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bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin Reader
11/16/12 4:00 p.m.

We ran an enduro last spring whereupon it pissed rain for two days. It really adds to the pucker factor doing 130 mph while trying to peer out of a dime size patch of unfogged windshield. Quite terrifying actually. We tried to prevent water coming in, and added two fans to clear at least a part of the windshield (plexiglass) but it did not really help. I need a better plan next year. Any suggestions?

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin Reader
11/16/12 4:01 p.m.

Fogging I meant of course. Oh, and we anti fogged the hell out of it.

DukeOfUndersteer
DukeOfUndersteer UltimaDork
11/16/12 4:03 p.m.

Shaving cream :thumbsup:

Edit: Maybe I should elaborate.

Put some shaving cream on a paper towel, rub it on the inside of the windshield.

iceracer
iceracer UltraDork
11/16/12 4:50 p.m.

Ice racers keep the heater/defroster in tact.

Perhaps a flex tube from near the exhaust header would transmit some heat. A fan would help.

EvanB
EvanB PowerDork
11/16/12 4:51 p.m.
DukeOfUndersteer wrote: Shaving cream :thumbsup: Edit: Maybe I should elaborate. Put some shaving cream on a paper towel, rub it on the inside of the windshield.

I've heard that shampoo also works well for that applied the same way.

DukeOfUndersteer
DukeOfUndersteer UltimaDork
11/16/12 4:55 p.m.

The Corvette GTS cars had an internal windshield wiper...

Ranger50
Ranger50 UltraDork
11/16/12 5:00 p.m.

You no like the microfiber on a stick?

Does car wax work for the inside like it does on the outside surface with rain drops?

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin Reader
11/16/12 5:12 p.m.
DukeOfUndersteer wrote: The Corvette GTS cars had an internal windshield wiper...

Its a no brainer when I think about it. This is the way to go. I think the anti fog methods don't cut it because there is so dang much water being flung around that it has to stick somewhere and it will accumulate regardless. We actually had a squeege on a stick that sort of might have worked if we had a free hand for long enough.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker MegaDork
11/16/12 5:40 p.m.

Polish the inside with dawn dish soap. No kidding.

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic HalfDork
11/16/12 6:19 p.m.

Build a defroster from junkyard small car heater parts and dryer vent tube?

Type Q
Type Q Dork
11/16/12 6:42 p.m.

If they are still available, get an aftermarket electric rear window defogger kit. Strategically the "lines" that provide the heat so they keep the are you need to see through clear. I think Rocketsports did this on its Trans-Am race cars many years back.

HappyAndy
HappyAndy Dork
11/16/12 6:57 p.m.
iceracer wrote: Ice racers keep the heater/defroster in tact.

WRC teams often do too. I remember watching a WRC broadcast from Rally New Zealand one year, and it was really cold and drizzling. One of the normally front running teams had to retire because they had no defroster, and could barely keep on the road, let alone a competitive pace.

BillCaswell318
BillCaswell318 None
11/17/12 2:42 a.m.

Buy a cheap electric car heater with blower and mount directly below the windshield. We did this in our lemons car and it worked well. I cant remember which one we went with but it went something like this. If you want, make it mountable and install if rain is forecasted.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395513_200395513?cm_mmc=Google-pla--Auto%20Accessories--Engine%20Heaters%20%2B%20Blankets-_-174057&ci_sku=174057&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=%7Bkeyword%7D&gclid=CMuHrrDN1bMCFad_QgodtD4A_g

Karl La Follette
Karl La Follette SuperDork
11/17/12 7:59 a.m.
tpwalsh
tpwalsh Reader
11/17/12 3:20 p.m.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S2_UJsE39o

CPannell
CPannell New Reader
11/18/12 1:27 a.m.

Do not underestimate the power of a rag on a stick. Just don't get caught between gears, one tends to run out of hands quickly in that situation.

I keep mine tucked between the seat and the tranny tunnel. After about the second time you use it, it becomes second nature to reach down, wipe, and return, even mid corner.

jere
jere Reader
11/18/12 2:45 p.m.

Dishsoap try to do it ahead of time not the day of. Then save the rag you used with dryed dishsoap and use that on the spots you missed.

Spinout007
Spinout007 SuperDork
11/18/12 3:40 p.m.

My paintball team is sponsored by a company called fog doc. Stuff works wonders. There are areas where even a dual pane "thermal" lens will fog on our home field, and that stuff will prevent it. I even use it on my glasses on really muggy days here in fl. Put the paste on, let it sit for a few minutes, polish off. Works well as long as you don't touch it afterwards. Small company based in California, 'murican made, great customer support. We hand out half a dozen or so of their little bottles per event and one of those usually lasts our team 2-3 events with about 15-20 guys dipping into the jar.

bluej
bluej Dork
11/18/12 8:17 p.m.

i've got this mental image of something like a squeegee mounted to either an arm that sweeps an arc, or a linear track held home under spring tension lightly enough to keep it from sweeping on it's own in a corner. Connect it to something like a charge handle on the dash/center console such that it can be pulled in a downward or rearward direction and then return home on it's own.

ok, maybe that's more complicated than sticking a basic electric motor where it needs to be with a push-button switch on the wheel.

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin Reader
11/18/12 8:40 p.m.

I am trying to hold back the monsoons of the Pacific Northwest. We tried rain X antifog as well as a squeegee on a stick. We also rigged up two electric fans aimed at a small area of windshield. None of that worked. Finally in desperation we hacked a hole through the firewall and ran a peice of dryer vent from the exhaust with the radiator fan pushing the warm air through. None of it helped. There was just too much dang water. We saw other teams using massive squirrel cage blowers and other means of directing air, but I am not sure they were any more effective. I think I will just go with the internal wiper idea. Thanks for all the suggestions!

novaderrik
novaderrik UltraDork
11/19/12 4:45 a.m.
Spinout007 wrote: My paintball team is sponsored by a company called fog doc. Stuff works wonders. There are areas where even a dual pane "thermal" lens will fog on our home field, and that stuff will prevent it. I even use it on my glasses on really muggy days here in fl. Put the paste on, let it sit for a few minutes, polish off. Works well as long as you don't touch it afterwards. Small company based in California, 'murican made, great customer support. We hand out half a dozen or so of their little bottles per event and one of those usually lasts our team 2-3 events with about 15-20 guys dipping into the jar.

you can get a sponsor for that?

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic HalfDork
11/19/12 5:08 a.m.
novaderrik wrote:
Spinout007 wrote: My paintball team is sponsored by a company called fog doc. Stuff works wonders. There are areas where even a dual pane "thermal" lens will fog on our home field, and that stuff will prevent it. I even use it on my glasses on really muggy days here in fl. Put the paste on, let it sit for a few minutes, polish off. Works well as long as you don't touch it afterwards. Small company based in California, 'murican made, great customer support. We hand out half a dozen or so of their little bottles per event and one of those usually lasts our team 2-3 events with about 15-20 guys dipping into the jar.
you can get a sponsor for that?

Some teenage kids, and a handfull of grown adults, spend more on paintball stuff than we do on cars. Playing speedball(the boring one with all the inflated things to hide behind) for a day costs more than a average tank of 93 octane. I used to play paintball in middle school, it was fun hunting down my classmates, many of whom I didn't care for, in the woods with a cheap marker, and then shooting them, multiple times. We would play rain or shine, not that it mattered much in heavy woods where there wasn't much direct sunlight anyways. It was a minimal investment, you could play all day on $10-$15 worth of paint and co2 and have a lot of fun. Then it became an upgrade war with that group, they all quit woodsball, and I left.

Back on topic, I still think rigging up a heater core and blower just for defrosting is the best option. No fumbling with a squeegee that way, way easier to implement than a inside wiper. I cant see it weighing much over 10 lbs.

Spinout007
Spinout007 SuperDork
11/19/12 12:22 p.m.
novaderrik wrote:
Spinout007 wrote: My paintball team is sponsored by a company called fog doc. Stuff works wonders. There are areas where even a dual pane "thermal" lens will fog on our home field, and that stuff will prevent it. I even use it on my glasses on really muggy days here in fl. Put the paste on, let it sit for a few minutes, polish off. Works well as long as you don't touch it afterwards. Small company based in California, 'murican made, great customer support. We hand out half a dozen or so of their little bottles per event and one of those usually lasts our team 2-3 events with about 15-20 guys dipping into the jar.
you can get a sponsor for that?

Yup, marketed almost completely towards the paintball crowd, snowboarders and skiers have been picking it up lately. Haven't tried it on a dive mask yet, but I imagine it will work just fine. I play for a scenario team. Imagine playing war as a kid with 200+ people in on the game with missions and roles to play or perform, and the game starts Saturday morning, and ends Sunday afternoon. You get shot out, walk back to base, wipe off, and go again. Lots of fun, weekend spent with the boys, (we do have 3 ladies that play on our team) get to work out lots of aggression, and frustration. Can get to be an upgrade war if you let it, I shoot pump, everyone shoots faster than me, but I'll be the first to put one dead center of your mask if you stick it out.

Ranger50
Ranger50 UltraDork
11/19/12 12:45 p.m.

In reply to Spinout007:

There are people that spray paint and there are others that "kill" people.

turboswede
turboswede PowerDork
11/19/12 12:46 p.m.

shotgun?

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