Help me plan a routine for keeping hard water spots off brand new vehicle.

[4RunnerGuy85]

Hey everyone. New to the forums here.

I bought a brand new 4Runner and I am running into an unexpected problem...hard water spots. Everywhere. I drive through sprinklers every morning to work and also at my night job i have to park on the street where again I am susceptible to sprinklers and my car sits out in the hot sun at both jobs all day. I live in eastern Montana where the water is really chalk full of nasty stuff.

I would like to get into a routine where i can remove these spots every few days or every week to prevent them from really causing damage or hardening on there. I had the vehicle professionally detailed with hard water spot removal and sealant applied just 7 days ago and today the entire back end and the sides near the back are absolutely caked with hard water spots again....

The problem is that every method I have researched online has involved using vinegar or some commercial product to remove the water spots...and from what i have read those will also strip the sealant so that would need to ve reapplied afterwards. Also it is not good to wipe the body of the car unless it has been properly washed so that im not scratching dust all over it.

So that is my dillema. I want to keep hard water spots off but I dont have the time to come home at 11 pm and do an entire wash and removal and reapply the sealant. I have heard that pouring distilled water over the vehicle will wash away the hard water but I cant always be out there to do this before they dry and bake on there for a few hours.

What do I do? I am starting to feel buyer remorse on this vehicle because i feel like i cant take care of it properly due to my life situation.

Any help would be great. Thank you.

[RaskyR1]

Without removing the cause of the issue I'm not sure there is a good solution. Finding a wax, sealant, or coating that makes water lay flat and sheet vs. bead would be the only thing I would suggest. Water beads = spots.

[DBAILEY]

I think you'll will always have this problem as long as you are getting hit by sprinklers and then drying in the sun. I can't think of any hydrophilic sealants. Your situation is extreme, but I feel that Sonax PNS gave me the best protection against water spots when I had a black car. They will still form, but they wash off easier and the PNS seemed to do a really good job of preventing etching.

[GEM65]

I think you'll will always have this problem as long as you are getting hit by sprinklers and then drying in the sun. I can't think of any hydrophilic sealants. Your situation is extreme, but I feel that Sonax PNS gave me the best protection against water spots when I had a black car. They will still form, but they wash off easier and the PNS seemed to do a really good job of preventing etching.

Second this

Sonax:
- Polymer net shield
- Brilliant shine detailer
- Spray + Seal

all three will minimize water spot issue

[LEDetailing]

I see one of these in your future


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[Goonie75]

GazeBox Garage | Cool Material

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[grovlet]

GazeBox Garage | Cool Material

Sent from my SM-G965U using Autogeekonline mobile app

LOL - If I had an extra $8K - I would rather buy a beater vehicle and drive around though EVERY sprinkler I could find just because....

[Route246]

Hey everyone. New to the forums here.

I bought a brand new 4Runner and I am running into an unexpected problem...hard water spots. Everywhere. I drive through sprinklers every morning to work and also at my night job i have to park on the street where again I am susceptible to sprinklers and my car sits out in the hot sun at both jobs all day. I live in eastern Montana where the water is really chalk full of nasty stuff.

I would like to get into a routine where i can remove these spots every few days or every week to prevent them from really causing damage or hardening on there. I had the vehicle professionally detailed with hard water spot removal and sealant applied just 7 days ago and today the entire back end and the sides near the back are absolutely caked with hard water spots again....

The problem is that every method I have researched online has involved using vinegar or some commercial product to remove the water spots...and from what i have read those will also strip the sealant so that would need to ve reapplied afterwards. Also it is not good to wipe the body of the car unless it has been properly washed so that im not scratching dust all over it.

So that is my dillema. I want to keep hard water spots off but I dont have the time to come home at 11 pm and do an entire wash and removal and reapply the sealant. I have heard that pouring distilled water over the vehicle will wash away the hard water but I cant always be out there to do this before they dry and bake on there for a few hours.

What do I do? I am starting to feel buyer remorse on this vehicle because i feel like i cant take care of it properly due to my life situation.

Any help would be great. Thank you.

I had this problem and found no solution other than avoiding the sprinklers. I would park away from where I knew the sprinklers would do this even if it meant walking 1/4 mile to avoid it. The water spots are very difficult to remove and it does ruin your paint in the long run.

[iroc86]

I'm battling a similar issue since moving to the desert. Hard water, increased UV at high elevation, and constant sunshine has made it very difficult to keep up with the water spots on my vehicles. I agree that avoiding the root cause is probably the best solution. I've essentially had to do the same thing--I no longer wash my car with tap water because the paint and glass will instantly spot. Your case is a little different with the sprinklers, but getting away from the water would probably eliminate the majority of the problem. If I were in your situation, I wouldn't be above covering my vehicle with a water-repellent tarp while at work.

You may want to check out a thread I started a few months ago that may provide some solutions to your problem. I'm still not out of the woods yet with my technique, but the ideas could be helpful: Keeping a car clean in high desert climate (NM/CO) - tips/suggestions?

Oh, and I can definitely relate to you on the buyer's remorse thing. I used to lease my cars to avoid the hassle of selling them, but with this recent move, my wife and I decided to buy and hang on to them for a while. I'm starting to regret that decision because I'm way more adamant about paint protection now... resale value, etc. Can't just let them rot (like everyone seems to do here in New Mexico, sigh) and turn them in to the leasing agency after three years.

[Audi Rick]

I try to stay away from sprinklers as much as I tried to stay away from my mother in law!
I hope this helps!