We have very hard water in Indiana so I really have a difficult time washing my vehicles and getting them totally dry without getting water spots. If I spray on some quick detailing liquid while drying the vehicles will this prevent the water spots?

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Get a water blad, its basically a sqeegy with medical grade silicone that wont scratch your pant and sqeegy the water off , way faster , lets using of towl or what ever you use to dry.

 

The 2 ( limited knowledge ) items I would think of for water spots.

1. Inline filter to "soften" the rinse water
- I use the quotes, see below

2. Use a leaf blower ( or electric blower like for a sidewalk ) to get the bulk of the water off before going to the mist of QD and towel off.

This is only what I have grasped from reading information.

I got my dad the dual inline water filters ( back in 2003 ) that RP had brought up ( or suggested maybe ) and it helped with his well water rinsing. It just came up in a post here not too long ago, I got 2 inline filters that help with hard water. Think is it removing items from the water more than softening it. Maybe that is really what softening is ?? I have Chicago water, so it is not a big issue for me to keep at the front.

The mist of QD is always a good idea for drying to minimize leaving marks on the paint. There are even ones like Aquawax that add a bit of gloss and slick boost to the paint if you are only washing ( not a detail or LSP layer )

 

Where do you get them? Are they available at Auto parts stores?

 

That is always going to be a battle with hard water.

Do your coin op washes have soft water? Generally most coin op washes have a spot free rinse selection and your out of the sun which is big. If you do it at home try washing in the shade or get the car out of the sun immediately after washing, that will slow down the drying process. Use a quality car wash. I like Meguiar's Gold class. For even better application use it with a foam gun.

A quick detailing spray would certainly be fine to use as you dry.

Another thing you could try would be to use a no rinse wash product such as ONR (Optimum No Rinse).

Probably the most expensive route, but probably the most effective if your determined to do it at home would be to get a de-ionized water rinse system.

 

The mist of QD is always a good idea for drying to minimize leaving marks on the paint. There are even ones like Aquawax that add a bit of gloss and slick boost to the paint if you are only washing

 

even with filters you get water spots a good inline filter and towel dry best way

 

in addition to filters, I use:
No7 Car Wash Concentrate
It is available at True Value Hardware and the Mfg is RainDance/ArmorAll Corp...befor that it was Dupount for 20+ years who made it. It is a powder form (liquid is available too), just about every commercial carwash uses this......though I use about 1/3 what they recommend, very concentrated. It has excellent anti-water spotting agents...I really could not believe how well it worked until my dad (back in the 60's) had me use it....and I still use it to this day (and yeas we have block vehiles). Another trick that I have also found is to use a gardening water wand to rinse the vehicle. now I know you have to be thinking what does this have to do with the time of day......as a fluke one day i had to use it to rinse my truck...not only because of the extension, i could easily reach the roof, the gentle flooding action actually rinsed out all the nooks & cranny's much better than I could befor...which inadventantly also helped with the water spots.

 

Hard water where I live too. I used to wash my truck a section at a time, middle first then worked my way out to either end. Allowed me the time to dry off the truck without water spots more or less.

But, birdshooter's suggestion of Optimum No Rinse is what I ended up with. Works well and is the only way I've washed my truck for the last year or so. Duragloss has a new "no rinse" product that I might try when I run out of ONR.

 

In-line water filters can be purchased from AutoGeek.net, Autopia and many other detail product sites. I have switched to Turtle Wax ICE Car Wash as it is the only wash I can use in the summer month's to keep from getting water spot's. I also use a squeegee that can be purchased from Walmart or almost any part's store and then go back over it with a Meguiar's Water Magnet drying towel.

When first using the Water Magnet, it seems as if it is going to leave streaks when the water is wiped off. It does not. Just go over the panel a few times as if you were using a chamois. Then, go over the truck with a quick detailer and/or quick wax like Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus Quick Wax to boost the wax. This should also aid in wash and dry the next time around.

 

I'm a big fan of never using a water blade or squeegee type device on paint to remove water.
There are many reasons but I don't want to go into all of them at the moment.

Different car wash soaps will assist in aiding with reducing or eliminating water spotting.

To dry paint I like to use a giant microfiber towel that is thick and plush on both sides.
After a rinse I wipe the paint surface by lightly pulling the towel MF towel over the paint.
In the event that there are small (still wet) areas where water spots may form I wipe with small MF towels.

On a side note: The Mr. Clean Auto Dry (final rinse filters) have helped a lot to reduce/eliminate water spots.
After it's clean and any paint preparation is done, keeping a good coat of wax/sealant on will aid with washing.

 

So do you just sit around and make this crap up?

No 7 actually makes a decent product, but it has nothing to do with ArmorAll or the Armored Group (formerly the Clorox Global Autogroup). It is one of the Cylco brands, purchased from DuPont, and now falls under the Pidilite corporate umbrella.

Very few if any commercial washes use it. There are hundreds of vastly superior products available for commercial tunnel and bay use.

 

I can understand why you would not use a water blade on your paint. I tend to use it more on the glass, top of cab and soft tonneau cover than any other place on the truck. I have found some that are more flexible than other's.

I ensure the blade is clean by washing it in a bucket of car soap then rinse it in a bucket of warm water. I have primed the blade with quick detailer but tend not to for the most part.

 

For a final rinse take the nozzle off the hose. Then use the opened end hose and blanket the truck with water. The nozzle creates water beading which creates water spots. Using the hose without a nozzle will sheen the water, which gives you less of a chance of water spots. It also helps with drying time.

 

I use the sheeting method as well. A good trick is to using a small length of a coupe of feet of hose with the end cut on a 45 degree angle. It allows the water to come out of the hose a little smoother and if you do end up bumping the paint than no worries now that you don't have that brass end on there.

After the sheeting method I use this... Best investment I have made to date!

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Force-St.../dp/B002EKAI5Q