I purchased a CPO 2010 Lexus RX350 in November for my wife. The first time
I drove it in the rain I was absolutely amazed at how the water would bead up on the
windshield and run right off. It was like Rain-X times 100. Since this is our first Lexus
I thought for a minute that it might just be something inherent to Lexus glass but I figure
it is some treatment that was applied probably by the previous owner.

Here we are 8 months later and the water is still beading up but not quite as well.
Does anyone have any ideas what I should apply to possibly match what was one there?

Thanks!

 

Lexus uses special hydrophobic glass on some models. It's great I applied a windshield costing to half of my windshield on my IS and I couldn't tell a difference in hydrophobic properties. On the other hand, when I do the same test on my wife's Mazda there is a huge difference. The protective coating makes a dramatic difference in beading/sheeting.

Just keep it clean and you'll enjoy the water beading right up for a long time.

 

Never heard of that but sounds cool

 

http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdriver...ter-Protection

This article talks about its use on side glass, however I have read that this same technology was implemented into their windshields as well.

 

You've mentioned Rain-X in your post. Well, this is what we usually recommend our customers for the glass treatment and receive positive feedback. We already spoke about it on our thread about wiper blades, also there is a video showing how Rain-X glass treatment works: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/aut...treatment.html

 

I've used for years this winning formula

Rain-X (NOT the 2-in-1, the original stuff in the yellow spray bottle)
Apply liberally and as per directions

Then top it with a wax of your choice (I prefer a liquid synthetic, seems to work the best)

This should give you the same look and effect. I did this to my 15 year old ES and it looks like there is Zymol on it now

 

Thanks everyone. I have used Rain-X (yellow) and wax for years on my vehicles and I swear I've never
had one look like the windshield of the RX but I could be remembering things wrong. I might play around and see what happens. I looked into Opti-Coat for windshields but didn't want to spend the $80 if there was going to be very little gain, I would rather spend the $80 on other products.

Zach - thanks for the link, I have searched some on the subject and somehow never hit that article. I am continually amazed by your work by the way. I would love to do to my vehicles what you do to others. Ever since I started driving almost 30 years ago I have taken pride in how I keep my vehicles but what I see you do is unbelievable. I just traded a 2006 4runner with 170,000 miles to my local dealer where a friend works. He called me laughing to tell me they pulled it straight out on the lot because they said their own people would make it look worse if they touched it.

 

I use Aquapel and it works great, much better than RainX in my opinion. It lasts a very long time, (over a year for us since we garage our cars both at home and work) and makes cleaning easy. I have used it for many years and it is the closest thing to the aquaphobic coating that Lexus used to use on their windshields.

 

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Glass Coating

I tried this 6 months ago and it is still doing it's thing. This is a glass-ceramic nano coating and is hard and clear, not oily and smeary like RainX.

Oh, lest I forget, there is no wiper chatter and water literally flys off the glass at speeds over 30 mph.

Pinnacle claims up to 50 applications per bottle and my experience suggest that is about right. Pinnacle also claims up to 18 months of protection. I'm only at 6, and the product is working like I just applied it.

IMHO, this is the best glass coating I've used.

 

Actually I can vouch for opti-glass. For $80 you can apply it to a number of cars and it only takes one application. On my previous daily driver, I got 14 months of water repelling on my windshield. During rainstorms I didn't even need to use my wipers.

My bottle is still half full and I have applied it to 6 cars

Prior to opti-glass I also used Rain-x which I really liked but like others have said it doesn't last too long. When I used rain-x, I would apply it a day before it rains so I get the maximum use out of it. For $8-$12 a bottle, its very economical.

 

This test is a few years old: http://wetshine.net/2012/08/05/test-...ng-comparison/

Gtecniq G1 came out on top, but Aquapel outperformed nearly everything else, and is much cheaper and easier to apply.

 

I would wash the car, and clay bar the windshield.

You can then go over the windshield with steel wool grade 0000 (finest grade), then apply whatever you like on it like rainX.

 

Four star ultimate paint protection works really well on glass

 

Gonna chime in for Aquapel as well.
I used to use Rain-X and wax and clay, But Aquapel is leaps and bounds ahead of Rain-X. I've applied it on my car twice so far and it last over a year, and the water beads up exceptionally well and the windshields are incredibly easy to clean.

 

I might have to try Aquapel on my truck. Thanks everybody.