Questions about using Vinegar to remove water spots

[bcwang]

I have a hood with lots and lots of water spots from sprinklers, and want to try to to remove them with vinegar. I have a few questions about using vinegar I hope you guys can help with.



-Heinz 50% distilled white vinegar (50 grains acidity), the right strength to use?

-Should I use it full strength or dilute it?

-How long can I safely leave it on paint and trim?

-Do I need to wash the car after using it or do something other than wipe it off?

-Will this remove LSP?



Thanks!

 

[the other pc]

-Heinz 50% distilled white vinegar (50 grains acidity), the right strength to use?

Should be fine.



-Should I use it full strength or dilute it?

It’s not particularly critical. I usually cut it 50% with DI water but there’s nothing magical about that number.



-How long can I safely leave it on paint and trim?

Good question. It’s very mild, probably a very long time. But it doesn’t really matter. If it works, it works reasonably fast.



-Do I need to wash the car after using it or do something other than wipe it off?

I would at least rinse it off. I tend to spray it on before doing a regular wash.



-Will this remove LSP?

Probably. Just to be safe you should assume it does.



The thing to remember is that vinegar only removes mineral deposits. If you have staining or etching you’ll need to polish them out.



pc.

 

[bcwang]

Cool, I'll give it a try full strength and see if I can get off the spots. Hopefully there is no etching. The hood gets hit every single night with the sprinklers, so hopefully that dissolves the old deposits and just creates new ones every night.