Review: RainX Latitude

[Quickurt]

I bought a set of Latitudes nearly two years ago.....at this age the time goes by so fast, it could be over two years.....anyway, where was I?? Oh yeah, the wipers...I got them for my DD, Mazda CX7.
I was not particularly impressed with them, however the CX7 driver's side is about 7 feet long, so the design may have a problem with that span.
Now, two interesting points:
1-the blades are STILL on the car and in the Florida sun, NOTHING lasts two years. They work as well, or better, now as they did new and-
2-I give much credit for the fact to Aerospace 303 vinyl treatment.http://www.campingworld.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt=aerospace+303&N=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=p_keyword&Nty=1&Ntpc=1
The stuff works great on all the Boxster seals and trim pieces. I was out in the front yard treating the Box and the CX7 was sitting over there looking ignored so I walked over and did the 303 cleaning job on the wipers. It just so happened to rain the next day and the difference in the blades was apparent. SInce then I do the wipers on ALL of our cars about every 6 months and it works!

[lizBox]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

I give much credit for the fact to Aerospace 303 vinyl treatment. I do the wipers on ALL of our cars about every 6 months and it works!

We just bought an Acura and I've been going thru all of their service bulletins and found this in the "Acura Service News Sept 2009":

After some extensive testing of current protectants available in the market, we recommend 303 Aerospace Protectant from 303 Products, Inc. When
it comes to Acura dashboards, we’ve found this product offers even better protection than what we’ve offered before with Acura Leather & Vinyl Protectant (P/N 08700-9209A) so we’re asking you to use it instead. You’ll find 303 Aerospace Protectant at many retail auto supply stores, as well as hardware stores, and marine, RV, pool & spa, and camping supply stores. For more info, check out the 303 Products website at www.303products.com.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet but sounds like good stuff. I would have never thought to put it on wiper blades, gotta try that too.

[JTP]

I picked a set two weeks ago for my daily driver, VW GTI. I was hesitant to get these because of the plastic design. Plastic And rubber pieces tend to get brittle and shatter in the arctic cold but at 36 below zero they were fine and didn't chatter at all when wiping the windshield. Stayed very quiet unlike my old set which make a ruckus due to the brittle rubber. Our snow is very dry so I only use the to clear the dust build up using the washer fluid. Overall I'm very eased with them.

[Quickurt]

I love the stuff for all the vinyl on the Boxster. My only complaint is it obviously does what it is advertised to do, replace volatiles from the polymers. The loss of monomers from the vinyl, through evaporation, is what literally dries the material out and makes it shrink, crack and deform. UV degradation is the other major contributor to the same effect, and I'm surely not expert to say which is worse.
The 303 replaces the monomers that evaporate and therefore are there to evaporate again. This puts a film of same monomers on the inside of the windsheild to now be cleaned!! Let's just hope Windex doesn't add another problem to the viscous cycle!
The other big point of 303 is UV protection, so it's also sunscreen for your dash and other vinyl.

[JTP]

I recall reading that 303 is good on vinyl windows. I used it for the first 4 years on my 74 Bronco's soft top with good results, still clear after 12 years. Scratched up by off roading but clear. Has anyone tried it on the early Boxster rear window?

[Quickurt]

I am very happy with 303's canvass top conditioner. It was easy to use and did a wonderful job.

[RandallNeighbour]

I've owned my boxster for six years now and I can count the number of times I have used my windshield wipers on one hand!

I will say thought that the wipers that come free under BMW's warranty program must be from the same source as the MB ones... noisy as anything!

But they're free and I make them replace them anytime they make a racket to get my money out of that warranty