What is all over my car?!

M

Mutilator

New member
Alright this has been bugging me for a long time now... I've been meaning to take some pics but havn't had a chance to so I'll try to describe the problem the best I can.

I think it all started a little over a year ago when I started washing/detailing my car at my sister's house that uses well water. I've got what looks like water spots all over the paint and the glass as well. This makes it very difficult to see at night when lights are coming at you, and early in the morning when the sun is shining through the windshield. Nothing seems to remove these things, I'm not sure if it's the water, acid rain, 3M SMR that wasn't removed completely (or Zaino glass polish on the glass) or what. It's very annoying though.

Here's what I've tried:

Paint:

dawn wash, 3m smr

Windows:

Dawn wash, Zaino glass polish probably about 5 times w/PC, some vinegar.



The only thing I havn't tried yet is Alcohol. I keep seeing people saying to use an alcohol wash to remove Zaino but I havn't seen how to go about doing this. Do I just buy a couple gallons of alcohol and fill up my wash bucket with it and use that after a regular wash? Do I put some in a spray bottle and spray it on kinda like a heavy layer of Z6? Do you use regular rubbing alcohol like you buy in stores or should I have the lab here at work order me a special kind?



I just want to get these spots off my car before I apply anymore zaino. No sense in trapping them under even more zaino. :rolleyes:

If I can use regular rubbing alcohol let me know... I'll put some on a MF towel and see what happens on my windshield. I just don't want to try it on my paint if it's going to eat it off. ;)

Since it's probably the water I'll just plan on driving to my Dad's house from now on once I get the spots gone. Never had a problem with his nice high pressure (compared to well) city water.
 
Forgot to mention I've also clayed and used lighter fluid (naptha).

Think it's time to get it repainted and replace all the glass and never wash my car with well water again? ;)
 
I've heard that a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar works to remove the minerals in water spots. However, it sounds like your paint and glass may have been etched by long-term exposure to the minerals. If that is the case, I'm not sure there is much you can do to fix it.



I'm sure you'll get more responses on this from others who have encountered the same problem. Hang in there!



Sean
 
I had hard water spotting on my paint too. I got rid of it using a PC with:



3M Finesse-it II Machine Polish w/yellow CMA cutting pad, followed up by 3M SMR w/CMA white poilishing pad.



If that doesn't take care of it, I don't know what will.
 
I don't know what kind of product Zaino's glass polish is, but I'm kinda surprised something called a "glass polish" didn't help your windows. I have a friend with pretty bad (etched in) water spots too, and Autoglym's glass polish was taking them out nicely with a bit of rubbing. I didn't finish just because we were short on time. This spring I'll probably polish them all out with the help of my PC.
 
This is gonna sound nuts, but I saw this on the Speedvision Channel & they were spraying WD-40 through the little red extension on the problem areas & then wipping with a cotton cloth until it was gone, then of course they recommended a complete rinse on the areas. I haven't had to try it so I don't really know, it looked like it worked. :wavey
 
geekysteve said:
Perhaps AutoInt's ABC wash system would remove the damage?
Click to expand...



It more than likely will. The second step acid wash will more than likely break down the mineral deposits if given sufficient dwell time and kept wet (provided that is indeed the problem).
 
Is the ABC stuff actually like a carwash concentrate? Or is some of it a quick detail spray type thing?

I assume I order it from autoint.com and you have to buy it 1 gallon at a time?



Should I even bother trying alcohol or just go straight for the ABC?



I did a search for ABC but came up with pages and pages of threads... I'm at work so I don't have time to go thru each one right now... I'll do that when I get home. ;)



lol this forum keeps changing every time I come here... it changed yesterday... and now it just changed again while I was searching threads. Poor modem users. :p
 
i had the same problem with some hardwater etching on my hood and trunk. i ended up using a pc with some 3m smr and they're pretty much all gone. of course, now the car is dirty because of all the crappy rain we've been having, but nonetheless, those water etchings can be buffed out.
 
I would suggest using a PC with 3M Medium Oxidation Remover at a relatively medium to high speed for the paint...



As for the glass... Are you doing it by hand? If so, it's really tough... It took me hours to do my windows by hand before until I experimented with my rotary + pad + bonnet+lowest speed route with the same glass polishing compound and it took no more than 10mins to finish the whole car's glass...



Oh, I used this polish, not sure where to get it in the US, but the Autoglym kit would work as well...
 
Mutilator said:
Is the ABC stuff actually like a carwash concentrate? Or is some of it a quick detail spray type thing?

I assume I order it from autoint.com and you have to buy it 1 gallon at a time?



Should I even bother trying alcohol or just go straight for the ABC?



I did a search for ABC but came up with pages and pages of threads... I'm at work so I don't have time to go thru each one right now... I'll do that when I get home. ;)



lol this forum keeps changing every time I come here... it changed yesterday... and now it just changed again while I was searching threads. Poor modem users. :p
Click to expand...



The abc wash system is three seperate washes for your vehicle each serving a specific purpose. The first is an alkaline carwash designed to neutralize any acids from acid rain and to remove all waxes/silicones from the paint. The second step is an acid bath designed to remove ferrous contamination from the paint (this step will more than likely remove any mineral deposits) and the third step is a neutral ph car wash soap designed to return the paint to a neutral ph. After washing with all three steps, inspect paint with a 30x magnifier and clay or polish as necessary if any deposites remain.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top