Best sealant to protect against water spots?

L

loco

New member
I am a Zaino user and I enjoy the product as well as its durability. But since I got a black car, I'm finding that Zaino CS does not really do a great job of protecting against water spots. (Does Z2 do any better?) I like CS and the ease of application and its otherwise good durability, but this water spot issue is getting to be frustrating.



I always dry my car after washing, but I cannot wash it every time it rains. The car sits outside at work and if we get a shower and the sun comes out, there are the water spots. Most will come out when I wash the car, but a few like to be persistent. I never noticed this problem with Zaino on my previous metallic light blue car, but I guess I just couldn't see the spotting as well?



Anyway, I did top the Zaino with Souveran, but Souveran doesn't last very long. So, I'm looking for some advice as to which sealant, if any, works best to protect against water spots/etching? Or should I just dump sealants and go with a new layer of carnauba every couple months? The problem with that is when winter comes, I won't be able to wax every couple months.



Thanks in advance for any tips/advice!
 
I get water spots on glass since the minerals don't soak into the glass. I believe that a good sealant would keep the water minerals on the surface of the sealant and not allow them to soak into the matrix like a wax.
 
Thanks wannafbody. I'm hoping folks will chime in with good experiences with sealants and water spots.



I was poking around the internet last night and came across a couple reviews for Meguiar's #21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0. It claims to be "hydrophobic". That sounds like what I need. lol Does anyone have experience with #21 and does it protect against water spotting any better than Zaino or other sealants?



Thanks!
 
For the most part, you will always get water spots in the situation you described above. However, Zaino may be worse than other sealants. Though it does have tremendous durability, it tends to bead water extremely well AND hold those beads on the surface. Not a good thing IMO. Some other options you might like with comparable durability would be one of the Collinite's or FinishKare 1000P (if you can get your hands on some).
 
Thanks, etml12! I'll look into those options. I've not tried either of those products before.



I should add that I understand that there will be spots on the car after a rain shower followed by sun. What I'm looking for is something that will make the spots easy to remove with just a wash. Most of them will come off with a wash, but a few require clay or polish to remove after just a few days. That seems excessive to me. Maybe I'm asking too much?
 
UPGP and fk 1000p are two sealants capable of repelling water spots. Yeah, you'll still get water spots, but UPGP or 1000p will prevent the minerals from attaching to the clear coat, thereby preventing etching. Water spots are easily washed off of either of these sealants. Your Zaino water spot discovery was one of the reasons I stopped using Z, too.
 
Thank you, SuperBee! I'm confused why I never noticed this problem with Zaino before. I suppose the metallic flake in my old car hid the spots much better.



That's the second recommendation for 1000P. Sounds great! UPGP sounds easier, though. Wipe on, walk away! With black, the less wiping the better. Now, I can't decide which to get! If 1000P is hard to find, maybe I'll just go with the UPGP.



_______



Just updating: I ordered some UPGP from Autopia Car Care. I hope it gets here by this weekend as I'm looking forward to giving it a try!



Has anyone used UPGP with Prima Amigo? I'm expecting some of that to arrive this week as well.



Thanks all!
 
Thanks for the tip, wannafbody! I'll have to get some of that. The problem with this forum is it makes me spend more money than I should! :D
 
I get waterspots with all LSPs. 1000P, collinite, PS, Zaino, UPGP, doesnt matter. However, IME, they clean off easier depending on the LSP. I have had he best luck with 1000P and Z5, multiple coats.
 
wannafbody said:
Duragloss Water Spot Remover will remove waterspots that window cleaners and QD's can't.
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And if the DG WSR doesnt work, the Danase Water spot remover is incredible IME.
 
Thanks, NSXTASY! I'm going to give the UPGP a try and if that doesn't show improvement, I may try to find some 1000P.



Your car is gorgeous BTW! :)
 
Try this ---> I used to have a bad waterspotting problem, and I found that if I always finish up with wtih Z8 it really helps. I use it after every car wash now.
 
Thanks DETAILKING! I did used to use Z8 a lot, but haven't used it as much since I got the black car. Just figured the less I wipe the car, the less I'll scratch it up. But that may explain why I'm seeing a difference with this car and Zaino and water spotting. Hmmm, hadn't thought of that....
 
honestly nothing as far as an LSP will 'prevent' water spots, but as mentioned a good sealant will prevent the spots from actually damaging the paint, which ultimately is the point of the sealant.



opti-seal is what i use. love it.
 
for fresh waterspots, that are too stubborn for washing and QD's to remove, meguiars color X works well believe it or not, nice and cheap, easy to find, works well.. my girlfriends family has sprinklers all over the place, and have very hard water, i regularly end up with rediculoudly white water spots on one side of my car, color X clears it right up. i dont have anything to sugest to stop spots from happening though, sorry.
 
I only have experience with the Klasse twins, but they work a lot better than any wax I've used, including Collinite and Megs waxes. Although light spotting will still occur, they won't actually etch into the clear coat, so that's fine with me.
 
builthatch said:
honestly nothing as far as an LSP will 'prevent' water spots, but as mentioned a good sealant will prevent the spots from actually damaging the paint, which ultimately is the point of the sealant.



opti-seal is what i use. love it.
Click to expand...



There are so many different options! Yes, that's what I want - to keep the spots from damaging paint before I get a chance to wash which isn't usually 'til the weekend. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add Opti-seal to the list!



jDizzle said:
for fresh waterspots, that are too stubborn for washing and QD's to remove, meguiars color X works well believe it or not, nice and cheap, easy to find, works well.. my girlfriends family has sprinklers all over the place, and have very hard water, i regularly end up with rediculoudly white water spots on one side of my car, color X clears it right up. i dont have anything to sugest to stop spots from happening though, sorry.
Click to expand...



Cool, thank you. I do have some ScratchX which I have used to remove some stubborn ones in the past. I'll check into ColorX as well.



RZJZA80 said:
I only have experience with the Klasse twins, but they work a lot better than any wax I've used, including Collinite and Megs waxes. Although light spotting will still occur, they won't actually etch into the clear coat, so that's fine with me.
Click to expand...



That's good to know, thanks. I had problems with AIO when I used it years ago. It seemed very hard to remove. However, I'm sure the problem was with me and how I applied it. I believe I probably used too much product. But because of my experience with AIO, I never tried SG. I do still have some AIO around somewhere....
 
I quit using Zaino for that exact reason. I liked the look but every car started getting deep etched water spots. Some that came out with polish, some that did not. I noticed that if I used the QD after every wash it wasn't as bad, however if I let the car go for a few weeks..YIKES. I since switched to Meguiars stuff and haven't had ANY water spot issues. I like M21, still have a supply of the 1.0 and it works great. I usually top with M26, but it is not required.
 
You might want to have your paint professionally corrected and waxed. You may already have some minor paint etching, and every time it rains, it just increases the damage on the paint. Zaino should do a fine job of protecting against water spots, but if there is already some damage, it probably won't help too much. Also, the word Hydrophobic, basically means that it rejects water, basically it produces waterbead. Unfortunately, waterbead does come from oil, which attracts dust and pollen, when rain comes along, and you have pollen and minerals on the paint, you can get water spotting. I find that you won't get any water spots with Matrix coating on the car because it doesn't contain any oils, but that's a much larger process than just a wax job. Another good option is every time you wash the car apply a product like Prima Hydro, or some other sort of spray sealant. This will help to clean and also protect the finish. Just my .02





John
 
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