Water Spots

Debelli

Debelli

New member
Just came back from being gone for a few days. The morning we left, washed the car. Came back 5 days later, the car was a filth bucket!:bigscream It sat, not driven, and it was the dirtiest it's been in the month and a half that I've owned it!:eek

Don't know about anywhere else, but down here in Miami, the pollen is flying rampant more so than any other time I can remember. Pollen, dust and rain drops definitely took it's toll in just a few days!

So, washed the car last night and I see TONS of water spots on the hood.:eek

What's the best way to get rid of them?:dunno Haven't tried claying yet, but if this will help remove them, I'm willing to go ahead and take the plunge (had alreaday bought the clay, just haven't tried it yet).

Thanks for any insight and/or recommendations (other than get a cover or garage it!)

Debbie
 
Hi Debbie,
Hope you enjoyed your trip.
You can try a 50:50 mix vinegar/water, or claying the car if the vinegar/water mix doesn't do it. Those would be the least aggressive ways to do it.

Good luck,
"J"
 
Thanks JAY! Appreciate the reply. The vinegar won't harm the CC?

Would have enjoyed the trip had I won big on the slots - but then again, how big of a winner can you be playing pennies:rolleyes: I'm as lucky in Vegas as I am in having a recipe I make being edible!:lol
 
The vinegar will not harm the Clear unless you mix it in when you spray it on to the car. It goes without saying that you should probably rinse well. I would personally just go with the clay, if you've never done it you'll see a huge difference in the slickness and most, if not all, of the water spots shold disappear into the clay. Once you clay be sure to polish and protect the finish, clay is like a prep for everything else.
 
Well, I haven't done anything but wash this car since I got it. What steps do I HAVE to do should I just want to clay the hood for now? Being a "newer car" do I have to polish, or would a wax be sufficient after claying? Then again, now that I think about it, I'm sure the car would look fairly odd, if I just clay and wax the hood. Problem being in FL - hotter than heck here and if I wait til the sun starts setting to wash the car (again) and do the clay, I highly doubt there will be sufficient light by the time I've done the clay on the hood. The only shaddy spot is under a tree and somehow that seems to defeat the purpose, esp. since it's a fruit tree:rolleyes:

If I clay the hood this evening and wash it afterwards can I wait til tomorrow morning to wax it, or would doing that require an additional washing? The problem here is that the minute you finish washing and drying the car you immediately see dust and pollen on the car - there seems to be no repreive from having this happen.


Well, at least I know there's hope with getting rid of the water spots! That's a great relief! I'll try the vinegar solution first and see how that goes. Do you mix it in a bucket and apply it with a sponge?

THANKS AGAIN:D
 
I would wait until I had a few hours open, it will take about 1 to 1.5 hours the first time. If you don't want pollen to stick then you could leave the QD that you use for clay lube on your finish until you are ready to wax. I would highly suggest using a chemical cleaner of some sort unless you were planning on going right to a cleaner wax, it will get rid of any remaining contaminants on the paint that the clay might have missed. You could clay today and wax tomorrow, but you would have to wash and QD before you even thought about putting a coat of wax on.
 
Actually, that's not early for me POORBOY, I'm outta bed normally at 6am. Actually, many mornings out of bed before 6am, but it's still dark at that time - at least it is now - maybe as the summer wears on it will get lighter a bit earlier where I can make a go of it. I get up and wash my car at the crack of dawn sometimes - neighbors looking at me as if I were nuts as they half-asleep go out to get their newspapers :)

TUBA, I must be doing something wrong here. It takes me about 1-1.5 hours just to wash and dry my car!:dunno Okay, so I'm vertically challenged, so that adds on some time, trying to clean the top of the car and drying it is definitely taking me longer than it should. Just can't get to some spots up there and trying to do so takes me a really long time to do it as best I can.

I think I'm going to have to ask my neighbor if I can possibly make use of their garage one day when they aren't home - it seems to be the best solution to getting things done right.
 
Welcome back Deb. All good advice from above - well except from that Poorboy character....I don't know about him..... :rofl :lol (You DO know I'm kidding, right?!?!?!?!)

I have used the 50/50 water/vinegar mix before with good results on fresh water spots. I also would suggest a good cleaner/polish followed by some sort of protection (wax/sealant).

In any case it's good to see you are back. :)
 
Thanks JARED. I actually MISSED being on here!

Kidding? You???:lol

After doing the vinegar and water douche treatment (sorry, I just COULDN'T resist!):lol (really, it means shower in French!) do you have to wax your car? I read it removes wax, but then again, I haven't a clue if my car has any wax on it. I really don't know if, when you get a new car, does it come waxed, or just the clear coat and nothing more???:dunno

Okay, POLISH, I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy some - who has the least abrasive, most mild polish around? Preferably something I can get locally, but will consider ordering if I must. Wish SOMEONE out there would offer small 1 time samples of polish and such - would make it so much easier to decide on what one would like by using them first hand AND, if the product was good, definitely would make people order more-at least one would think.
 
Deb - PM me if you're interested in a polish sample. I can get you a couple small sample bottles of a couple different things. I won't be around much this weekend, so Email or PM me and we can definitely work something out.

If you want to go local, try Meg's Colorx. Not only will it polish, but it leaves a little protection behind. Might save you some time if that's what you're after.

Seriously, PM me about the samples if you're interested. :) If you don't hear from me tomorrow, you definitely will Monday (that is, again, if you're interested).
 
Debbie you might want to try Poorboy's PWC.
Considering that you are in FL you should be able to get it in a day from either Dwayne or Autogeek.

Good luck
"J"
 
Depending on how tough the spots are, I would recommend AGAINST claying. I think using Poorboys PP or AIO is probably better and quicker.

I think -- and I'll defer to Poorboy and Jared here as they know far more than me -- but if you want to get to the 1 step that's almost 100% certain to get it out (without having to "ratchet up" your scrubbing strength) try SSR-1 with or without a PC.
 
I've had good luck with scratch and swirl remover, Paint cleaner, then rewax.
The scratch swirl remover worked well on my window glass water spot too.
 
JARED, you have a P/M :)

Will look at the MEGS COLORX next trip to PB to see if they have it.

JAY, I think AUTOGEEK is in WPB - thought about making a day to go up there. Maybe, in looking at my car they can give me an idea of what THEY think would be best to use after seeing it up close and personal. Not sure what kind of set-up they have there, will look in to that first. Time for me to go look at the acronym file for PWC!

HONDA, thanks for the info - again will look in to the acronym file, still have to learn all the meanings, though have learned AIO :)

CGC2, THANKS :)
 
Sorry, Deb, I remember how it was almost a year ago when I first came here and got lost with all the acronyms. PB is POORBOYS and PP is Professional Polish. AIO is Klasse All-in-One.

I think there's an acronym file around here, but truth be told, once you know the most popular 10-20 or so, you'll be OK.
 
Debelli said:
Actually, that's not early for me POORBOY, I'm outta bed normally at 6am. Actually, many mornings out of bed before 6am, but it's still dark at that time - at least it is now - maybe as the summer wears on it will get lighter a bit earlier where I can make a go of it. I get up and wash my car at the crack of dawn sometimes - neighbors looking at me as if I were nuts as they half-asleep go out to get their newspapers :)

TUBA, I must be doing something wrong here. It takes me about 1-1.5 hours just to wash and dry my car!:dunno Okay, so I'm vertically challenged, so that adds on some time, trying to clean the top of the car and drying it is definitely taking me longer than it should. Just can't get to some spots up there and trying to do so takes me a really long time to do it as best I can.

I think I'm going to have to ask my neighbor if I can possibly make use of their garage one day when they aren't home - it seems to be the best solution to getting things done right.
Click to expand...

I was actually just referring to the claying taking 1-1.5 hours. It usually takes me about 1/2 hour to wash and dry, but I make two full passes on the car. You can save some time by not drying the car, the QD you use will take care of any fresh water spots.
 
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