Invisible Glass with Rain
Repellent cleans and leaves a shield to repel dust and water.
Product review by Terry Freiberg
Recently the U.S. Government
set a 4% VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) limit on all glass cleaners being sold
in America. Overnight, the glass cleaners that really worked on tough road
grime, those with an 8% or more concentration of Isopropyl Alcohol, disappeared.
Never mind that Isopropyl Alcohol has never been proven to be an ozone depleting
chemical. It falls into the category of a VOC and is subject to the 4% limit.
The spray-on / wipe-off glass cleaners that were left were all about the same.
Yes, a manufacturer could use a little different wetting agent or surfactant but
the cleaning "punch" came from the VOC and they were still limited by
the 4% rule.
Since you couldn't make a
glass cleaner clean any better, what else could you do to gain a competitive
advantage. If you were Unelko, the world's leading manufacturer of rain
repellent coatings, you would add a rain repellent to your glass cleaner. Now in
one operation, you are both cleaning and sealing the glass with an invisible,
rain repellent coating to improve visibility while driving in rain, sleet and
snow. Unelko's product, sold under the Rain
Clear label as Rain Clear™ Glass Cleaner & Rain Repellent is one of my
favorite glass cleaners. I have never seen this technology from any other company.
Until now.
Stoner Invisible Glass with
Rain Repellent is
entering the market with a competitive product. It's a cleaner that
contains a protective agent that fills in the tiniest scratches and crevasses.
Stoner claims this protective
shield repels dust and water enabling better visibility. To test their claim,
Jan and I did an A-B comparison with Rain Clear Glass Cleaner & Rain
Repellent.
|

|
 |
|
Rain Clear Glass
Cleaner was sprayed
on the left side of the windshield. |
Stoner Invisible Glass
w/Rain Repellent was
sprayed on the right side. |
In spraying both products
we noticed our first difference. The Rain Clear product did not spray as
evenly. It came out in larger squirts that immediately started to run.
Stoner Invisible Glass with Rain Repellent was a light mist. It clung to the surface without
running. Both products were buffed with a Microfiber cloth. Rain Clear
Glass Cleaner took several more wipes to create a streak-free finish. The
Invisible Glass side wiped easily to a streak-free finish. |
Next, I sprayed the windshield with a fine mist from a garden
hose. As soon as water hit the glass, both sides started to sheet the water
off. I have no doubt that, had the car been in motion, both sides would be
clear. A draw.
While both products
produced the same end result, Jan and I both liked the ease of application
of the Stoner product. As soon as we have a rain
shower, I'm going to test both products again, on the road. Stay tuned.
Follow-up Report:
It's now been 20 days since I cleaned the glass with both products and
we've been through three days of light rain. At 45 to 47 mph the Rain Clear
treated side still sheets water while the Stoner side has noticeably larger
"wet spots" that do not sheet off. It's obviously time to clean
and treat the glass again.
It's probably
unrealistic to expect any spray-on rain repellent coating to last much
more than a week.
Had I cleaned the glass every week-end when I washed my car, I'm confident
both products would have performed flawlessly. While I like the ease of wiping of
Stoner Invisible Glass with Rain Repellent, I
can't help but be impressed with the performance of Rain Clear Glass
Cleaner & Rain Repellent.
Net weight 643 ml / 22
fl. oz. spray. |