Water drips down the side of my Black Jeep

S

spartacus_33

New member
Not sure if this is the best area of the forum to ask this... but I have a BLACK 2008 Jeep Wrangler and it has a built in design flaw regarding retained water after washing.

The rear view mirrors must store at least a pint of water and continues to drip down the side of the Jeep after washing. I've tried to stay on top of it with a 50/50 solution of distilled vinegar and distilled water... but the "white" drip marks are holding fast. My Jeep is black and I do have a Porter Cable 7424 with a variety of pads and some polishes... any suggestions on how to get the paint back to normal and rid the doors of these water marks?:cursing: Guess I'm being lazy on this one and was hoping to avoid the PC 7424. Not much polish left.
 
I haven't done a Jeep with those type of side mirrors, but maybe giving it a leaf blower try on them to see if it helps you, or go aftermarket with a set of new ones.
 
Can you get to the crevices with a blower? My suggestion would be to blow as much of the residual water out if you have a blower and can get to the recesses. Another trick I use to keep the "drip stains" from appearing is to clean the living heck out of as many cracks, crevices, door jambs, mirror housings etc. Much of the water drip problems are the result of dirty water dripping out. Little brushes and thin paint sticks wrapped in MF are my friends!
 
Yup, make that a third vote for the leaf blower. I've noticed that just about every car has its share of drips and leaks. If you get in the habit of going around a few times with a blower and a microfiber towel like the 'Big Blue Towel', you'll get used to it in no time and you'll notice that you don't get those drips. I always make sure to open and close the doors a few times and blow water out of moldings and side mirrors. It really becomes second-nature in no time at all!

-J
 
I do open and shut the doors... backup... drive forward... hitting the brakes hard... still get the drips. I usually try to go for a short drive and swerve carefully back and forth... then use my big blue to dry the sides. I park the Jeep and within minutes.... the drips are there again.

I don't have a blower... may need to get one for yard work if nothing else.

I guess for now... do any of you have any suggestions for removing the hard water spots (drip lines) caused from the dripping?
 
spartacus_33 said:
I don't have a blower... may need to get one for yard work if nothing else.

I guess for now... do any of you have any suggestions for removing the hard water spots (drip lines) caused from the dripping?
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I've had my Toro electric blower for over 10 years and I think I only paid $39 for it.

For hard water spots there are a number of remedies.

White vinegar
Claybar
Glass polish
Polishing compound

I've always used One Grand Special Touch, which is a non-abrasive polish formulated specifically for water spots.
 
+5 for the leaf blower! :clap:

What I used before the leaf blower was my vac, it has a blow section you can attach the hose to :)
 
I'm no detailing expert...that's why I'm a member of this forum...great info here!:thumbup: So I won't give advice on how to get rid of existing marks, but the fix you need for your mirrors can be found here....

http://www.jk-forum.com/showthread.php?t=1291

I've done this on my JK. No more dripping mirrors all the water drains immediately after washing.

Good Luck!
 
I use a small (hand held) electric air pump (that I bought to pump the little pools for my kids) to get water out of tight spots. Works very well and is less cumbersome than a leaf blower.
 
red rock rubi said:
I'm no detailing expert...that's why I'm a member of this forum...great info here!:thumbup: So I won't give advice on how to get rid of existing marks, but the fix you need for your mirrors can be found here....

http://www.jk-forum.com/showthread.php?t=1291

I've done this on my JK. No more dripping mirrors all the water drains immediately after washing.

Good Luck!
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I'm actually a member of that forum... too funny. Haven't been on it for awhile... thanks! Amazing Jeep didn't pre-drill those mirrors.
 
Luster said:
I've had my Toro electric blower for over 10 years and I think I only paid $39 for it.

For hard water spots there are a number of remedies.

White vinegar
Claybar
Glass polish
Polishing compound

I've always used One Grand Special Touch, which is a non-abrasive polish formulated specifically for water spots.
Click to expand...

Well, I have everything but One Grand Special Touch in my cabinet... I needed some detailing spray... so just placed an order for OGST and some other stuff. Going to drill the small holes in the mirrors tomorrow. Seems to be a BIG discussion on these continuously dripping mirrors over at the JK Jeep forum.
 
spartacus_33 said:
Well, I have everything but One Grand Special Touch in my cabinet... I needed some detailing spray... so just placed an order for OGST and some other stuff. .
Click to expand...

I bought that bottle of One Grand Special Touch back in 2001... still about 80% remaining!!! So it should last you a while. I've also found it good for removing water spots on paint, removing bug guts, general removal of marks on the paint. Good stuff.:biggrin:
 
I get water drips from the mirror as well...

Park and wash the car where there is a slight slope...luckily my driveway has it.

Use an electric blower if you want to...I have one..but have not been using it.

To help prevent this...I would leave it parked in the sun for a short time so that it would heat up the car. Avoid driving fast for awhile until you know all water is gone.
 
I used the leaf blower for a while, but I'm much happier with the Metro Vac N Blo. Either that or the Blaster sidekick. They are warm filtered air which helps a ton! Plus they have a smaller nozzle to get air into all the little crevices. That's harder to do with a big blower.

D!
 
Luster said:
I bought that bottle of One Grand Special Touch back in 2001... still about 80% remaining!!! So it should last you a while. I've also found it good for removing water spots on paint, removing bug guts, general removal of marks on the paint. Good stuff.:biggrin:
Click to expand...
Bill... do you apply the OGST with a machine polisher or just by hand?

Thanks,
Spartacus_33 :D
 
Luster said:
I've always done it by hand with a microfiber towel. I've always been able to get the water spots off by hand, so it never occured to me to use the PC.:biggrin:
Click to expand...

Since these drips pretty much go full length (top to bottom) on my doors... and since I have to take the mirrors off anyway... I was thinking of using my PC 7424 on the white drip marks.
 
spartacus_33 said:
Since these drips pretty much go full length (top to bottom) on my doors... and since I have to take the mirrors off anyway... I was thinking of using my PC 7424 on the white drip marks.
Click to expand...

In your case, yes, I would definitely use the PC. I'm hoping it works for you. There's nothing worse than a perfectly detailed car with a nasty stain on it!!! :scared:
 
Well... SUCCESS beyond my expectations!

I used the One Grand Special Touch with my PC 7424 first. I got quite a bit of the white minerals off... but was hard to get in the cracks around the hinges.

So... I got out my Pinnacle Clay Bar and solution and WOW! I forgot how cool the clay bar was. I did get some clouding from the One Grand Special Touch and the PC... so I then hit it with some Sonus Swirl Buster and my PC...cleaned it up with Klasse AIO... .... and finally a coat of Pinnacle Carnuba Wax. Amazing results.

Oh ya... and if you can see in the photos... I drilled the little holes in the bottom of the mirrors as was recommended on the Jeep forum. Waiting for the next "wash day" to see how that works out.

Thanks to everyone... for pulling me back into the "obsession". :cornut:

The little vertical line in the first photo between the mirror and the upper hinge isn't a drip mark... it's the reflection of a street light! :drool5:

The photos show up much better (bigger) on this site.
 
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