Hydrophobic Coating for Your Cars Glass

Over the last number of years, there has been an ever growing interest in Ceramic Coatings, Glass Coatings, Leather Coatings and just protective car coatings in general. It has been a trend that has really taken off, and for good reason.

As time moves on, so does science and our understanding of these substances and how they can be used in the automotive industry with great benefits.

Although I have yet to try out any sort of semi-permanent coating to my own cars paintwork ( Mainly because I want to have it in the best condition possible before I apply anything that is going to last a very long time )

I recently spent a weekend removing swirls from my cars paintwork. Although this made the paintwork appear 60-70% better than it was, I know I still need to spend a bit more time on it to push it that last 30%-40%. Until then I will not be putting a proper ceramic coating on the car.

I Wanted to Apply it to My Own Car

However, as I had no coatings on the TTRS at all, I recently decided to treat it to a hydrophobic glass coating on all of the exterior glass of the car. This is a lot easier to complete compared to a ceramic coating on your paint, so I decided to go ahead with it on that weekend I spent de-swirling the car.

The process is quite simple once you have the correct tools, so I decided to do a little blog post outlining what you need and how you need to apply it. In my opinion, it is definitely worth investing in some sort of glass coating as it has many benefits which I will outline in the post below.

For those of you who do not know anything about glass coatings – let’s start at the very beginning!

What is Glass Coating For Your Car?

Hydrophobic Glass Coating delivers an invisible, durable coating that provides water repellent, residue resistant and anti-static properties for your car’s glass. Treated glass surfaces immediately become super water-resistant, anti-smudge and very easy to clean. It can almost be described as “Self Cleaning”.

The silica-based coatings are perhaps the most used in the automotive industry as they are usually the most cost-effective.

One of the most interesting things about glass coating is that it will prevent rain droplets from clinging to the glass as you are driving at speed ( Usually around 30mph and Upwards ), if you have never seen this before it is pretty crazy and entertaining to watch. In a lot of cases, you will not even need to use your cars wipers, but when you do water will be instantly and easily removed from the windscreen.

Here is a video of a glass coating in action

I had originally ordered a glass coating from Gyeon called Gyeon View from my supplier, but it was not in stock so they shipped me a coating called View Coat By TAC System. I was OK with this as I know TAC System have a fairly solid reputation in the coating world. It was time to coat the TTRS’ glass!

How to Apply Glass Coating To Your Car

Preparing the Surface

As with any type of Coating, one of the most important steps before installing is to make sure the surface is completely free from any types of dirt or contamination. You want it to be totally clean, as this will ensure the best bond between the coating and the car’s glass.

Before you even think about applying it to your car, you should wash your windscreen thoroughly. I would also recommend claying your windscreen to make sure you pick up any surface contaminants that might not be removed by just washing on its own. If your car’s glass is still not in 100% perfect after these two steps – you may need to use some sort of Glass Polish like Gtechniq G4.

Once Your Windshield is fully decontaminated and clean, you are ready to apply your glass coating.

Application Of Glass Coating

Most Glass Coatings will come with an Applicator and Applicator Cloth-like this. This is what you will be using to apply the glass coating.

Apply using the applicator pad to the windscreen from the driver’s side to the passenger side. And without removing the residue repeat this application from the driver’s side to the passenger side. Once you have two coats on the windscreen, continue to apply the product to the side and rear screens followed by a third coat to your windscreen.

When working with coatings I find it is better to work in overlapping motions as the below diagram shows, it will help to ensure that you do not miss any spot.

Glass Coatings usually do not take long to bond, under normal temperatures it should cure within a minute or two and you should be able to buff it off using a clean microfiber cloth

*Tip – apply a small bit of the product to your cars wiper blades, as this will enhance the repelling ability of the blades even more.

That’s it, you have no successfully applied hydrophobic glass coating to your car!

How Long Does Glass Coating Last?

How long Glass coating will last depends on which product you have applied to your vehicle. Generally speaking, most of the top quality glass coatings on the market today will last between 6 Months to a Year on Average. Of course, this depends on the climate you live in and how much abuse the coating gets, but that time frame is what I would usually expect.

Note: This time frame could be shortened if you do not prep your glass correctly as outlined above.

How to Maintain Glass Coating?

Most glass coatings do not need any special maintenance with any other types of products. If you find your glass coating its ability to repel water, you can always top it up with more of the same product.

Is Glass Coating Worth It?

In my opinion coating, your windshield is 100% worth it. Considering the price of these coatings, the performance you get is pretty spectacular. Not only do they help you keep your windshield clean, but it also makes driving in the rain a lot safer. Since applying my coating to the TTRS, the visibility I have in rainy weather has improved drastically. ( We get a lot of that in Ireland! )

Where to Buy Glass Coating for Your Car?

If you are going to buy a glass coating for your vehicle I would recommend staying with some of the more well known and bigger brands, that have been tried and tested. This will ensure you get the best results from your coating. The two Glass coatings I would recommend to people, based on reputation alone would be

1.Gtechniq G1 Clear Vision Smart Glass 

2.GYEON Quartz Q² View Hydrophobic Windshield and Glass Coating

If you have any suggestions for other good glass coatings available, please let me know in the comments. As always I would love to hear from you.

Until Next time

Happy Detailing!

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About the Author – Darren O Hara

Darren is the founder of the DriveDetailed blog and is a keen detailing enthusiast living in the rainy south of Ireland. When he is not cleaning his car he is always researching ways he can improve his techniques and enjoys testing out out new products.

Darren currently drives an Audi TTRS and is a big fan of performance cars.

You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenoharacork