33 replies to this topic

[Kart15]

Everybody knows that nowadays we have helmets with anti-fog visors, pinlock systems, lock systems that keeps the visor slighty opened and even "heat systems" to keep the visor "hot".. But in the past, there wasn´t air ducts or this kind of technology to prevent the fog, so the drivers needed to do some improvisations, here are some of them:

 

James Hunt put a white tape to hold his visor a little bit opened, in this 1975 picture:

 

 

As we saw in the "Rush" movie, in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix. Alastair Caldwell did four holes, two in each side of James helmet, to avoid fogging. James complained about the water entering in the holes, but Alastair said "the water will not enter if you stay in the lead, far from the water spray of the other cars".

 

Some years ago I saw an original Emerson Fittipaldi helmet, from his last Indycar season, 1996, and I saw the small holes in the both sides of the visor.

 

Nigel Mansell used to put an amount of tape inside the lower part of the visor, to keep it slightly opened:

 

 

I would like to know a little more curiosities about old techiniques to prevent the visor from fog in the rainy or cold days

[Stephen W]

I used a small sticky-back foam pad to keep the visor open just a bit. I also worked the visor to slacken it and left it half open at the start, as I accelerated away the visor would close down onto the pad.

[alansart]

I did a similar thing to Mansell and used a bit of rolled up tape to keep the visor slightly open. I can't remember why I didn't put it in the middle!

 

[EDWARD FITZGERALD]

IIRC Irish F Atlantic driver used a visor fitted with a heating element ,the year probably 1975

[D-Type]

As a spectacle wearer I wore purpose made over goggles (with an open face helmet).  They were hopeless in the rain!  I got triple misting - the inside of the goggles and both faces of the specs..  I was advised to try wiping them with a raw potato but I can't remember if it worked.  Shortly afterwards I acquired a visor which worked beautifully.  It was sufficiently open that I got full air circulation.   I could wipe the rain drops off with a hand and likewise any misting, which was very rare.

 

I can't say anything about these new-fangled full face visors as they hadn't been invented 50 years ago. 

 

Does anyone know if any of these anti-misting sprays, cloths, coatings, etc. work?  Either for visors or for windscrens.

[Tim Murray]

IIRC in the old days the trick to stop goggles misting was to smear the insides of the lenses with a little soap, then wipe them clean.

[TecnoRacing]

Simple, low-tech, anti-fog tip from small town Quebec boy (apparently pretty handy in the wet)

 

https://www.youtube....fv8XHofpA#t=703

 

 

(also - particularly with open-face helmet/goggles, I would think a diver's style 'spit' clean technique would be effective, at least initially. Anyone known for using that treatment?)

Edited by fer312t, 24 September 2013 - 09:26.

[Vitesse2]

IIRC in the old days the trick to stop goggles misting was to smear the insides of the lenses with a little soap, then wipe them clean.

Freshly-cut potato apparently works too - something to do with the starch in them, I believe.

[bill p]

Freshly-cut potato apparently works too - something to do with the starch in them, I believe.

 

Polishing glasses with a drop of "Fairy Liquid" washing up liquid does the trick - visors too!!

[f1steveuk]

My first "racing" helmet was a Griffin, as a friend of mine worked for Gordon Spice, so I got a lot of experimental and new parts. I had the vented visor, then a heated/vented visor, and even a double layer one (double glazed!!), and none ever misted.

 

I then went to a Bell, and it misted quite a lot, and I used Bob Heath anti mist spray, which worked, but needed re-applying quite a lot. I was told about smearing the inside of the visor with a potatoe, but didn't fancy it! And someone I knew tried the washing up liquid trick, which in heavy rain didn't work at all, indeed it made it worse (don't know about bubbles though!!).

 

Funnily enough he also once confused a tube of Deep Heat for his toothpaste, that was painful, a bit like Jacques Lafitte spraying his eyes with anti mist instead of his eye drops (Canada 1980 something ??)

[Kart15]

I did a similar thing to Mansell and used a bit of rolled up tape to keep the visor slightly open. I can't remember why I didn't put it in the middle!

 

 

Nice picture, it´s an Arai, wich model?

[Kart15]

 

 

I then went to a Bell, and it misted quite a lot, and I used Bob Heath anti mist spray, which worked, but needed re-applying quite a lot. I was told about smearing the inside of the visor with a potatoe, but didn't fancy it! And someone I knew tried the washing up liquid trick, which in heavy rain didn't work at all, indeed it made it worse (don't know about bubbles though!!).

 

Funnily enough he also once confused a tube of Deep Heat for his toothpaste, that was painful, a bit like Jacques Lafitte spraying his eyes with anti mist instead of his eye drops (Canada 1980 something ??)

 

My first helmet was a Bell XFM1 and was horrible in the rainy days because you had only three "opening levels", so if you leave the visor open in the "middle", half of your eyes was exposed. I really don´t know how the drivers of the past wore that "two holed" balaclavas with those helmets in the rainy days. If I wear a balaclava covering my mouth even in dry but cold days, the visor will mist..

[DogEarred]

My first helmet was a Bell XFM1 and was horrible in the rainy days because you had only three "opening levels", so if you leave the visor open in the "middle", half of your eyes was exposed. I really don´t know how the drivers of the past wore that "two holed" balaclavas with those helmets in the rainy days. If I wear a balaclava covering my mouth even in dry but cold days, the visor will mist..

Yes, a perenial problem. I was more than once warned by the officials for having the visor too far open in rainy weather & exposing the eyes. Risky but fair enough. It just takes one tiny bit of debris to to damage. I found the anti mist spray just before a race plus having the visor open just a tad worked ok, as long as you didn't breath too hard. (either that or hold your breath for the entire race...)

Too poor to be able to afford potatoes in them days....

Edited by DogEarred, 25 September 2013 - 06:54.

[Lee Nicolle]

I have experienced the problem x2 as I too have worn glasses for too long. In recent decades the ratchet on the visor will hold it up ok. Usually 2-3 notches, 3-5mm.
On Perspex windows I have used Armorall which is effective as anything,, and makes the windscreen look a lot better and increases the optical clarity. though by far from ideal. Many competitors I know have used shampoo, let it dry and polish it off. One well known competitor swears by egg creme shampoo.
On visors though apart from the above I have no real idea. Armorall does help, though polish it off carefully.Or everything gets very smeary. And proper Armorall is far better for this than elcheapo generic silicone. This year my visor has been ok, but my glasses,,,And they are real glass ones too, plastic does fog worse. I have been told don't breathe, though I have become accustomed to that over the years! This in a tin top.

Speedway can be worse though, out in the open sometimes in quite cool conditions. Leaving the visor open is usually enough, though not ideal. And I have been told a couple of times that my visor should be all the way down though I choose to ignore that, as do many others.

Tearoffs can be a real problem too, the moisture and dirt gets between them making life really hard. The ones that are stuck together largely solves that, though they are not cheap. I have pulled them all at times, and wiped my visor with my glove, have done that accidently too once or twice.

[alansart]

Nice picture, it´s an Arai, wich model?

 

Arai Super Vent and it was totally useless as it kept on steaming up in the slightest of damp conditions!!

 

I had a look at this morning. It's been sitting in a hemet bag in my office and unused for the last 15 years or so. It still has the tape stuck on the front to keep the visor slightly open. It's about to be binned as all the foam lining inside has fallen to pieces 

 

[John Saunders]

We used to use washing up liquid on the inside & Rain X on the outside.

[mfd]

Arai Super Vent and it was totally useless as it kept on steaming up in the slightest of damp conditions!!

It's about to be binned as all the foam lining inside has fallen to pieces 

 

 

 

Don't! Stick it on ebay. Most helmets of that age have lost their foam, but if you say as such & cover yourself properly for the right amount of postage, someone (not me) will be very happy to take it off your hands.

[Cargo]

Surprised no mention so far of G. Hill's "turbo-visor".

 

 

 

 

[KWSN - DSM]

Surprised no mention so far of G. Hill's "turbo-visor".

 

 

 

They were banned in F1, possibly most auto racing series. When I was racing Go-Karts they were legal and used by a number of drivers, personally I never had one. Used a regular helmet and never locked it was slightly ajar at all times.

 

[Macca]

The turbo visor must still have been allowed in 1968, as Graham Hill used it again in a Formula 2 race at  Crystal Palace IIRC.

 

As a biker the tip was to use a tiny drop of Swarfega rubbed over the visor until invisible - it did the job for me.

 

 

Paul M

[mfd]

Swarfega rubbed over the visor until invisible

 

 

That was the way Mick Grant did it too.

[Kart15]

Speedway can be worse though, out in the open sometimes in quite cool conditions. Leaving the visor open is usually enough, though not ideal. And I have been told a couple of times that my visor should be all the way down though I choose to ignore that, as do many others.

Tearoffs can be a real problem too, the moisture and dirt gets between them making life really hard. The ones that are stuck together largely solves that, though they are not cheap. I have pulled them all at times, and wiped my visor with my glove, have done that accidently too once or twice.

 

Yes, I always thought about this problem in oval racing, because in Indycars, for example, they simply "lock" all the helmet air ducts with tapes and put that kind of visor frame foam around the eyeport, but for sure they do it because the speeds are so high that even with the air ducts closed you have so much air going inside your helmet, so no way to suffer from fogging.

[Kart15]

Yes, a perenial problem. I was more than once warned by the officials for having the visor too far open in rainy weather & exposing the eyes. Risky but fair enough. It just takes one tiny bit of debris to to damage. I found the anti mist spray just before a race plus having the visor open just a tad worked ok, as long as you didn't breath too hard. (either that or hold your breath for the entire race...)

Too poor to be able to afford potatoes in them days....

 

After the XFM 1 I bought a Sport II model and raced it for more than ten years. One day I removed the foam that surrounds the eyeport, because it was falling and after this there was a lot of air coming inside the helmet, like my old XFM 1.. Curiously the fact of more air inside the helmet didn´t change the mist in the rainy days..

 

Arai Super Vent and it was totally useless as it kept on steaming up in the slightest of damp conditions!!

 

I had a look at this morning. It's been sitting in a hemet bag in my office and unused for the last 15 years or so. It still has the tape stuck on the front to keep the visor slightly open. It's about to be binned as all the foam lining inside has fallen to pieces 

 

 

Very nice helmet, I wear an Arai nowadays, a SK6 model, I wear it for shifter kart racing and Formula Vee. I don´t know the reason, but the basic clear visor of my helmet starts to mist even in the very hot summer days, when I put the helmet in my head and let the visor locked. When I start to drive, even in the initial low speed laps for tire warming, the visor is ok, but I cant stay stopped for a second with the visor locked or it will mist.

 

With my silver mirror visor it´s ok stay closed even in the rain, but sadly it´s impossible racing with it at night because it´s too dark. it´s impossible do the same with my clean visor and in the rainy days I have to push the lock to keep it a little bit opened. I confess this lock system was the best thing that they did for helmets, only a little little push and you have fresh air inside your helmet but you are still safe from the debris, rubber and little stones:

[Marc Sproule]

Here's an approach that Bobby Brown, and numerous others, used "back in the day".

 

http://www.flickr.co...@N03/4291839827

[beighes]

Back when I was a parts peddler, we sold a product called, "Vari-Clear".  Then made by a company called ILC.   Supposedly, it was developed for NASA / Apollo astronauts.  We couldn't keep it in stock.  The real pluses were the "off label" usse.  Once a week on the bathroom mirror, eliminated misting from the spouse taking a hot shower.  worked great, in the rain, on cars without a rear window defroster.  Current use, the big flat side windows on the aging Rover.

Edited by beighes, 16 October 2013 - 20:15.

[Lola5000]

Moffat used Coca Cola.

[DogEarred]

Back when I was a parts peddler, we sold a product called, "Vari-Clear".  Then made by a company called ILC.   Supposedly, it was developed for NASA / Apollo astronauts.  We couldn't keep it in stock.  The real pluses were the "off label" usse.  Once a week on the bathroom mirror, eliminated misting from the spouse taking a hot shower.  worked great, in the rain, on cars without a rear window defroster.  Current use, the big flat side mirrors on the aging Rover.

That's stuff I was thinking of. Came in small plastic bottles if I remember.

[beighes]

The Vari-Clear, that we sold, came in a small spray can.  Who knows, they may have made it available in a spray bottle. I remember it had an astronaut on the can............the can was natural shiny metal & had blue applied over it. The helmet visor was the base metal.  Visually, great. 

[raceannouncer2003]

Vari-Clear...apparently still available?...

 

http://www.thebellst.../variclear.html

 

Vince H.

[Cavalier53]

Not exactly visors - but a very related problem: the windshield in Tony Adamodwicz Le Mans Ferrari. " The windshield continuously fogged up, and I found myself driving most of the course with one hand on the wheel and the other trying to keep the screen clear. For my next stint, I resorted to an old remedy I had used several times before while driving in the rain. I asked one of the crew if he could find a raw potato, and a short time later, after a quick trip through the food stands behind the pits, he reappeared with one. When I took over from Chuck, I was armed with the potato, now sliced in hal, and, by rubbing it on the inside of the windshield, visibility improved considerably."

 

By pure coincidence I stumbled on Tony's website www.a2zracer.com today, an interesting read. Above quote is from page 32 - that is how far I got....

[Macca]

I remember another short-lived proprietory product ca. 1980 called (IIRC) 'Clersight' which was pink goo in a little jar, rubbed on with a fingertip which melted it and made it spread invisibly and supposedly last a while. 

 

It went nasty in the jar long before it was used up, and by then I'd discovered the Swarfega trick which was quicker and cheaper.

 

Paul M

[Kart15]

today I bought this product, let´s see if it works:

http://i.ebayimg.com...5-ZQ~~60_35.JPG

[beighes]

Vari-Clear...apparently still available?...

 

http://www.thebellst.../variclear.html

 

Vince H.

That is what I currently have. The can must be 3-4 years old, & is almost empty.  Good timing on this thread, need to order more before the nasty weather sets in.

[Kart15]

Just bought the anti fog spray from Wurth, not the visor spray, but the anti fog spray for windshields and mirrors.. Spray it on the visor, wait a few seconds, clean it with a towel, put the visor in the helmet and you can breath hard even with a balaclava covering your mouth and nose (I dont wear my balaclava covering my mouth, but put in this way for test the spray), lock the visor and breath until lose your breath and the visor will not fog, amazing! Now I can race in the rain with the visor fully locked.