visor treatment ?

[Noggie]

I thought I'd try and get some input from you guys.

Yesterday I removed my Shoei GT-Air's visor and thoroughly cleaned it.

Up to now I have mostly used alcohol wipes designed for cleaning glasses.
But I thought it needed a good clean on the inside so I removed it.
Cleaned using normal dish soap, got the bugs of and came out very good.

But, then I noticed something, on the front, the water stayed on like a sheet and kind of stuck to the visor, on the back it became beads and just ran off.
I think I have removed the water repellent from the front of my visor using the alcohol wipes.

I have used Rain-x on my cars and that is a great product, but it is specified that Rain-x should not be used on helmet visors, or plastic, only glass.
Thought about using car wax as that works quite well on my cars lights.

Then I searched a bit online and found this product called Raincoat, and a few others.

Anyone have any experience with any such product that they would like to share?

 

[Eddieh93]

All of my helmets have had Pin-lock capabilities.

Can you not get a replacement visor with Pin-lock inserts?

 

[Noggie]

All of my helmets have had Pin-lock capabilities.

Can you not get a replacement visor with Pin-lock inserts?

I have pin-lock.
The problem is not hazing inside, its riding in rain, the drops stays on the visor and obstruct my view rather than just blow off like when the visor was new (or as the inside is now).

I applied som high quality Swissvax car wax on my visor to try it out, this should also make the bugs come off more easy.
initial water test are promising, water beads and run off the visor now.

 

[Eddieh93]

Oh I get you, my bad.

It's worse when it's dark and raining and a cars coming the other way haha.

I use nothing, just grin and bear it but I suppose it would be quite useful not having to wipe my visor every 5 mins.

 

[robodene]

I can only suggest that when you have it sorted you use a wet kitchen towel sheet left on to soften the bugs and then they all wipe off. Better than chemicals, IMHO.

 

[craigieboy]

+1 ^^^

Thats what ive started doing.

 

[Ralph]

I use rain X without problems maybe try it in a place it don't matter.
if any rain does manage to stick all you do is turn your head and the wind
blows it off.

 

[Scim77]

It would be nice to know why RainX is not recommended for plastics and polycarbonates. It works brilliantly on glass, although when night driving a car in the rain I found the after-smear annoying - rather like a radar sweep, leaving a fogging trace in the wake of the wiper blade.
Try an obscure part of the helmet visor first, as already suggested, and then keep us all informed.
In the instructions with my Schuberth helmet, the manufacturers emphasise NOT to use detergents or cleaners of any kind - just water. Their reason was that the visor material contains water repellant additives, which would be depleted if detergents are used. They also said that, if detergent was accidentally used, the water repellant ability would initially diminish but gradually return, as the visor material stabilised again. Wow! Perhaps that's why their visors are so bl***y expensive!!
Many years ago I recall a rain deflecting device that was a big helmet-mounted circular revolving disc, wind-driven and flung off the rain water by centrifugal force. Its partial success was offset by the handicap that the wearer looked a Wally

 

[sdrio]

There used to be a complete nutter that rode an old ratty BSA around London, with dozens of home made 'inventions' attached to it. He had a spinning disk with little blades on the edge instead of a visor, that used to fling the rain off.

Looked like a complete idiot, and I suspect he used to get really wet as well.

 

[Noggie]

Om not ridning to much in rain, I don't commute, and just take the bike out on nice days.
However, you can't control the weather, and when I dropped my bike off for its service it was pouring down and I had a hard time seeing anything because my visor was full of droplets.

I have tried the car wax now and I will see how that turns out, I have rain-x, but I don't plan on trying it just yet, if the wax does not provide a good result I may get a product made for this purpose.

 

[wirld]

Then I searched a bit online and found this product called Raincoat, and a few others.

Anyone have any experience with any such product that they would like to share?

Late reply but I used Raincoat, I found it ok in a proper downpour, rain beaded nicely...

We've had some real rubbish weather lately - rain that's not sure if it's falling or just hanging around as glorified mist...that stuff doesn't bead, it requires wiping with a glove...and there is Raincoat's downfall IMHO - it smears really badly. As soon as it gets wiped with a glove your visibility is gone, until you've wiped it all off...
Just my 2c worth.

Too be honest though, I haven't found anything that works in that fine misty rain - Not Pledge, nor the stuff that Shoei ship with their helmets either.