Losing the battle against water spots

**mcpp66** · 09-27-2010, 08:21 AM

Need some help guys. I have a black car and everytime I wash it I'm left with water spots all over the vehicle. I even bought one of those CR Spotless filters but my water is so hard that I barely even get one full car wash out of it. Unfortunately I have no option for a shaded area but I washed the car in the morning and the high temperature for the day didn't even make it to 70 so I don't think hot temperatures were my problem (well, everytime I wash the car I have water spot issues, whether it's sunny or not). I tried to clean off the water spots with DP Waterless Wash but they weren't coming off, luckily they came off with Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailers and a little passion behind the towel (I borrowed that phrase from Mike Phillips, thanks Mike!). It's getting tiresome to have to QD my car after every wash, is there a step I'm missing so that I'm not left with so many water spots? Unfortunately I don't have anyone that can help me dry the car (or at least anyone I feel comfortable with around my car). Any ideas? Thanks.

**Setec Astronomy** · 09-27-2010, 08:32 AM

I'm sure Mike will have an answer for you but a QD after wash to clean up random water spots is kind of a fact of life, even if you do a CRSpotless rinse (because nothing is perfect, and there will be some residue that will come out of some nook or cranny).

The best advice I can give for this kind of thing, if you have problems with your wash/rinse water drying too fast because of environment/car color, or water hardness, is to do a rinseless wash like ONR or the DP product, that way you can do a panel at a time and dry before any spots form. For extra security you can mix with distilled water from the supermarket, since you will only use a couple of gallons per wash.

**mcpp66** · 09-27-2010, 08:42 AM

A rinseless wash with ONR and distilled water after my regular wash isn't a bad idea at all, I think I'm going to try that.

I don't mind using a QD after a wash, but because I have to look for each and every spot and then use a little passion behind the towel to get rid of them it's a little time consuming. I'd like to reduce the amount of time I'm spending on doing this.

One other question, I've seen people type that they spray the car with QD before drying. Before I dry the car I use the flooding method to get rid of most of the water. So would the appropriate step be to flood the car and then spray the car with a QD?

**trhland** · 09-27-2010, 08:46 AM

after i wash i spray down the entire truck with a q/d then dry .. this nutralizes the hard water..

**Setec Astronomy** · 09-27-2010, 08:48 AM

I was suggesting you replace your traditional wash with the ONR wash, that way you should be able to eliminate your problem, rather than trying to remediate it after the fact.

Like you, I kind of hate the idea of routinely having to QD the entire car after a wash...I don't have a black car though. Aquawax and OCW are labeled to be used while drying...and there are a hundred ways that people dry their cars with variations of leaf blowing, toweling, QD, etc. etc. etc.

**CEE DOG** · 09-27-2010, 08:59 AM

If there is no way to procure shade then you should wash in the am so you are done before the sun rises above the horizon.

When done washing use flood the paint with the open hose nozzle starting at the top and staying just ahead of the sheet of water on its way down to force the water to sheet off.

Then as you are drying use a QD as your drying aid. Spray a panel a few times and dry and move forward.

Another idea: it would negate the flooding the paint I mentioned earlier but you could do your final rinse with 1 or 2 gallons of distilled water from the store. Just walk around the car pouring it out slowly. Then move forward with the step of drying with WW and QD.

If washing in the semi-sun keep rinsing the areas that are done being washed every 60 seconds or so to not allow them to dry while you are washing the rest of the car.

Also Setec has good advice on the rinseless wash.

Also I would say the sun is still an issue regardless of temperature outside. The sun on the car will still heat the car surface up pretty quick.

**AV8R** · 09-27-2010, 09:01 AM

Buy a powerful leaf blower and dry the car when you're done. I've done this for years with all my cars/trucks/bikes, etc. Simple and works, plus there is no waiting for the water to drip out of all the cracks before you can move on to the next step.

**mcpp66** · 09-27-2010, 09:04 AM

Well, I don't want to replace a traditional wash with a rinseless wash, especially when my car's too dirty. I could always use a California Duster before the rinseless wash I guess. But I think doing a rinseless after the traditional wash may help with that......certainly no harm in trying it.

**SupraTurbo94** · 09-27-2010, 09:15 AM

If sun is an issue why don't you invest in a Canopy? They are fairly cheap 89 bucks at Walmart or other places them have them cheaper like Sports Authority. It's 10x10 so there is plenty of room to park a car and high enough to park a truck under it. It takes less then two min to set it up and the same for storing. It works really well I have used it several times to detail my car and I bring it to the beach as well

**mcpp66** · 09-27-2010, 09:44 AM

My responses are below........thanks for your help!

Originally Posted by CEE DOG

If there is no way to procure shade then you should wash in the am so you are done before the sun rises above the horizon. I love sleeping in on the weekends, I might just buy one of those pop-up tents or whatever they're called. I set my alarm yesterday for 9:30am and getting up that early was a chore for me (I'm a night owl, especially on the weekends).

When done washing use flood the paint with the open hose nozzle starting at the top and staying just ahead of the sheet of water on its way down to force the water to sheet off. I already do this.

Then as you are drying use a QD as your drying aid. Spray a panel a few times and dry and move forward. Which QD do you find works best for this purpose? I have Meg's UQD, Poorboy's QD, Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz, Meg's Last Touch, and the DP quick detailer (can't remember the name off the top of my head).

Another idea: it would negate the flooding the paint I mentioned earlier but you could do your final rinse with 1 or 2 gallons of distilled water from the store. Just walk around the car pouring it out slowly. Then move forward with the step of drying with WW and QD. I will start doing this and will start using distilled water for my rinseless washes.

If washing in the semi-sun keep rinsing the areas that are done being washed every 60 seconds or so to not allow them to dry while you are washing the rest of the car. I'm going to invest in on of those pop-up tents for next year.