Your guide to: Rain repellents

You’ve got a rain-repellent system on your car already, right? It’s those windscreen wipers that you reach for thanks to the UK’s weather and grimy roads that leave you peering through muck and water on a regular basis.

This is, to an extent, true, and a decent set of wipers will go a long way to making sure you have good visibility, but there is something else you can do too – apply a rain repellent, or glass sealant, to make the windscreen a non-stick surface for water and dirt.

They are good for keeping new cars looking newer, and making 2^nd hand cars feel and look, fresher. Handy if you are looking to sell or just want to rejuvenate your pride and joy.

How does a rain repellent work?

A good rain repellent will prevent water from hanging around on your windscreen, meaning it beads together and drains off straight away. This means it will leave your line of sight clearer, which is easier and safer for driving in poor conditions.

There are three ways of applying a rain repellent – you can get spray-ons, those that use an applicator and ones that come with a roll-on. Spray-ons are the easiest to use but don’t last as long, while the opposite is true if you get one with an applicator.

Different products last different lengths of time, as some will only last a few weeks at most while others could well outlast your ownership of the car, being designed to stick around for thousands of miles. The more you pay, the longer they are likely to last.

You can even get repellents that double as a glass cleaners. Good for time-saving when applying it, but you’ll end up paying that saved time back as it won’t last as long.

Can I use rain repellent on anything else?

Absolutely, in fact, some rain repellents were developed precisely for that. Motorcycle helmets don’t come fitted with windscreen wipers, so repellent is a perfect option to maximise visibility.

You could also use them on your door mirrors, reversing cameras or your car’s side and rear windows, particularly if the latter isn’t fitted with a wiper. There is some thought that a rain repellent might add extra drag when opening and closing side windows, which might not be good for your winder motors, but this is only anecdotal. Keep an eye on yours, though, and don’t leave it on if your car sounds like it is having a tough time in any way when you are lowering your window.

The best rain repellents

The best spray-on repellent – EZ Car Care Lotus, £10

This is a really easy product to use – you just spray it on and then wipe it up with a microfibre cloth. It might leave a small film on the glass surface but you can get rid of this by buffing it.

You might also get a little bit of streaking when you use the wipers soon after it has been applied but this doesn’t last long and then it settles down to doing a great job of beading away rainwater.

The longest lasting rain repellent – Gtechniq G1 Smart Glass, £11.96

Want to apply a rain repellent once and forget about it for thousands of miles? This is the sort of thing you need.

The bad news is that you need to set aside a chunk of time to properly apply the Gtechniq G1 Smart Glass, as it needs half a day of sunshine to cure. You put three layers on then use the provided residue remover so that it doesn’t streak. Then leave it to set for several hours.

The good news is that it claims to be good for 20,000 miles. That could be several years going by many drivers’ needs so you won’t need to faff around with applying it very often.

The cheaper option – Rain-X 2in1 Glass Cleaner + Rain Repellent, £5

The Rain-X is half the price of the other options here, but it does twice the job as it is a glass cleaner as well as a rain repellent so it offers even more value for money.

The downside is that it doesn’t last anywhere near as long as some other options, so you’ll probably end up spending more in the long run anyway.