Jejje
Poor visibility in rain is one of the most common sources of stress behind the wheel. With the right preparation of your windows, you can get the water to run off almost completely by itself - without the wipers even having to work particularly hard.
Why does visibility get so bad in rain?
When rain hits a clean but untreated glass surface, the water forms a thin, even layer that scatters light from oncoming headlights. The result is a blurry, dazzling mess of light instead of sharp outlines. Add grime, road dust and old wiper blades that smear water around instead of clearing it, and you can understand why so many people find driving in rain uncomfortable.
The solution comes down to two things: a properly clean window and a hydrophobic (water-repellent) surface that makes the water bead up into drops and blow away instead of spreading out.
Step 1: Start with a properly clean window
Before any coating or glass sealant is applied, the window must be completely free of grease, road film and old screen wash residue. Otherwise the treatment won't bond evenly and you'll get patchy results with poorer run-off in certain spots.
- Clean the window with a dedicated glass cleaner, ideally inside and out.
- Dry with a clean, lint-free microfibre cloth - use one cloth exclusively for glass, never one that's been used on the paint or wheels.
- Check in sunlight or strong light that the surface is completely clear, with no grease film or streaks.
Tershine Vision+ works very well as a glass cleaner here. It gives crystal-clear windows while leaving a light water-repellent film even after cleaning, making it a great first step before applying a longer-lasting glass sealant.
Step 2: Apply a hydrophobic glass coating
The actual run-off effect in rain comes primarily from a glass coating - a chemical sealant that bonds into the glass's pores and makes the surface water-repellent for a long time. The difference from a regular water-repellent spray is durability: a proper coating stays put for months, sometimes years, rather than a few weeks.
Tershine Magnify Coating is a good example of such a product. It comes as a pre-impregnated single-use cloth that you wipe across the glass in crossing strokes, leave to work for about ten minutes and then buff off with a clean microfibre cloth. According to the manufacturer the treatment lasts up to two years and covers three to six windows depending on size. The effect is noticeable clearly from around 70–80 km/h, when the airspeed helps blow water away before it even has time to spread across the glass.
More affordable alternatives that still work
You don't always need to spend on a premium coating to notice a difference. Auto parts retailers and automotive accessory shops sell simpler water-repellent glass treatments that work really well for their price. They give a similar run-off effect in rain but don't last as long - often a few weeks up to a couple of months depending on how often the car is washed and how much it's driven in rain.
A common approach is to use such a budget product regularly - for example every couple of months - as a complement between the less frequent treatments with a longer-lasting product. That way you get good visibility year-round without it costing very much.
- Replace wiper blades at least once a year - even the best coating won't help if the blades smear.
- Clean the window thoroughly before applying any water-repellent treatment.
- Don't forget the side windows and mirrors - they affect visibility just as much as the windscreen.
- Keep the screen wash reservoir filled with fluid appropriate for the season.
- Test the effect by driving at about 70 km/h and observing how water behaves on the glass.
Summary
The best visibility in rain starts with a carefully cleaned window - for example using Tershine Vision+ - and is then built on with a hydrophobic glass coating like Tershine Magnify for long-lasting water run-off. If budget is tighter, water-repellent products from auto parts retailers give a good result, albeit with shorter durability. Combined with new wiper blades and clean screen wash, you'll avoid that stressful feeling of not being able to see the road - no matter how much it's pouring down.
