Raincoat New Product Announcement..

[themenz]

Just ordered some and was wondering if there is a "shelf life" on either products?

 

Michael

 

Fogtech wipes should last 3 years in packet.

 

Raincoat is new, but I would expect a similar life. There is really nothing to change or go bad. I will be testing over the next few years.

 

If you have some product that has "gone bad", send it back and I will replace.

[Quinn]

Has this been out long enough for someone to give us a review on how it works? With bug season here, I'm using plexus every three or four hours of ride time and wondering how the Raincoat works on top of it.

 

[OoPEZoO]

I've used the Raincoat and the Fogtech a few times since I ordered it. Here is what I've found so far.

 

The Raincoat works well, but my spray cleaner (Honda brand detail polish) tends to eat the coating right off of my visor. It works awesome when it is initially applied, but I commute everyday on my bike and tend to find it a necessity to clean my visor almost every evening (due to bugs, dirt, water spots, etc....).

 

The fogtech works awesome, but it seems to wear off quickly. It works VERY well, its just that you need to have the foresight to put it on when you need it. Once again, I'm a daily commuter and just don't always keep an eye on the weather I'm going to be riding in over the next few days. The Honda Spray cleaner also removes the fogtech coating with every cleaning (which is pretty much every time I get stuck in the rain).

 

For daily commuting, they are both good products as long as you are willing to take the time to make sure you're good to go the night before (I really don't fit into this category). They both work great and I wish I had the discipline to keep my visor properly treated. If traveling, it is definitely worth the extra time to make sure you have a fresh coat of both products on your visor if you think you might hit some inclimate weather. The Fogtech keeps the inside nice and clear, while the Raincoat allows the water to just roll off of the outside of your visor. They definitely work as advertised........I'm just too lazy to keep up with reapplying them.

[OoPEZoO]

I just wanted dig up this old thread due to the success I've had with these products. That last review was from me only using the products a few times, and after going back to read it.....I feel it deserves a better response.

 

For anyone living in the mid-Atlantic states over the past few weeks, you know we have been getting pounded with torrential rains/thunderstorms almost every day. I even got to deal with hail TWICE this past week. Just to make it fun, these storms have been rolling through right about the time of my evening commute. After one particularly bad commute during heavy rain, I remembered about the raincoat/fogtech products I had sitting in my glove box. During this commute, I pretty much had the choice of closing the visor and dealing with a fogged up visor, or opening it and getting pelted with rain. And on top of that, I was having a horrible time seeing out of my visor because the water was sticking to it. When I got home, I cleaned and dried my visor really well and went about applying the products per the instructions.

 

That was about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I have to say.....I am REALLY REALLY REALLY pleased with the results. My visor hasn't fogged up once since the application, and the Raincoat does a superb job of keeping the outside clear even during the heaviest downpours. All you need is the tiniest little bit of airflow over your visor, and the water just rolls right off. The other nice added benefit is that the Raincoat makes getting bug guts off a complete breeze. I used Honda spray detailer on a daily basis to keep my visor clean (we collect a lot of bugs here in Amish Country). That used to involve, spray, wipe, scratch off stubborn bugs with fingernail, wipe, polish. Now the bugs never seem to get stuck to the visor. Its almost as if the Raincoat works like a Teflon coating on a non-stick pan. Now I just usually wipe off the bugs and polish.......then every 2-3 days I might hit it with a little spray detailer, but that used to be a nightly ritual.

 

I have got into the habit of reapplying both products on the weekends, and it takes care of my visor for the entire week. I'm not a affiliated with the product at all, just one really satisfied customer. I give it

[ChuckS]

So I am wondering who raincoat stacks up to Plexus? Anybody know?

[OoPEZoO]

I have used plexus...it never impressed me. I thought it was marginal and overpriced. That is what led me to the Honda spray cleaner/detailer (which is the best detailer I've ever used).

 

This Raincoat stuff works more like Rain-X, but it won't destroy the optics of your plastic visor (rain-x will turn your visor milky white with continued use)

[johnlt]

I used the Rain Coat frequently in Alaska and it worked well but when you use Plexus to clean the shield, it removes the Rain Coat wax coating so it needs to be re-applied. I tried their Fog Tech and it didn't seem to improve the fogging situation.

[Quinn]

Keith, how are you cleaning your face shield between applications? I normally use Plexus every couple of hours on rural rides. Doesn't soumd like that would be good for the raincoat.

[OoPEZoO]

Keith, how are you cleaning your face shield between applications? I normally use Plexus every couple of hours on rural rides. Doesn't soumd like that would be good for the raincoat.

 

It wouldn't be good for the raincoat. My spray cleaner also tends to eat away at the raincoat. The difference is that I find I'm using the spray cleaner much less often now. Once the Raincoat has been applied, I have found that I get good results by just cleaning the visor with a clean cloth and NOT USING the spray cleaner. That seems to leave the Raincoat intact. I have a large stash of 100% cotton cloth diapers I picked up at a car show. They work awesome as cleaning and polish rags. Instead of using the spray cleaner every day, I'm down to using it about once a week.......and even then it is just a very light spritz intsead of the heavy application I used to use.

 

A normal routine for me in the morning is to just grab my trusty rag and clean my visor. If there are some stubborn spots or smears, I'll give it a very light spritz of cleaner and it works out great. I can tell when the Raincoat is starting to wear off because the bugs really start to stick and I get left with water spots on my visor. When that happens, I spend a few minutes and reapply it. I have found that it tends to last me about 2 weeks at a shot, which translates into about 1200 miles of commuting for me.

 

The biggest help to me was to lay off the spray cleaner. A good clean rag does the trick just fine.

[VinnyR11]

I just wanted dig up this old thread due to the success I've had with these products. That last review was from me only using the products a few times, and after going back to read it.....I feel it deserves a better response.

 

For anyone living in the mid-Atlantic states over the past few weeks, you know we have been getting pounded with torrential rains/thunderstorms almost every day. I even got to deal with hail TWICE this past week. Just to make it fun, these storms have been rolling through right about the time of my evening commute. After one particularly bad commute during heavy rain, I remembered about the raincoat/fogtech products I had sitting in my glove box. During this commute, I pretty much had the choice of closing the visor and dealing with a fogged up visor, or opening it and getting pelted with rain. And on top of that, I was having a horrible time seeing out of my visor because the water was sticking to it. When I got home, I cleaned and dried my visor really well and went about applying the products per the instructions.

 

That was about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I have to say.....I am REALLY REALLY REALLY pleased with the results. My visor hasn't fogged up once since the application, and the Raincoat does a superb job of keeping the outside clear even during the heaviest downpours. All you need is the tiniest little bit of airflow over your visor, and the water just rolls right off. The other nice added benefit is that the Raincoat makes getting bug guts off a complete breeze. I used Honda spray detailer on a daily basis to keep my visor clean (we collect a lot of bugs here in Amish Country). That used to involve, spray, wipe, scratch off stubborn bugs with fingernail, wipe, polish. Now the bugs never seem to get stuck to the visor. Its almost as if the Raincoat works like a Teflon coating on a non-stick pan. Now I just usually wipe off the bugs and polish.......then every 2-3 days I might hit it with a little spray detailer, but that used to be a nightly ritual.

 

I have got into the habit of reapplying both products on the weekends, and it takes care of my visor for the entire week. I'm not a affiliated with the product at all, just one really satisfied customer. I give it

 

Thanks so much for the update. My wife and I were touring in Vermont and NY and got hit regularly with those same storms. I have the Aerostich 3 finger rain cover gloves which work great, but the thumb squeegee is absolutely useless. It was a real pain. I have an over the glove squeegee, but it won't fit over the 3 finger glove. I really could have used this stuff, and will purchase it this week.

 

As an aside, you may want to try laying off all the polishing of your face shield. I've found that a good damp towel will do almost exactly the same job with much less bother. Using only water, very light pressure and rapid rubbing will get off any bugs you have, and it should leave the coating on your shield.

[themenz]

Full Disclosure: I make Raincoat and Fogtech.

 

OoPEZoO,

 

Thank you for the longer term report. I would like to post it on my website if OK with you?

 

Your observations about Plexus and other cleaners on Raincoat are exactly in line with my experiments. So it is good to see those validated in the real world. It doesn't rain enough in California for me to test the longevity of Raincoat by riding.

 

Plexus is a very good cleaner and plastic polish, good enough to remove a portion of the Raincoat wax. So now I recommend a new coating when you clean your shield aggressively. Plain water or a light soap and water with limited rubbing don't seem to have much affect on the life of the Raincoat. But every manufacturer's shield is different so better to be safe.

 

I have also tried to apply Raincoat over shields cleaned by Plexus. A few riders said they were concerned that Raincoat would not stick with some Plexus left behind. Or that it might cause some vision defects. I did not see that. It worked just fine on my Arai, Shoei, HJC and Schuberth test shields that had a coating of Plexus.

 

Also, I have a report from the owner of Epicurean Riders that he puts Raincoat on all of his plastic, even his turn signals! He claims it keeps them cleaner much longer.

 

Epicurean Riders Comment

 

One last comment. I am modifying the packaging to make it easier to save and get more uses from the contents of each pouch. I would estimate that you will be able to coat your shield about 30 to 50 times with a typical 5 pack. Also the instructions are changing to make Raincoat much easier to buff.

 

 

 

[VinnyR11]

Full Disclosure: I make Raincoat and Fogtech.

 

...............

 

One last comment. I am modifying the packaging to make it easier to save and get more uses from the contents of each pouch. I would estimate that you will be able to coat your shield about 30 to 50 times with a typical 5 pack. Also the instructions are changing to make Raincoat much easier to buff.

 

 

I just ordered some yesterday. Will this have the new packaging?

[OoPEZoO]

Full Disclosure: I make Raincoat and Fogtech.

 

OoPEZoO,

 

Thank you for the longer term report. I would like to post it on my website if OK with you?

 

 

Sure thing......go for it

 

Also, I have a report from the owner of Epicurean Riders that he puts Raincoat on all of his plastic, even his turn signals! He claims it keeps them cleaner much longer

 

I also have got into the habit of using it on my instrument faces (speedo, tach, and RID). It keeps them from getting water spots on them (which is a major pet peave of mine)

[themenz]

 

I just ordered some yesterday. Will this have the new packaging?

 

Vinny, thank you for your order! No it won't have the new packaging sorry to say. The new packaging will start in about 30 days or so.

 

The product and quantity is identical, so do this to get the benefits-

 

Be careful when you open the pouch, tear right across the spout at the notches. Squeeze out a small amount eg a small pea sized glob onto the faceshield. Dampen your applicator by dunking it into water then squeezing out excess water. Spread the glob with the damp applicator. You want a thin coating so less is better. Let dry for one or two minutes. Then buff it with soft cotton cloth until transparent.

 

While it is drying, squeeze the remaining Raincoat to the bottom of the pouch, fold the opening tightly a couple of times and use a paper clip to seal. Should last 30 days or more.

[OoPEZoO]

Hey Vinny,

 

If it helps, here is what I did. Instead of ripping the package open by hand, I cut it using scissors so that I would cut off some excess packaging but just nip the inner part where the product is held. Then I use what I need (very little), fold it over 2-3 times, and slap a paper clip on it. It keeps plenty long enough to reuse.

[VinnyR11]

Thanks. I'll use that exact method.

[themenz]

Hey Vinny,

 

If it helps, here is what I did. Instead of ripping the package open by hand, I cut it using scissors so that I would cut off some excess packaging but just nip the inner part where the product is held. Then I use what I need (very little), fold it over 2-3 times, and slap a paper clip on it. It keeps plenty long enough to reuse.

 

Nice ideas!