After Rain - Prevent Water Spots

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crazyhank

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Hi,

I have a black car, detailed flawless with PBL sealant and Souveran Paste Wax. I wash it with CR Spotless Wash, and works great to prevent water spots.

Car was dusty and it rained while I was out, and haven't had a chance to wash it after for 2 weeks. Just washed and the entire hood is covered in the water spots, especially where the dust pooled.

I know how to correct the paint, but asking for best way to prevent after rain without having to wash the entire car after each rain.

Thanks and welcome any advice!
 
Water spots are a result of mineral deposits left on the surface after the water has evaporated. These minerals can come from within the water (hard water) or from particles already on the surface of your vehicle if dirty (ie pollen, dust, etc). Most rain water, aside from acid rain, will not leave spots on its own... at least that has been my experience. The exception is when you have particles already on your paint, as I already mentioned, that will stick to the water droplets forming as it rains and remain after the water evaporates. Municipal water sources... tap water from hoses, sprinklers, etc. is typically quite hard and therefore will certainly leave spots and should never be allowed to dry on your vehicle.

Regardless of the LSP that is applied to your vehicle, if these mineral deposits are left on the surface, you will have stubborn water spots. If left for too long, you may experience water spot etchings.

Long story short - if you're concerned about water spots, wash your car after it rains.


If your spots have not etched, a good wash with some warm water may be all it takes to remove them. Otherwise you will need to use a water spot remover like CarPro Spotless. If they have etched, then break out the abrasives. Polish, Compound, or in the most severe cases, wet sanding will remove water spot etchings.
 
Short of washing your car, all you can do is give it a quick wipe down with some detailing spray if your car is clean but just has the water spots from the rain. Granted they're not as bad as the hard water you'd get from the city but a quick detailer should fix it for you without you having to re-wash your car. That being said, I pretty much just wash my car after it rains. Maybe consider the rinseless/waterless route for a faster wash.
 
GSKR said:
Or collinite.
Click to expand...

I love Collinite, and it has been on all of my cars for years, but I've always had water spot issues with it. The water beading is insane, which actually causes more spotting issues.

My car sits outside while I'm at work, and I frequently come out to the car after it's been raining and my car is covered in dusty polka dots. In fact, yesterday when I walked out to my car after a day of showers, my car was the only one in the lot with lots of water beads on all of the horizontal surfaces. All of the ill-kept cars around me were dry.

My car too is black. I've found a good covering of a quality LSP teamed up with routine washes is the best defense against spotting.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
If your spots have not etched, a good wash with some warm water may be all it takes to remove them. Otherwise you will need to use a water spot remover like CarPro Spotless. .
Click to expand...

I came close to trying Spotless. Any worries about it impacting a coating, wax or sealant?
 
pdqgp said:
Finish Kare 1000P is what I used on the Audi this past summer. No spots.
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this has always been my go to but with hard water it does nothing, im coated now and the coat is better then 1000p but still if water is left to sit and has any deposits no matter what you have for a LSP it will spot or etch
 
pdqgp said:
I came close to trying Spotless. Any worries about it impacting a coating, wax or sealant?
Click to expand...

Spotless was developed to work with coatings, enabling detailers/vehicle owners to remove bonded mineral spots without having to break out the polisher and risk degrading or removing the coating. It may effect waxes & sealants negatively... I haven't tried.
 
Black paint is a nightmare, you really want to try and find a LSP that sheets instead of beading. Beading looks sexy but results in very bad water spots, as Desertnate noticed nice tall great looking beads dry extremely slowly and just catch more airborne contaminants and they settle right on the outside edge of the water droplet and form hideous rings. Beading is for light colored cars.
 
I am an authorized installer for Optimum. Spotless and MDR do little by themselves to help severe spotting. We have had recent success with bad water spotting using wheel acid that contains Ammonium Bi-Flouride...Yes one's first reaction would be, I WOULD NEVER SPRAY WHEEL ACID on my paint. Rest assured, its totally safe and Opti-Coat Pro and Gloss Coat safe.

Process for removal:
Ferrex, allow to dwell for a minute
Hose off
Spray MDR, gently spread with a foam applicator one section at a time, allow 5-10 minutes to dwell (disregard the 30 seconds the label says) and hose off
Spray wheel acid, spread gently with foam applicator one section at a time, allow 1 minute to dwell without allowing acid to dry, hose off
Spotless finish guaranteed!
 
have you tried a water spot remover? ive had great results with carpros water spot remover and removing very very hard spots so would thing that if you stray, let dwell and wipe they should come off if they have only been there for a few weeks. ive had it remove spots that have sat for months and baked in over 100 degree desert heat. ill work it in with a yellow or orange pad and then wipe clean. in the end I didn't need to polish and LSP is in tact
 
Carpro Spotless works quite well. I just spray on the waterspots, let it sit for like.. 10 seconds and then wipe it off then hose it off or so or waterless wash spritz the panel down.
 
crazyhank said:
Hi,

I have a black car, detailed flawless with PBL sealant and Souveran Paste Wax. I wash it with CR Spotless Wash, and works great to prevent water spots.

Car was dusty and it rained while I was out, and haven't had a chance to wash it after for 2 weeks. Just washed and the entire hood is covered in the water spots, especially where the dust pooled.

I know how to correct the paint, but asking for best way to prevent after rain without having to wash the entire car after each rain.

Thanks and welcome any advice!
Click to expand...

I have the same issue with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant...and if I top it with Pinnacle Spray Wax it does the same. What's the deal? I'm letting the sealant cure and it is not exposed to moisture until the next day?
 
I don't think the issues have anything to do with how the products are applied. If water sits on the surface and then evaporates it will leave dirt and/or mineral deposits behind. The severity of those spots will depend on many factors.

The only way I can see to totally prevent spotting has already been mentioned: Wash/wipe down the vehicle immediately after it gets wet.
 
cleanfreak3 said:
I have the same issue with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant...and if I top it with Pinnacle Spray Wax it does the same. What's the deal? I'm letting the sealant cure and it is not exposed to moisture until the next day?
Click to expand...

We can send a man to the moon, but we can't stop water spotting.
 
pdqgp said:
I came close to trying Spotless. Any worries about it impacting a coating, wax or sealant?
Click to expand...

Spotless will kill or substantially degrade normal waxes and most sealants. It is just barely within the tolerable chemical pH range for CQuartz coatings so that it will not harm the coating (when used as directed).
 
In my experience, if dust has settled for a day or two on a recently washed car and it rains, you will see water spots. I love coming out to my car after or during a rain and see tight beading, and I don't mind cleaning the water spots after.

A good quick detail spray (Crystal Mist) or a waterless wash will work fine if there is no etching. I remove water spots within a day or two (usually same day) and quick detail spray or waterless wash always works. Then I will hit the horizontal surfaces at least with a spray wax or sealant.

Now hard water from sprinklers or a hose are a horse of different color and all bets are off. Then pull out the polish.
 
If the rain is causing your etched water spots, there's not a lot you can do other than keeping the car indoors to prevent spotting. Are you sure the car wasn't hit by a sprinkler or some other source of water? Thankfully the rain does no real spotting where I am, it will only leave imprints in the dust or soiling on a car that will wipe away no matter how long you wait to wash. My "city" water on the other hand will absolutely wreck paint in a very short time in direct sunlight. I have to be on the ball to wash a car with the hose here when it's very hot out or else I'll end up with spotting I have to polish away.
 
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