Anti-rain for the body
There is also anti-rain for the body. The essence of its work after application is identical to its analogue for glass, but has a slightly different composition.
The fact is that the solvent included in the glass treatment liquid has a negative effect on the paintwork. Therefore, this product is not universal and cannot be used on the body.
Anti-rain for the body consists of the same silicone polymers, but a different solvent, and also contains wax - natural and synthetic.
I want to say two things
First, you can now tell me: “The branded anti-rain, which is sold in bottles of 250-300 ml, is actually more than our small bottle of 15 ml.”
Friends, yes, this is all true, all this is true, but, firstly, this bottle costs 200-500 rubles, and secondly, it contains diluted silicone, that is, it is diluted with some kind of surfactant.
A very small percentage of silicone is taken there, maybe the same amount as in this 15 ml bottle, and everything is diluted with surfactants so that you can apply it normally to your windshield.
Here the silicone comes undiluted, concentrated, and you apply these really small droplets to the surface that needs to be treated and rub it.
It works even better than the branded one in a can that needs to be sprayed.
How to apply correctly
It should be noted that both products do not have cleaning properties.
Therefore, before applying them to glass and bodywork, they must be thoroughly washed using shampoo and then dried well.
Before applying anti-rain, it is better not only to wash the body, but also to polish it.
But before that, you need to choose the right polish.
The chemical components of anti-rain for glass and body have a negative effect on rubber products, so they must be applied carefully to avoid contact with the seals.
To avoid the appearance of streaks on the surface or slight clouding after processing, it is important to carry out the processing procedure according to the instructions and in compliance with the temperature regime.
But branded auto chemicals for treating surfaces with a water-repellent effect have a significant drawback - price.
Of course, you can purchase an inexpensive product, but there is no need to talk about high-quality performance of its functions. And liquids from famous brands are not cheap.
Independent production and application of anti-rain coating
The main task of the coating is to prevent the retention of water and dirt on the surface of the glass; therefore, the composition is based on elements with exceptional water-repellent characteristics.
In our case, we recommend using paraffin. We will also include white spirit solvent in the composition to give the paraffin the required degree of liquid.
Without going into chemical details, we will inform you that paraffin has exceptional qualities in terms of creating a repelling effect for water.
Let’s say about white spirit that, despite its chemical aggressiveness, you should not worry about the glass surfaces of the body - it will not cause any harm to vehicle windows. However, given its high volatility and flammability, some precautions must be taken when working with the solvent.
So, what do we need to create a future anti-rain coating:
1. Paraffin candles 2. Solvent – White spirit 3. To apply the coating, use cotton pads, napkins or any type of non-woven fabric.
Manufacturing of anti-rain coating:
1. Carefully grate a candle weighing about 10-12 grams on a fine grater. 2. Prepare a container into which then pour 100 milliliters of white spirit 3. Place the grated paraffin into the solvent 4. Stir slowly and thoroughly until the paraffin dissolves.
The composition is ready, now proceed directly to preparing and applying the resulting composition to the glass:
It is important to remember that the finished composition is applied only to thoroughly washed and cleaned glass. After the car windows have been washed with all kinds of cleaning compounds, you need to remove any remaining moisture by rubbing it with a special paper napkin or just newspaper. After the glass is washed, treat it with a degreasing alcohol solution.
Pay special attention to the corners of the glass, where dirt and liquid most often remain after washing. The glass must be clean and there should be no streaks or remaining dirt streaks.
After the glass surface has completely dried, begin applying the composition. Using cotton pads, special car wipes or soft non-woven material, dipping it into the composition, apply the resulting anti-rain composition to the surface of the glass.
After complete drying, you need to polish the windows of your car using the same newspapers, napkins, or non-woven material. Be careful when polishing - do not scratch the car glass with old dry dirt or grains of sand. At this point, accuracy and caution are required.
Once polishing is complete, you will be surprised at how much lighter and clearer your car's glass becomes.
DIY anti-rain, recipes
And here the question arises about creating anti-rain for glass with your own hands.
If you look at the composition of this product, you can see that it contains silicone polymers, so they are the basis of the anti-rain.
And on the shelves of car dealerships you can often find another product to eliminate squeaks in the car interior - liquid silicone, in the form of a spray.
It costs much less, and it still contains the same silicone polymers. Therefore, you can treat the glass with it, the effect will be the same as after using anti-rain.
The only thing is that the service life of such a coating is shorter, due to the lack of fixatives in the liquid silicone composition. Yes, and it is still not advisable to use this liquid on the car body.
Is it possible to extend the life of a water-repellent film?
This cannot be done, since the film is nothing more than a chemical substance that is applied to the glass. And the use of washers and conventional windshield wipers shortens its service life.
By adhering to the recommendations given, using the suggested recipes and detailed instructions, you can completely prepare an invisible windshield wiper yourself.
These methods are much cheaper, but no less effective compared to expensive means.
