Hard Water Spots from He11

[Beemerboy]

Over this last weekend...I went to watch my niece get married...fun times..about 300 miles each way..road trip with the mighty 540!....they recently got a brand new Ford Focus....light green...they had parked in there apt complex and the sprinklers wet down a good half the car...My niece didn`t do anything about it and let the water dry on the car in the hot Nevada heat in July!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:

They have not done one thing about it since:confused::confused:

The day after the wedding we all decided to stay one more night at my sisters house...big family gathering...she asks me to look at her car...no problem..I had my road cleaning gear with me..

I get out to look at the car and you can see and feel the white mineral deposits on the surface...about as bad as I`ve ever seen...I went to the local auto supplier and picked up some Mothers clay and Megs paint cleaner....The water spots laughed at the clay and PC...there was no effect that I could see..none...I worked on one small area just to see if I could get one small area to clean up..nope!...same with the paint cleaner...I tried some vinegar and water..soaked it like crazy and nothing!!


All I could think of at this point was I needed a rotary and some PP...or some heavier duty clay, the FK1 decon system or set sanding...of which I have all here.

So all this said...after they get back from the honey moon I`ve invited them here for the weekend to get this corrected...I have ideas..but this is quite possible the hardest water spots I`ve seen on any car


What do you think?

[dr_detail]

I got just the thing.... call me tomorrow ;)

[Poorboy]

you already have the answer ... Bug Squash or APC ;)

[Smokin' Mark]

In my experience really bad water spots require a rotary polisher, a medium grit pad, and a "no joke" swirl remover like Wolfgang.

Good luck, you can do it!

[Beemerboy]

you already have the answer ... Bug Squash or APC ;)


Steve

I had your APC with me...and I`m out of the BS...however your APC straight was no match for these WS....this is more like a film of baked on calcium


I got just the thing.... call me tomorrow ;)

Will do!

[dr_detail]

Will do!Always nice talking to ya... :) Looking forward to the results when they return. :)

[Beemerboy]

Always nice talking to ya... :) Looking forward to the results when they return. :)

Same here and thanks for the help!:D

[StlShine]

You also might want to try CLR, its available at any hardware store. It really cuts off old calcium, Even removes Concrete lime like a charm.

[Beemerboy]

You also might want to try CLR, its available at any hardware store. It really cuts off old calcium, Even removes Concrete lime like a charm.

Have you an personal experience with this on car paint?


Process you used, dilution ratio?

Do I just pour this on the car and hope for the best?



I`m looking to remove the calcium...not the clear coat and paint all the same time:wow:

[Beemerboy]

I took a few pics of this the one of the top of the car shows the WS the best...this car is clean on the top that is not dirt of any sort...again these are adhered to the surface of the car...not even a finger nail scraping them did anything

This is brand new paint car is only a few months old...there is a small amount of metallic in it

[StlShine]

Have you an personal experience with this on car paint?


Process you used, dilution ratio?

Do I just pour this on the car and hope for the best?



I`m looking to remove the calcium...not the clear coat and paint all the same time

I`ve used it for years to take off lime, from run off at the airport parking garages.

It`s actually a really easy process, and safe to use on any surface of the car (Plastic, Glass, Paint, Trim) that I have found

There is no need to dilute it, just use it straight out of the bottle.

The process I use is:

1. Wash area to remove dirt/grit
2. Dry area
3. Apply a small amount on the effected area to let soak ( about one minute)
4. Using a terry cloth a a small dab of CLR rub area, thiis should remove any build up pretty easy
5. After Lime/Calcium is removed I like to rinse the area with water to clean off any CLR residue
6. Buff any light scratches as needed

Its actually a pretty good money maker:bigups

[Beemerboy]

I`ve used it for years to take off lime, from run off at the airport parking garages.

It`s actually a really easy process, and safe to use on any surface of the car (Plastic, Glass, Paint, Trim) that I have found

There is no need to dilute it, just use it straight out of the bottle.

The process I use is:

1. Wash area to remove dirt/grit
2. Dry area
3. Apply a small amount on the effected area to let soak ( about one minute)
4. Using a terry cloth a a small dab of CLR rub area, thiis should remove any build up pretty easy
5. After Lime/Calcium is removed I like to rinse the area with water to clean off any CLR residue
6. Buff any light scratches as needed

Its actually a pretty good money maker:bigups

I don`t doubt that it works...I use it here for bathrooms and such..excellent product!


What you are using it on is cement, not auto clear coat and that`s what I asked you.

I also posted that I found they do not recommend it being used on painted surfaces that are glazed

You can follow this link to a thread I ran about this some time back...I had thought after seeing this on TV if it would work..you can read about the results here.

http://www.detailcity.org/forums/off-topic-forum/19689-using-clr-hard-water-spots.html?highlight=clr

[GearHead_1]

I thought StlShine was kidding. It`s an acid. I know Troy likes finish acid but it`s purpose designed. CLR cleans pipes and concrete. CLR does not belong on a cars finish. End of story. As detailers we debate the merits of a Dawn wash but condone putting CLR on our paint? CLR undoubtedly works differently on a variety of materials, I love it for shower heads. I personally would rather approach the nuances of wet sanding the finish than dealing with the potenial etching CLR might induce. There are a number of products in between where Beemer has been and actually wet sanding the finish. I`ve got to think the solution here lies with the right compound/pad combination.

[Old Pirate]

Try using vinegar.

[Beemerboy]

Try using vinegar.

Did that not even fazed these spots.:D

I didn`t post that in my original post...sorry