Dealing with weekly dried up water drop marks with car outside

[Manix]

My ride sits in my driveway outside most time. Whether it`s rain or tape water, the water drops always leave water marks when they dry by them self. Most times I don`t wipe the water off
my car after a wash with a chamois as it`s just not worth it if not garaged, if it rains you need to wash the car anyway or else small debris will be on the paint.


This is a problem with dark plastics & plastics in general on the car, as the fresh drops require a fair bit of rubbing with the
chamois or microfiber towl to get streak free, but I`m sure such continually wiping will add swirl to the plastics.




I`m not sure if an LSP is even remotely beneficial on glass? I put in on there so water marks won`t stick to the glass while the car
sits in the sun all day after being wet, but mine (rejex) seems to make the drops still hard to wipe away. I`m thinking maybe to
clean the LSP off & just stick to washing once a week, & hope the dry water spots wash off each time.

As for wiping water off the car after a wash, I find my giant microfiber waffle towl still better than a leather chamois. Although the chamois is superior in absorbing water
usually in one wipe compared to my MF towl requiring 3-4 wipes. The MF towl is much quicker at being spread out on paint, ringed out & opened again, plus they seem so tough taking 100`s if not thousands of washes.
Where the chamois sticks to it self & costs too much time & they seem to thin out getting holes in them wrong all the ringing water out.

 

[Accumulator]

Manix- I`d absolutely get that tap water off it as hard water can really cause issues. Tap water is completely different, in this context, from rain water. I would *NOT* wipe off rainwater as any dirt on the vehicle will cause marring.

I`d get a good Glass Coating on the exterior glass rather than using a LSP and I suspect you need better glass cleaning stuff.

I`d LSP it with that FK1000P and treat the trim with something like Ultima`s TTG+.

You need a good LSP on there; bare paint will have *REALLY SERIOUS* issues in no time if left outside no matter how often you wash.

If your Chamois soaks up more water than your MF Drying Towels then the latter are not good ones. I`d get better Drying MFs and throw away the Chamois (yeah, I used one back in the `70s, times have changed and there are better options, for numerous reasons). I prefer a few smaller (16"x16") MFs over larger ones, but whatever you use have plenty of them. Even if you wring them out thoroughly, at some point you need to get out a fresh one, and if a MF gets soiled it should be immediately replaced with a clean one. Consider using something like a good Rinseless Wash as a Drying Aid.

And yeah, when I see the word "rubbing" I think "marring". Other than the glass and tires, I basically treat every surface on every vehicle as if it were as sensitive as an eyeball. Even parked outside 24/7, aggressive scrubbing/rubbing just shouldn`t be necessary though I guess some guys will do it if treesap is an issue (I wouldn`t, even then).

Given the various issues you`ve posted about, IMO your vehicle simply needs a "reset" in the sense of one Major Detail where you sort out its current issues and set it up to better weather it`s being exposed to the elements. So...

Summary:

-wash and decontaminate vehicle
-thoroughly clean the trim and glass
-clean/polish the paint
-apply good LSP, Trim Sealant, Glass Sealant, and do something for the wheels/tires
-clean glass as often as needed
-properly wash/dry vehicle as needed

Yeah, that`s a lot, but it seems that what you`re doing now just isn`t working satisfactorily.

 

[Manix]

Manix- I`d absolutely get that tap water off it as hard water can really cause issues. Tap water is completely different, in this context, from rain water. I would *NOT* wipe off rainwater as any dirt on the vehicle will cause marring.

I`d get a good Glass Coating on the exterior glass rather than using a LSP and I suspect you need better glass cleaning stuff.

I`d LSP it with that FK1000P and treat the trim with something like Ultima`s TTG+.

You need a good LSP on there; bare paint will have *REALLY SERIOUS* issues in no time if left outside no matter how often you wash.

If your Chamois soaks up more water than your MF Drying Towels then the latter are not good ones. I`d get better Drying MFs and throw away the Chamois (yeah, I used one back in the `70s, times have changed and there are better options, for numerous reasons). I prefer a few smaller (16"x16") MFs over larger ones, but whatever you use have plenty of them. Even if you wring them out thoroughly, at some point you need to get out a fresh one, and if a MF gets soiled it should be immediately replaced with a clean one. Consider using something like a good Rinseless Wash as a Drying Aid.

And yeah, when I see the word "rubbing" I think "marring". Other than the glass and tires, I basically treat every surface on every vehicle as if it were as sensitive as an eyeball. Even parked outside 24/7, aggressive scrubbing/rubbing just shouldn`t be necessary though I guess some guys will do it if treesap is an issue (I wouldn`t, even then).

Given the various issues you`ve posted about, IMO your vehicle simply needs a "reset" in the sense of one Major Detail where you sort out its current issues and set it up to better weather it`s being exposed to the elements. So...

Summary:

-wash and decontaminate vehicle
-thoroughly clean the trim and glass
-clean/polish the paint
-apply good LSP, Trim Sealant, Glass Sealant, and do something for the wheels/tires
-clean glass as often as needed
-properly wash/dry vehicle as needed

Yeah, that`s a lot, but it seems that what you`re doing now just isn`t working satisfactorily.

Thanks Accumulator.

I will try FK1000p sounds simple. In my defense my car sat in my drive way with bare paint for a about 2years, although the bird poop was sometimes so hard to get off in summer, all the paint damage was actually done by falling twigs & mostly birds. My interior was cleaned very well before I applied 303 all over the leather & others, however the stuff just fades quickly & doesn`t seem to be a good barrier to resist stains as the coat seems very thin.

My cleaning is basic, rinse paint well with hose, then wash with soft microfiber cloth like the ones you use to clean LCD screens & clean this cloth after sections of the car as it still picks up small bits. This methods doesn`t seem to put any swirl in even after 2years as my dark plastics don`t show any. And plastics are much more prone to scratching than harder car paint. Then just chamois the door rams etc. I usually leave the body wet.

 

[Accumulator]

Manix- Huh, your experiences with how the wash goes all sound very different from mine, but I`m glad it`s working for you.

You *will* have to decontaminate and properly prep the paint before you apply the FK1000P, so at least plan on using some All In One product after the decon.

 

[Manix]

Manix- Huh, your experiences with how the wash goes all sound very different from mine, but I`m glad it`s working for you.

You *will* have to decontaminate and properly prep the paint before you apply the FK1000P, so at least plan on using some All In One product after the decon.

I just first polished the dull paint with M205, then a good wash. I was using dish washing liquid, but will now try a car shampoo. Then dry properly.

I`m reading just a 2 coats of FK1000p is needed, the second just in case ya missed a spot, & that more won`t do much & can be detrimental to the previous coats.

thanks


edit: Just forgot to ask how far does a single jar of FK1000p go? How many coats on a large car can one jar do?

 

[nickclark08]

I`m a FK1000p user as well, and I would be shocked if a container of this wax didn`t last you a solid 5-10 years (likely more) with frequent use. You don`t need much to apply a thin coat, and the stuff lasts a good while before needing to reapply.

I just first polished the dull paint with M205, then a good wash. I was using dish washing liquid, but will now try a car shampoo. Then dry properly.

I`m reading just a 2 coats of FK1000p is needed, the second just in case ya missed a spot, & that more won`t do much & can be detrimental to the previous coats.

thanks


edit: Just forgot to ask how far does a single jar of FK1000p go? How many coats on a large car can one jar do?

 

[Accumulator]

I`m a FK1000p user as well, and I would be shocked if a container of this wax didn`t last you a solid 5-10 years (likely more) with frequent use. You don`t need much to apply a thin coat, and the stuff lasts a good while before needing to reapply.

Yeah, I`d expect a tin to last at least ten years no matter how often its applied (assuming it`s not applied in a wasteful manner). The tiny little sample tin of FK1000P I got for free lasted me a few years. Even a tin of "regular wax" like M16/Collinite always lasts me at least a decade, and I`m doing multiple big vehicles with numerous coats. People use soooo much more than they need to..