Holy Smudged Screen Batman, It Works!
Well mostly anyway. A week or so ago I saw a little blurb about how Rain-X could help to reduce fingerprints and smudges on your touch screen. So I rushed out to my garage, picked up my trusty yellow bottle and quickly applied said product to my Surface RT and Asus S200E screens. After several uses I have to say that it definitely reduces the volume of marks that accumulate on the screen. And those that do are easily wiped away with a microfiber cloth. No heavy rubbing.
For city dwellers and those not in the know, Rain-X is generally applied to windshields and other glass surfaces of your car to keep water from sticking to it. There is nothing like whipping down the highway in the pouring rain, a perfectly clear view of the road ahead, with your wipers turned off. Watching as the aerodynamics of your windshield sheds the water droplets (or snowflakes) away. Now, I do understand the difference between oleophobic and hydrophobic (Rain-X) products. But unless you are eating a juicy slice of pizza from Maruca’s in Trenton, NJ or Max’s in Wildwood, NJ (you are going to have to trust me on this), maybe most of the stuff on your finger is moisture and not oil. Just sayin.
Note that this is only suggested for “glass” touch screens. Not sure what it would do to a plastic surface, nor would I necessarily recommend it for a screen protector. Although I don’t think it would hurt. FYI, I don’t use screen protectors anywhere but my phone. Can’t think of why keys, kitchen knives or sandpaper would ever come in contact with my PC screens.
To apply:
– Make sure your screen is as clean as it can get
-Fold up a soft cloth and apply Rain-X to one side
– Rub the product into the screen in a circular motion, first vertically and then horizontally to make sure you have touched every square inch. Allow to dry for 2-3 minutes.
– Sprinkle a few drops of water on the screen and buff the surface with a clean, folded paper towel. Continue buffing till you no longer see any streaks or glare.
This might not be the cure-all for fingerprints. But the way I see it, it can’t hurt.
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So any concern on chemicals used in rain X? I saw a tip to use it for coating a shower glass door but several people raised concerns about the chemicals used.
Yeah between this and the radiation from the phone itself…just use a Bluetooth headset
Good question. Growing up in Newark, and spending nearly 55 years in Northern, NJ, I probably have more chemicals in my body than most people, so personally I wouldn’t be concerned. Especially when I am spraying that tile cleaner in the shower, breathing in the toxic bleach fumes.
But to answer your question directly, per the FAQ on the Rain-X site, “Yes, Rain-X can be used on glass shower doors without any etching to achieve the benefits of Rain-X water beading in the shower”. Good tip actually. Now I just need to figure out how to get the lime deposits off the shower doors before applying. Damn Florida water.
Jim, how do you feel about saliva?
I think it’s best kept between your cheeks.