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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | While getting ready for a trip that was going to be in the rain I decided to use rain-x on the windshield. I had used it on my old bike and other than a very light brownish tint it worked fine. Not so good on the Vision. I've got a film on it that looks like I washed the screen with soapy water and just let it dry. Tried a couple of cleaners and they don't touch it.
Any ideas other than just replacing it would be appreciated. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 85
| I have no experience with removing rainX but I can say that I know I read somewhere "do not use Rainx on the Vision windshield" Sorry bud I wish I could have told you sooner. I do suggest you try vinegar, it seems to work on most of the difficult things I try to take off windshields. Good luck. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | Thanks Nepper. Unfortunately the vinegar doesn't work either. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | Could try some plastic polish and see what happens.
Below is a paste of a post I did a long while back.....
Never want to use Rain-X on plastic !!!
Basically Rain-X is a silicone oil that uses an acidic solution, and they top it off with a bit of alcohol. The acid etches into glass so the silicone beads the water, the alcohol is just an evaporative carrier for the silicone and acid.
The problem with using it on plastic is that it has a micro-coating on the plastic that helps protect it from u.v. rays and the enviroment. The acid in the Rain-X eats into this coating and eventually the plastic will crack/haze/yellow over time.
A lot of people swear by Plexus. And some folks use Pledge. As a matter of fact ask a person who owns an airplane what they use on thier plastic windshields and you will get a lot of "Pledge" answers. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 81
Salinas, Ca. | What Lotzafun said.
There is no removing the haze other than the obvious, time for a new windshield!  |
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Tourer
Posts: 301
Buffalo Grove,Ill | No dont get a new shield, go to an auto parts store and get the Mcguires headlight restore kit. its 20 bucks and comes with a bottle of polish a buffing pad (for your cordless drill) and a micro fiber cloth. It will fix you right up. (I speak from experience) ! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 81
Salinas, Ca. | Good idea Clubford! Much cheaper than a new windshield!! 
Juan |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | Headlight repair polishes are sometimes only a temporary fix. The UV stabilizer (anti-yellowing) and hard coat (scratch resistant) coatings can be inadvertantly removed. I guess in your case, lennyb, you have nothing to lose.
Below are excerpts from previous posts:
Whatever chemicals you use on your bike, be careful not to get them on the windshield or plastic air deflectors. The material used for windshields is extremely impact resistant, but the trade-off is chemical resistance (or lack of). Clean motorcycle windshields with water only. Almost any chemical will cause it to crack, yellow, or haze including soaps, alcohols, oils, and thinners. Not always immediately, but days, weeks, years later depending on the chemical. Many times the cracks are not visible until the plastic is stressed. Then spider- webbing can occur or complete failure. It is very tempting to wash the windshield with Windex, bike wash concentrate, bug remover, etc. Don't do it. Do not put any chemical on the windshield whatsoever. Wash it with water only...no soap.
If you feel compelled to wash the windshield with something other than water, use a product that was formulated specifically for motorcycle windshields. Even in such case, do some internet research on long term testing of the product on motorcycle windshields. 30 minutes of net browsing beats the price of a new windshield. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | I'll have to admit if there is one thing on the bike that I'm troubled by it's the windshield. The distortion along the top edge has always bothered me. Just because I have other things I'd rather spend my money on I'll try the headlamp restore kit first, but if need be I now have a reason to follow the guidance of so many and check out the Cee Baileys product.
They say measure twice, cut once. Guess I would advise to search VR Forum twice, goof up none.
Thanks All! |
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Tourer
Posts: 482
Beer Collins, Colorado (there is no fort) | My ClearView windshield ( in an '83 FLH fairing) that I ran for over 50,000 miles before selling was OK'd to use Rain-X and never showed any adverse effects-Brian
http://clearviewshields.com/shop/product.php?id=234
or maybe try this?
http://www.cotrip.org/m/rc.xhtml?rd=32
Edited by ByteN2it 2010-06-11 9:35 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 482
Beer Collins, Colorado (there is no fort) | My mistake-or maybe try this:
http://www.peerclear.com/ |
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Tourer
Posts: 575
Spirit Lake IA "Birthplace of Victory Motorcycles" | This is what I use to clean my Cee Baily's . . . works great!
http://www.ceebaileys.com/cleaner_prods.html |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | lennyb dive in a get a new shield if you ride at night or in weather as it may give you a fit otherwise. I was so relieved to get a new bike with a good windshield, the old Wing was past due a new shield. Man, at night it was a light show and I couldn't even roll it down to see over it. Don't fight this one with all the fixes, you'll be glad you got the new one. |
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | I hate RainX. This is the only thing I use on auto glass. Its a great detailer when used with microfiber cloth. Very popular with local Corvette owners!! http://formula113.com/Product_line/beadx.html It contains carnuba. (The link widget is not working for me. Its grey'd out)
Edited by DannyB 2010-06-12 9:20 AM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | Tried the Mcguires and it's obvious that I used the extra strength RainX. Fortunately the wife's cage needed to have the headlight covers cleaned and it worked great on them. It's Cee Baileys time. Probably try to cut the old one down to a blade and tint it.
Thanks for all of the advice. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | To late for this but I just wax the winshields on my Vision and my RoadGlide, works great and cleans it too............ |
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Cruiser
Posts: 160
Lennox, SD | Have you tried Lemon Pledge?
Yes the furniture polish! I have used it on my biek windshields for several years and used it on my Vision for my entire trip.
It doesn't attract dust and the bugs come off easier. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 111
Salina, KS | Bug Slide....works great on any surface. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| +1 on Bug Slide!
Here is their website: http://bugslideusa.com/ |
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Cruiser
Posts: 152
Litchfield Park, AZ | It is always interesting to see the 10,000 different cleaners used on windshields. Not saying that the others don't work because I'm confident they do, but If anyone can ever find a product that works BETTER than Pledge for $1.99 I'll give you my bike.....actually, I don't think you'll find a product at any price that works better than Pledge.
....to each there own. |
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Tourer
Posts: 329
scotts valley, California | +1 on Pledge. Only I won't give you my bike if you find something better. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 9
| Interestingly enough I understand plexus is the same as rain x but for plastic. Might find it interesting. |
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Tourer
Posts: 432
Gettysburg, 2008 Tour Premium | Rain-X is not to used on lexan coated plastic. It is the lexan coating that can be harmed. H-D and BMW shields and of course our shields are all coated with Lexan. Lexan is a hard scratch resistant surface but prone to damage from some solvents. As far a Pledge I do not use it, it attracts and holds dust. It cleans and removes bugs pretty well though. I use either detail spray or Protect All that I buy at Wally World in the isle dedicated to RV upkeep. Protect All will not attract dust. If your shield is as gone as you say the only thing I have heard is to use pure alcohol as a cleaner and drying agent to remove the haze. When I owned a K1200LT a number of people had sucess with this. You may need to go to the Pharmacy to get pure alcohol not the 70% rubbing kind, that has lanolin and water in it. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | I've heard of going the alcohol route on lexan. Never tried it though....just heard of it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 92
| I've used a product called striper juice on the windshield and the bugs don't stick. Little expensive but a little goes a long way. |
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Rain-X On the Windshield