I barely have had my car since January! I have cleaned and waxed religously (sp). We have just had some rain here and I didn't have a chance to clean the car when it hat cleard up.

This past weekend I did a cleaning and wax and noticed that I had water spots on my hood! In frustration I tried McGuires body scrub which didn't work.

What should I do???

 

I would wash the car with Dawn to remove all of the wax. Re-wash it and make certain to remove all of the water spots with either an Absorber, California water blade or both. Next, re-wax the car.

 

will try that tommorrow eve when it is cool.

Thanks...

 

Robert!! Exact same sh|t happened to me. What the hell did we get, acid rain??

I didn't get around to washing it right afterwards and after finally washing her on sunday, I have all these ugly water spots.

Vinegar/water solution cleans hard spots off windows and mirrors perfectly. Anyone know if this would be horrible for the clearcoat? Like a 10% vinegar/water solution after a dawn wash?

I have both the absorber and waterblade, I'll try those.

How about claying it?

 

quik detail sprays get water spots right off for me. you can pick ine up at any auto store for under $5

 

Takes a little muscle to get 'em out.. either go for the quick detail spray... or go over with a lightly damp chamois... should come out.. i hate water spots.

 

I was told by a body shop guy to use a light compound to remove the spots then wax it again immediately afterwards.

I was also going to call the Zaino Bros. Company to see if claying would work.

I know they will come out, but my concern is the clearcoat.

If all esle fails I will have a detailer do it......hell who am I kidding now one but me will fix her up!

And....it probably wasn't acid rain. (wishful thinking)

RobertL

 

I'd stay away from rubbing compound - too aggressive. However, 3M swirl mark remover works quite nicely, and is a much finer abrasive than compound.

The difficulty with spots is knowing what's in them. If it is from rain, then whatever was in the atmosphere is now on your car (pollutants, dirt/dust from nearby construction, carbon from burning the rainforest...)

Start with vinegar & water. If that doesn't do it, try 3M swirl mark remover. Clay can remove water spots, but buffing with 3M is more fun. Wash it off and apply polish/protectant. I don't like wax - it doesn't shine, and it doesn't protect. Detailers like it because it doesn't last (you become a repeat customer).

 

But the problem with washing off the 3M products or the vinegar/water solution is that the very water from the hose leaves water spots; back to square one. I heard using a chamois prevents the water spot formation??

 

Yeah, a claybar will definetly work, but it takes a good 3 hours to use. I just used one, and it is a HUGE difference. I was so skeptical, but it actually did work very very well. However, if you own a black car(all of minehave been black), just be prepared to deal with the spots and dust and air that make it look dirty. Basically, every other time I wash it, I wax it. The buff from the wax will remove all the water marks and helps to prevent new ones.

 

There are a few things you can do to prevent that deadly cycle:

1) NEVER wash in the sun. I have a "tent" that covers my driveway, so I can detail cars during the day. Even still, I usually wash just after dawn, or just before dusk.

2) Don't use a nozzle on your hose. Let the water stream out of the hose - less spray means less spots.

3) Use softened water - usually a water softener has a hose attachment. Outside hose spigots don't connect to the softener (soft water is bad for grass & plants).

4) Use a car wash that breaks the water's surface tension, which will encourage the water to sheet of instead of leaving drops (that's one of the benefits of Zaino car wash).

5) Dry QUICKLY. I use an assistant who starts drying the top as I wash the hood, then the assistant dries the hood as I wash the doors. If I do it myself, spots will form before I can dry the whole car. I use an electric leaf blower to dry cars that are Zaino'ed (water flies off, but non-zaino'ed cars don't work as well). For un-polished cars, I use an absorber (synthetic chamois) followed by a cotton terry towel to dry.