Water spot prevention?

[IceQube]

We have super hard water in the area I'm living in and sunny weather. I park on the street too and own a black car and it always gets hit by someone's sprinklers no matter where I park up or down the street.

I'm at the point where I have to wash the car every 8 hours, every day of the week, or have water spots etch the paint.

The water spots are so bad that if they're left for longer than just a few hours, scrubbing with the Optimum red sponge and a solution of Optimum no-rinse wash&wax won't even touch the spots. I've soaked the car with full-strength Optimum Power Clean at least 10 or 11 times now to dissolve the spots. That's the only way they'll come off, and I've tried multiple chemical products.

I'm looking for a product that will actually prevent water spots from ever forming or at least keep them from etching the paint for a few days. I really despise having to wash the car every 8 hours. But I'm literally waking up to water spots every morning from sprinklers, and I only have street parking, and there's no way to ask everyone down the street to shut off or modify their sprinklers just for me.

I think it was Mr. Philips who wrote that a long time ago, Meguiar's chose to focus on water beading, and that this can actually be detrimental, as having little beads of water on a surface concentrates all the crap (hard water minerals, for example) onto a tiny spot on the paint and this causes etching. Water that instead sheets off instead of forming pretty little beads on a surface would be better from an objective standpoint, since that means the contaminants in the water rolls off the painted surface instead of sticking around.

Is there any sort of product that can at least keep the water spots at bay for a few days? I'd like to reduce my washing to once a week at the least, if not once a month.

I read an article from the company "Dr. Beasley" and they mention the importance of the ability for water to slide off a surface instead of simply forming beads. I 100% agree with that statement: I get water spots all over the vehicle--not just the hood and roof, but also the door panels--which is ridiculous. Water spots on a relatively level surface like the hood or roof from the water sitting and not being able to flow due to gravity--fine. Water spots on door panels, which are basically completely vertical, is ridiculous--I love to see beading after a rainstorm as much as the next guy, but come on, I need that water to roll off along with the minerals that have been eating my paint for breakfast!

Obviously, this article promoted Dr. Beasley's ceramic coating as well as introduce a bit of the science behind keeping cars clean. That being said, is Dr. Beasley's coating good at preventing water spots? It seems that at least the manufacturer is aware of the need for water to slide off surfaces instead of stick around to form pretty little beads. I would love to at least avoid having to soak my door panels with Optimum Power Clean just to get rid of water spots on a daily basis!

[Loach]

Which protectant are you currently working with on your paint?

If I'm not mistaken, Dr. Beasley's Nano Resin Coating is still a very hydrophobic product, and any time you combine hydrophobicity with hard water, you're going to end up with spotting. You can attempt to create a product with the ultimate performance in terms of a lower sliding angle, this means once the bead gets to a certain weight, it will slide off a given surface depending on how steep its angle is. So a very hydrophobic surface with a low sliding angle, means the water beads will slide off the paint themselves on a relatively low angle, or surface that isn't as steep. Very good, but the problem is it still requires a certain bead weight to make this happen, so your mist style sprinklers or overspray from jet sprinklers are going to lend you with spotting regardless.

I run into the same problem if I polish the paint out, leave it out unprotected and park it next to sprinklers for a few weeks. The nice bare surface of the clearcoat has a mild or neutral form of hydrophobicity, but it's enough to still cause significant beading with a high sliding angle that aren't going anywhere until they're evaporated off or until enough water has gathered up to create a water sheet, and this sheeting usually never happens naturally outside of my control of flooding the paint with water unless the paint becomes more hydrophilic and contaminated. Same issue whenever I test a product that is relatively not as hydrophobic compared to others. The spotting is usually larger, less spherical shapes, but certainly still present at a problematic level that appears to match its more hydrophobic siblings.

Dr. Beasley's articles make the correct point, in which you want the coating to act as the sacrificial layer to absorb the damage from the spotting, rather than your clearcoat. The best way to combat spotting is to avoid the source, and if that isn't possible then I would allow the thicker coatings to become the sacrificial recipient of the spotting until you can find a way to avoid the sources.

[Rsurfer]

We can send a man to the moon, but we can't stop water spotting.

Have you tried a car cover?

[Billy Baldone]

This sounds like maybe graphene coating it would help

[Rsurfer]

This sounds like maybe graphene coating it would help

Interesting to see if graphene prevents water spotting. From what I've seen it looks like its super hydrophilic. Few products out, but little mentioned. It may not be available to the public as yet.

Graphene will be the buzz word for the 21st century.

[IceQube]

We can send a man to the moon, but we can't stop water spotting.

Have you tried a car cover?

I'd rather not cover up the reflective features of my cars while it's parked on the side of the road; and, I read that a cover will scratch the car unless it's very clean.

I'm just curious if I can get a straight answer from Mr. Philips. Seems that most auto care products are pure hype and little substance. There has to be a coating that allows hard water to roll off a vertical surface like a door panel, right?

[RMarkJr]

look .. nothing is going to 100% stop and prevent water spots.

There are products out there that will protect your paint from water spots and those are the obvious sealants and ceramic coatings.

Now in your post you mentioned "There has to be a coating that allows hard water to roll off a vertical surface like a door panel, right?" Well you have probably seen and heard about ceramic coatings. There are many of them, but at the same time .. they are a lot alike to one another. Some will have slightly better roll of at better angles than others.

Now are there any that will roll ALL of the water off of the panels? Nope.

Also a ceramic coating does not prevent water spots. They will however protect your paint from water spots by not allowing the minerals to come in contact with the clear coat. I have seen posts where people say that coatings make the car more prone to water spots. I have never had that issue with gtechniq using the CSL and the EXO as a topper.

there are some products that bead up and some that sheet water off. But neither will remove all the water and all spots.

I think you know the answer to this already. The reason why you are asking if there are any products that prevent water spots is because you haven't seen any, and you haven't seen any because there isn't any.

If there is no option to cover the car then the only thing would be to make sure sprinklers do not hit the car. Thats the only sure way to prevent it.