Water repellent coating for glass?

[MiniatureOrchids]

Hi all, slightly odd question.... has anyone tried/considered coating the inside of their terrarium with water-repellent coating (something like this product

I'm wondering if it will keep the glass clean and clear, so that when the misting system kicks in, stray drops won't collect on the surfaces.

Anyone thought about it?

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[Ray]

Product like that lower the surface energy, so the water will form tiny droplets, rather that wetting the surface, forming a thin film.

On a car windshield, the former is preferred, as the wind will blow them right off, but on a terrarium wall, they'll just sit there, making the glass harder to see through.

What you'd need is a bathroom mirror "antifog" product to do just the opposite, but I honestly don't know what such products might do to plants.

[Subrosa]

An old trick to keep glasses from fogging is to rub paraffin on them until they're nice and covered and then buff them clear. It is rather labor intensive considering the size of eye glass lenses and how much work it is, and doing even a single panel of a typical terrarium without an electric polisher is something someone else should try.

[MiniatureOrchids]

Originally Posted by Ray

What you'd need is a bathroom mirror "antifog" product to do just the opposite, but I honestly don't know what such products might do to plants.

Right, that was the main thing I was wondering - if the stuff will have any detrimental effect on plants.

[estación seca]

I have used Rain-X for my wind screen.
Amazon.co.uk: rainx: Automotive
The terrarium walls are vertical, so the droplets that coalesce might drain down easier than they would on a wind screen with no wind. I think it's worth a try.

[MiniatureOrchids]

Rain-X probably isn't good - I saw it discussed on another forum and it's got some unpleasant ingredients in it. Certainly no good for vivariums with frogs, and probably not recommended for terrariums with plants.

[Subrosa]

Paraffin is pretty inert chemically. It has been used to line and seal containers used for food storage so I doubt it would hurt orchids.