Can I add distilled vinegar to my wash to prevent water spots?

[5IVE]

How much can I add? Or is this something that is not advised?

[Paulie Walnuts]

By doing that you are going to remove any wax or sealant that you have on the car. I would not advise it.

[Jngrbrdman]

I second that advice up there. On top of that, it also won`t actually prevent any waterspots. It will help remove waterspots, but not much can prevent them except for drying the vehicle properly.

[joyriiide1113]

get a crspotless unit.

[paul34]

Well, in my experience, vinegar might have the ability to affect LSPs, but not anything major. I suppose this all depends on the LSP....



However, due to my water, I always have to do a vinegar wipedown after _every_ wash . My ONR QD and "NXT speed detailer" (not really good anyway) just get laughed at by the water spots that form within seconds of a rinse.



I`ve done a vinegar wipedown twice thus far on my current LSP and my 845IW still beads nicely (in the 845 way of beading, so at least I know its not just the paint that`s beading) and looks great after a wash. Of course, if I had the time, I`d put on a coat of Max Wax after each wash. Aquawax would do it too... but I`ve been on a carnauba craze lately so I just can`t bring myself to "waste" time with AW heh.



Regardless, water spots aren`t really from the wash solution per se. It`s mostly from the rinsing... which comes straight from the hose. Not much you can do there unless you get an inline hose filter like this:



Garden Hose Filters



Or, like joyride said, get a CSRSpotless uint - although those are significantly more expensive. However, you`re guaranteed a spotless rinse with the second option.

[orngez]

go with optimum no rinse and just wipe each panel as you wash...

[SuperBee364]

Short answer: no.



Long answer:



As others have stated, you do run a very good risk of removing your LSP by using vinegar in your wash. Vinegar is great at *removing* water spots (it`s an acid, and breaks down the minerals in a water spot), but it isn`t effective at *preventing* water spots. The only way to do that is to either dry the vehicle before the water evaporates, or use a reverse osmosis water filter system to provide you with de-ionized water. Please note that de-ionized water is not your typical soft water. De-ionized water, while soft, is actually better than traditional "soft" water, because the sodium that is used to soften the water is removed. Normal "soft" water is full of sodium, which can then spot your car.



Edit: Doh! just read jngrbrdman`s post and realized I`m echoing him. Ah well, great minds think alike....