I hate the water where I live :( It leaves gnarly spots on my windows. It doesn't get wet from sprinklers or anything, since it's garaged, but when I wash it, the windows I leave until last to dry get spots on them. And once they are dry it seems there is no getting them off.

I try to remove them with just a little water, with windex (i know, i know) and even try scraping with my fingernail.... nothing works! I want to get rid of them asap, since the windows on my civic were permanently water spotted :(

 

I use a paint squeegee to get the bulk of the water off and then I go at the MINI with the super absorbant Microfiber Drying Towels. I can dry the entire car in about 4 minutes.

By the way, I also continuously hose off the car during the wash so none of the beaded water can begin to dry while I'm washing.

Now that you have the spots, try some glass polish. Available at Detailer's Paradise, Griot's Garage, or any of those fine detailing retailers.

 

Ps. You can also buy a filter that goes on your hose that will take a lot of the minerals out of your hard water. That will reduce the spotting drastically. That's a little pricey though... they run well over $100 for the good ones.

 

Hey Rachael,
I'm planning on mixing 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 distilled white vinegar. I saw this idea here: http://www.automedia.com/How/to/Elim...cr20020801hw/1
There is a lot of knowledge at NAM, anyone else have a better idea?

 

I'd start with a more dillute water/vinegar mix... maybe 4 parts water, 1 part vinegar and see if that works.

Once you get the water spots off, claybar the car and wax or seal it. This will help minimize future spotting. A bit of Quick Detailing spray and a microfiber is all it takes to remove water spots from Jango after a couple coats of Zaino.

For a cheap alternative to whole-house filters or softeners, the Mr.Clean auto-dry system has a water filtration system in it as one of the final rinses. Using this (even if you don't use their soap), will help you when washing.

Wash when it's cooler and not so sunny. Keep the entire car wet while washing (rinse all panels every time, even though you only washed one or two). When done, give a final all-over rinse and use a water blade (carefully, and on a very clean car only) to knock off the bulk of the water. Use a waffle weave microfiber to finish the drying process.

 

I had this problem on my old car. On the glass I used a shower cleaner that removes water spots. The paint I had to polish.

I second the recommendation for the Mr. Clean Auto Dry. It's about $30 and will get allllmost all the crap out that leaves the spots.

 

Clay is a great way to remove water spots from glass.

Here is an info sheet on Clay which describes what clay is and how to use it (in case you've not used it before):

All About Clay

Good luck!

-Heather

 

Thanks guys! These all sound like awesome ideas. I will defnitley wax the car soon, and I think I should wax the glass too. Then I will get the mr. clean thingy and keep my bottle of quick detailer handy. If I ever catch some that are hard to remove, I'll defnitley try the vinegar approach!

Thanks again

 

get one of these...



i've been using one for a few weeks now and it works great!

 

how long does the filter last? Our water is horrible. We have been using the mr clean kit, and it works better, but not 100%. I even filter our shower and kitchen sink water.

 

I've been using the Mr. Clean Pro washing set. It comes with the hose attachment, a nice wash mit (nothing super fancy), soap that is dispensed from the hose attachment, and a filter that lets you spray on a filmy thing (ok wrong word I think) that makes the water dry without spots. Works pretty well and makes for a much faster wash job since you don't have to worry about buckets and the such... Filters and soap last me about a month and a bit in good weather. I figure it's worth it

 

Use that stuff I let you borrow today. It works quite well.

 

I love the Mr. Clean AutoDry system too. I've stopped using it for soap, but I still use the filtered water for the final rinse to remove water spots. Don't go by the rated "10 Washes" go by the filter window turning brown. One filter usually lasts me most of the way through the summer.

 

Me personally, picked up a detail kit from Adam Polishes and picked up a couple good tips from them. I wash the car and when its rinse time, rinse with the nozzle on the hose, then take the nozzle off and just use straight hose for rinsing (it sheets the water over the car and actually pulls more water off the car) and then use the blower on a shop vac to blow most the water off (focusing on cracks and crevices)... at that point I take a microfiber drying towel and spray the car with a light mist of detail spray as i dry the car with microfier towel. This leaves me with no water spots.

BEATNUT

 

I read somewhere that the Auto Dry leaves a film on the car. Or maybe I'm dreaming

Mark

 

We've found that the Mr Clean Auto Dry does seem to leave a film after repeated uses. The film is not as noticable on lighter colored paint, of course.

Ultimately, it really depends on how picky you are about the perfect appearance of the paint vs. the convenience of the system.

We haven't been able to see any detrimental effects of the film on the paint. It just seems to be there, nothing more. It can be removed by a paint cleanser product, a Dawn wash, or a few regular car soap washes in a row.

The filter systems such as CR Spotless and others seem to yield the best results in preventing water spots. However, these systems are expensive and in our experience take several "tweakings" to get the filters installed correctly so they will work well.

I'll be thrilled when someone can perfect the filter systems and then offer them at a lower price! Maybe one day... in the meantime, you'll just have to follow the tips from BE4TNUT (above). They really do make a BIG difference, IMO. (or you can use the Auto Dry system if you don't care about the film)

Good luck!

-Heather

 

Yeah I think your best bet is to try what I do, it works great. If you dont have microfiber drying towels, detail spray or quick detail for the final drying I am sure detailers paradise can hook you up with some good product for it. If all else fails though, just take some clay to it.

BEATNUT

 

That's what I use.





The replacement filters come like this


And the resin crystals inside the filters can be dumped out and replaced simply by pouring new resin crystals in.

It wasn't a cheap solution at $299 for the filter, but it will filter 100 gallons, it does show me how the filter is working by measuring the amount of minerals in the water and giving me realtime feedback on that, and it's as simple to use as plugging in into my water hose.

I also bottle the water (not for drinking)--but to use with my QEW wash solution. I put it into a 2liter bottle, measure in the appropriate capfuls of QEW then using a MF sponge, I can do a quick wash.

The small unit that I have will fit in the back footwell of the MINI for transport as well.

Richard

 

The AutoDry soap leaves a coating on the car, not the filtered water. That's why I don't use the soap if I am going to be waxing the car.

 

Yes, good point! I should've included that in my review.

-Heather