Water Spots

[dschribs]

I`m forced to wash in the sun. That`s the bottom line. And while I think I may have found a solution for a full sun shampoo which I have yet to try (McKee’s 37 Sio2 Auto Wash) I still occasionally get water spots on my paint and windows no matter how fast I dry. My local water must be LOADED w minerals!!

So - for those occasions I just want to do a basic wash and be done w it - I`ve been looking at a spray on wipe/off water spot remover that`s safe for paint and glass. I watched a You Tube video where a well known detailer recommended diluted Meg`s Wheel Brightener for use on the paint to remove water spots. I`m not so sure about that...maybe it works but I don`t think I want to try that on my paint (He did say not to use it on glass).

I found a bunch of specialized products - as usual - but since this is an area that I`ve never sort of dove into - I`m looking for recommendations.

I`d like something that will work for fresh water spots (not etched into the paint), something that preferably does not need to be rinsed/washed afterwards (that`s sort of deafeating the purpose no?) and something that preferably will not remove my LSP.

[Lonnie]

Try Optimum`s No-rinse (ONR) and distilled water OR see this post on SOAP Ultimate TORTURE TEST !

[RaskyR1]

I think your money would be better spent on a CR Spotelss system or similar.

[512detail]

I`ve used gyeon water spot as spray on and wipe off then did a quick RW after just for good measure

never had an issue using it that way

I might also suggest a RV filter...I got one for $15 and it sure helps with water spotting

[Dan]

I agree, do an ONR wash if you have to in full sun. I`ve resorted to washing early in the morning for real washes, at least in the summer. My water is pretty hard too, around 200ppm usually.

[ShakingHorizons]

I`ve used gyeon water spot as spray on and wipe off then did a quick RW after just for good measure

never had an issue using it that way

I might also suggest a RV filter...I got one for $15 and it sure helps with water spotting

You mean "RO" filter, correct?

[512detail]

You mean "RO" filter, correct?

R V filter


im on my 2nd one, i gave the other one to a friend as I had two

-got the idea from another autopian...definitely lowers water pressure but works pretty good .. although I don`t use it anymore because both my vehicles are coated and stupid easy to wash now

(and if you get thirsty you can drink the hose water)

[jatleson]

I`ll second the deionized water filter. Takes my 160 ppm water down to 6 (and that is after using it all summer). I`ve got the system pictured below. Also use rinseless washes, they are starting to grow on me (got some McKee`s waterless wash and use it like a rinseless). That will be my plan for winter (Waterless Wash - But Not Airless Wash)

[512detail]

I`ll second the deionized water filter. Takes my 160 ppm water down to 6 (and that is after using it all summer). I`ve got the system pictured below. Also use rinseless washes, they are starting to grow on me (got some McKee`s waterless wash and use it like a rinseless). That will be my plan for winter (Waterless Wash - But Not Airless Wash)

that link has me intrigued now.. I want deionized water and that setup now!

[mjlinane]

Another ONR vote.

[dschribs]

Thanks all. I just can`t justify the cost of the water filtration system. I only do my own cars and it just doesn`t make sense from a financial point of view at this point. Maybe at some point down the road.

I do ONR washes ocassionally but for the most part I still give my cars a full blown wash most of the time. Just can`t clean the wheels, tires, wheel wells and nooks and crannies w ONR the way you can w an "old fashioned" wash.

512detail - I was actually leaning towards Gyeon Q2M Waterspot and so I think I`ll go that route. Thanks for the suggestion on the filter. I`m going to try that!

[NLove]

It looks like your water hardness ranges from 100 - 122 PPM (PPM is the same as mg/l) - FAQs / Details / Berlin, Connecticut. A lot of the time you can find the water hardness on the cities websites. Here in Plymouth, MN the water hardness ranges from 377 - 411 ppm or 22 - 24 grains per gallon. Once and a while I will wash on a cloudy day, but mostly at night.

[MattPersman]

Yes most water companies or city websites have harness listed. Mine is 400 which is ridiculous


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[512detail]

Thanks all. I just can`t justify the cost of the water filtration system. I only do my own cars and it just doesn`t make sense from a financial point of view at this point. Maybe at some point down the road.

I do ONR washes ocassionally but for the most part I still give my cars a full blown wash most of the time. Just can`t clean the wheels, tires, wheel wells and nooks and crannies w ONR the way you can w an "old fashioned" wash.

512detail - I was actually leaning towards Gyeon Q2M Waterspot and so I think I`ll go that route. Thanks for the suggestion on the filter. I`m going to try that!

I think you`d also benefit from that new si02 mckees soap or eve Poorboys super slick and wax (it has something in it that assists in sheeting when rinsing- and is not given enough love to be honest)

on the RW route, I`ll tell you like I tell anyone else.. pick up PA Flake, if you don`t love it I`ll be shocked.. its the best RW I`ve ever used and it adds some nice shine too .. one day maybe autopia will sell it here

[NLove]

It looks like your water hardness ranges from 100 - 122 PPM (PPM is the same as mg/l) - FAQs / Details / Berlin, Connecticut. A lot of the time you can find the water hardness on the cities websites. Here in Plymouth, MN the water hardness ranges from 377 - 411 ppm or 22 - 24 grains per gallon. Once and a while I will wash on a cloudy day, but mostly at night.

To continue on from my statement from earlier I started looking into water hardness because I wanted to purchase a CR Spotless system a while back. I used the CR Spotless gallons treated chart to calculate how much water I would get based on the hardness number from the city site 377 - 411 ppm. The chart says I would get roughly 100 gallons of treated water from the DI-10 unit and 200 gallons of treated water from DI-20 unit. My pressure washer is rated at 1.5 gallons a minute so I would get 67 minutes of run time on a DI-10 or 133 minutes on a DI-20 before I needed to replace the resin.

My calculations were incorrect, I will explain why and where I went wrong a little later on.

I attempted to test my house water using a TDS meter (total dissolved solids), to make sure my water softener was working properly. I learned pretty fast that I was wrong here too. A water softer replaces magnesium and calcium ions with salt ions, so my softened water TDS readings are actually a little higher than the water coming into the house.

Where I went wrong
Water hardness and total dissolved solids are two separate things. I should have been using water hardness test strips to test for water hardness and using a TDS meter to get the correct number for calculating usage from the CR Spotless.

If you are looking to get a CR Spotless system and you want to know how many usable gallons you are going to get out of the DI-10 or DI-20 you will need a TDS meter (they are inexpensive), you should not base it on the cities hardness scale since that number is measuring water hardness not TDS. Without going into to much detail, high levels of TDS does not necessarily mean you have hard water but will reduce the number of treated gallons you will get from a CR Spotless system.

Today`s water test with my TDS meter:
Distilled water: 1 ppm (I wanted to make sure the meter was working properly)
Water from the city: 312 ppm
Softened cold water: 341
Softened hot water: 475 (Molecules become more mobile and conductivity is increased. The TDS meter works by measuring the conductivity so it could be the reason for the higher number)

Let`s run the numbers based on 312 ppm that I got today:
DI-10 - Roughly 125 gallons of treated water\83 minutes of run time on the pressure washer
DI-20 - Roughly 250 gallons of treated water\166 minutes of run time on the pressure washer

I will need to figure out on average how long I run my pressure washer when I wash my car or other vehicles. It might be worth the investment, especially if I can blast most of the dirt off on a sunny day and then pull it in the garage to do a rinse less wash.

I hope people find this useful and can learn from my mistakes