Water spot remover

[Richard Conley]

I searched the Forums and couldn’t find anything on this topic and apologize if I missed it. I needed a quick rinse and my home water is extremely hard so I thought I go to car wash, no soup just rinse and then extensive spot-free rinse. BIG mistake water spots seemed worse the those from my home water and quick detailers wouldn’t even begin to touch it nor would three different spray waxes. Not wanting to resort to clay on the paint and not able to really get the spots off the chrome I am looking for an alternative. Coincidently this site popped up in my Facebook feed. https://sudfactory.com/shop/water-spot-removal-bundle-16oz/ This stuff is not cheap so wondering if anyone has tried it.

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[Stanced]

CarPro Spotless is what I keep on hand for water spot removal.

However, depending on the water hardness, and how long the water spots have been on there, there's a chance they've etched into the clear coat and would require clay and/or machine polishing to remove.

 

[Richard Conley]

CarPro Spotless is what I keep on hand for water spot removal.

However, depending on the water hardness, and how long the water spots have been on there, there's a chance they've etched into the clear coat and would require clay and/or machine polishing to remove.

I got the ones on most of it, but they can be hard to see, but got spots that really aren't easy for either the bar or buffer like the door jam where it might be anal but everytime I open the door I see them at it pisses me off. Valuable lesson learned. Thanks for recco, I will check that out.

 

[Ace Holliday]

I did the same thing on my brand new red 2004 Mazda RX8 back on the day. The water etched the clear coat. Had to have the car buffed out by a pro. Learned my lesson.

 

[StezenW]

Get some of this stuff by Chemical Guys. I had lake irrigated sprinklers shower my truck on a lake house visit and then bake in the sun all day. This stuff did the trick when I finally got it 3 day’s later.

Chemical Guys SPI10816 Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover, 16 fl. oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2G2NEJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jooaFbNRP4GFW

 

[berlow94]

I would look at Ammo Hydrate.
Larry was the first to develop a drying agent which both prevents spotting as while as providing lots of lubrication for whatever you’re using to dry the car.
Many manufactures quickly came to the market with something similar after he released Hydrate.

 

[alazar14]

I did the same thing on my brand new red 2004 Mazda RX8 back on the day. The water etched the clear coat. Had to have the car buffed out by a pro. Learned my lesson.

How in the world does water etch clearcoat? I thought only highly acidic substances like bird droppings could do that over time! Is this because paint quality has continued to degrade over the years?

 

[Ace Holliday]

How in the world does water etch clearcoat? I thought only highly acidic substances like bird droppings could do that over time! Is this because paint quality has continued to degrade over the years?

I am not a chemist. The water that did this to my red RX-8 was well water. I was warned not to wash my car with it but I figured "how bad could it be?"
It was really bad. I don't think it had anything to do with quality of the paint or paint job.

 

[Desert_5G]

I 50/50 mix of vingager and water does the trick in a pinch. But wouldn't recommend it for long term use.

 

[Richard Conley]

How in the world does water etch clearcoat? I thought only highly acidic substances like bird droppings could do that over time! Is this because paint quality has continued to degrade over the years?

maybe you've never lived anywhere with really hard water - not sure, not sure it actually etches but no spray waxes would touch my water spots except the Chemical Guys Banana stuff. The spots just laughed at Quick Detailers....

 

[caprtaineddie]

If you have one, try drying immediately after washing with a backpack blower. We have very hard water and this seems to work very well.

 

[Richard Conley]

If you have one, try drying immediately after washing with a backpack blower. We have very hard water and this seems to work very well.

Every other time I have always dried immediately but in my case I believed when it said spot free rinse that is what it meant fool me once...you know the rest...

 

[Sarge104]

Personally I use a filter to do the rinse since we also suffer from hard water. There are many different hose end mounted filters avalible. I find using a chamois after washing helps a lot with water spots.

Removing them I second the clay bar approach or a fine polish.

 

[Sarge104]

This is the kit I've used for years...
Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash System Starter Kit
Linked to the amazon page. I bought mine over 15 years ago and they still produce the water cartridges for it. Normally wait for a sale to pick them up.

 

[Richard Conley]

This is the kit I've used for years...
Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash System Starter Kit
Linked to the amazon page. I bought mine over 15 years ago and they still produce the water cartridges for it. Normally wait for a sale to pick them up.

I looked at a lot of what must have been similar set ups. My water at home is harder than the water at the car wash, although its a small town and I gave the guy a hard time (no pun), it is so close to my house and until I have a garage with water and a drain (never probably) I'll probably be going there and drying on site.

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