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Old 08-06-07, 07:22 AM   #1
Tim in Belgium
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Default Water repellant for outside of visor?

Does anyone make a water repellant for the outside of a visor to help droplets bead up and run off?

I find it's normally ok in heavy rain, but last night I was going over the Yorkshire moors through the mist and the little droplets just accumulated severely reducing my vision. A wipe with the glove wasn't enough and with the visor up it stung my eyeballs.

Any tips appreciated.
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Old 08-06-07, 07:52 AM   #2
Baph
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

White vinegar. Just use a small amount, it's like Fairy, goes a long way!

Works wonders for cleaning mirrors without them steaking too!
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Old 08-06-07, 07:57 AM   #3
sarah
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim in Belgium View Post
Does anyone make a water repellant for the outside of a visor to help droplets bead up and run off?

I find it's normally ok in heavy rain, but last night I was going over the Yorkshire moors through the mist and the little droplets just accumulated severely reducing my vision. A wipe with the glove wasn't enough and with the visor up it stung my eyeballs.

Any tips appreciated.
I've got Nikwax visor proof. I did some of my DAS last December when there was loads of freezing fog and i found having a glove with a suede(?) bit was fine for clearing my visor.
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Old 08-06-07, 08:12 AM   #4
Tim in Belgium
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

Sarah, did the Nikwax visor proof seem to help?

And Baph I knew white vinegar was good for cleaning, but does it aid water repellancy too?
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Old 08-06-07, 08:13 AM   #5
hovis
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

whats the differance between white & normal vinagar?
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Old 08-06-07, 08:15 AM   #6
svrash
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

A silicon based furniture polish works for me, Mr. Sheen for example
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Old 08-06-07, 08:16 AM   #7
Baph
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim in Belgium View Post
And Baph I knew white vinegar was good for cleaning, but does it aid water repellancy too?
Apparently it leaves a fine film on the visor (visible rainbow at least) which stops the water staying on the visor & encourages it to run off.

When Alpinestarhero wakes up (typical student ) I'll point him to this thread for a better explaination.

There's 2 ways to make water run off a visor to my understanding. Stop it bonding with the visor molecularly (so the droplets run off almost immediately) or to make all the water droplets form a single body of water. The latter means if the water stays on the visor, you can see through it easier, but it's also heavier, so wind passing the helmet will push it off easier.

Hovis, click > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#Types_of_vinegar.
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Old 08-06-07, 08:21 AM   #8
hovis
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

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Originally Posted by Baph View Post
yes,yes.......but why not use normal viniger on the visor, it cleans the mirrors a treat in work
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Old 08-06-07, 08:25 AM   #9
Tim in Belgium
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

Baph,

I'm well aware of hydrophobic and hydrophyllic options, all I want is a product that works or helps! So the white vinegar (which is effectively the same as autoglym's visor cleaner) and Nikwax visor proof may both be tried, along with a silicon spray.
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Old 08-06-07, 08:27 AM   #10
Baph
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Default Re: Water repellant for outside of visor?

Hovis, if you read the page, white vinegar is basically acetic acid diluted in water. Acetic acid is "ethanol acid" which is a corrosive (so helps to clean by corroding dirt) but more importantly, attracts water by hygroscopy. Obviously if it's already diluted (in white vinegar for example), hygroscopy is reduced, but still happens to an extent.

Malt vinegar (normal supermarket stuff) will do the job, but white vinegar is better at it.

Tim, wasn't trying to teach you to suck eggs In summer, I use fairy liquid diluted in water (in a bowl) to clean the visor, then white vinegar (again, diluted) to give anti-fog (inside visor) and water repellant (outside) properties to the visor. In winter I use Fog Off on the inside too.

Last edited by Baph; 08-06-07 at 08:29 AM.
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