Keeping a car clean in high desert climate (NM/CO) - tips/suggestions?

I

iroc86

New member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
I recently moved to northern New Mexico and I'm having a tough time keeping my cars clean. I read a few posts about detailing in the desert, but the climate here is a bit unique compared to the stereotypical "desert." I'm at high altitude (7000+ feet) with mountains, pine trees, wind, and lots of sun. It also doesn't get super hot here, with high/low temperatures of around 80/50 during the summer. It can be dusty, but the pollen seems worse right now. The humidity is typically less than 10%.

My biggest problem seems to be water spots, especially on glass. I have to use glass polish and a DA regularly to remove the spots that build up, even after a single wash. I know my water is very hard, but this even happens with the small amount of rain we get. As soon as the sun comes out, the spots get baked into the glass and they won't come off without more polishing.

Another issue is the "film" that gets on the paint after a few days of sitting outside. I lightly dust off the cars every morning to remove pollen and dust, but there seems to be some kind of fallout that attaches itself to the finish. A regular wash doesn't remove it, but a clay bar will. This is made worse by the constant sun, which highlights all of the imperfections in the paint and glass. It looks awful, even on a new car with fresh paint.

I'm no stranger to detailing and I've tried a variety of polishes, waxes, and sealants, but I can't seem to find a product that will protect the paint from this environment. I can make the car look good with lots of elbow grease, but claying/polishing/waxing every week is ridiculous. I never would have imagined it'd be so hard to take care of a car here. I used to live in Pennsylvania and would take rain and salt any day over this. For those of you that live or detail in this sort of climate, do you have any suggestions? I'd really appreciate any advice you can offer.
 
What’s your exact process for cleaning your glass?
 
Eldorado2k said:
What’s your exact process for cleaning your glass?
Click to expand...

Without polishing:

  1. Wash car with shampoo (currently Meguiar's Gold Class).
  2. Rinse and dry car.
  3. Clean glass separately (currently Sprayway Glass Cleaner, but I bought some Sonax to try the next time around).
With polishing:

  1. Wash car as per the above.
  2. Rinse and dry car.
  3. Polish glass with foam pad (currently Wolfgang Perfekt Vision).
  4. Clean glass as per the above.
The glass looks awesome when the polishing is all done, super clear. As soon as water hits it, whether from the sky or from the hose, it's all over.
 
DG makes a glass cleaner with water spot remover added. (at least they did). It had a strong vinegar smell to it. It may help you with the windows
 
How about giving the glass some sort of glass sealant a try. Something that will give that rainx effect. The reason I mention this is that the glass becomes hydrophilic when polished meaning the water just lays flat and sticks to the glass. A glass sealant will add hydrophobic properties and make it repel water. It can spot if the glass is super dirty just like paint that is protected.

Meguiar's makes this one that can be found locally Meguiar?s Perfect Clarity Glass Care Kit

Rainx is also available locally. It may not last long but it may be worth giving it a try.
 
As far as the other fallout, are you anywhere near an airport?? We get a lot of fallout from aircraft.
 
What LSP are you have on the car? And what QD or spray wax or drying aid if you use and.

Guz mentioned a glass sealant and I would try that out too. And see if you get to easier clean the glass.

Since you live in the mountains it could be your water is heavy on some kind of mineral. It could be worth to test your water what it contains. Send a sample where they can test it out. Then you maybe could install a water filter to lower the amounts of just that mineral. But different minerals needs different kind of filters that's why a water sample test could guide you the right way.
 
Thanks for the ideas so far! I did try a coat of wax on the glass after polishing, but it didn't have any effect. I was using 3M Show Car Paste Wax, which I know is a lot different than a sealant, but I figured it was worth a shot. This is the same wax that's currently on the paint where I'm also having problems with water spot etching. I've also tried topping this with Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer (on the paint anyway), which I understand has the properties of a sealant, but it's no match for the spots here. Literally one day after putting that on my wife's car, she got spots that require polishing out. Both of our cars have less than a thousand miles on them, so I'm confident that the underlying paint is in good shape.

I'm a bit leery of using any sort of product on glass because I had an awful experience years ago with RainX. It caused the worst windshield wiper chatter I ever had and took a considerable amount of polishing to remove. The Meguiar's product looks interesting, but I'm afraid of opening up a new can of worms.
 
What part or town in NM do you live may I ask? Near any Coal Mines, or such like Coal Fired Electric Plants, as I know they have them in the 4 Corners Area-Farmington.

I lived in Alamogordo for a full 14 years. Brutal to keep a vehicle clean with the winds, dust storms, and White Sands just to the west. The high heat and desert sun would take its toll too on vehicles there.

About the only upside was low humidity most the year, and no use of salts on the roads when the rare snows would fall in the Tularosa Basin. Thus vehicles would take eons to eventually rust there.

I take it this is a daily driver? No Garage, and I gather no Carport either? At least a Carport would shield against some of the rains, and protect from damaging Hail. I ask if it's a daily driver, because although a Car Cover would help some with the fallout and pollen problems, it will sure get old very quickly to deal with a Car Cover on a daily basis.
 
I must have missed your questions when I responded earlier, sorry!

DaveT435 said:
As far as the other fallout, are you anywhere near an airport?? We get a lot of fallout from aircraft.
Click to expand...

Good thought. There's a small municipal airport nearby, but it's just small prop planes. No jets or anything like that. Very low use.

SWETM said:
What LSP are you have on the car? And what QD or spray wax or drying aid if you use and.

Guz mentioned a glass sealant and I would try that out too. And see if you get to easier clean the glass.

Since you live in the mountains it could be your water is heavy on some kind of mineral. It could be worth to test your water what it contains. Send a sample where they can test it out. Then you maybe could install a water filter to lower the amounts of just that mineral. But different minerals needs different kind of filters that's why a water sample test could guide you the right way.
Click to expand...

For an LSP, I have two coats of 3M Show Car Paste Wax on each vehicle. Probably not the best choice considering my location, since it doesn't offer a lot of protection, but this was before I realized how harsh the environment would be. I've tried three QDs so far: Mothers Instant Detailer, 3M Quick Wax (Gloss Enhancer), and most recently Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer.

The water filter is a good idea. The water here is very hard--if you boil a pot on the stove, it will leave visible marks on the metal that require steel wool to remove. I've already put in a call with Culligan to inquire about their DI water tank exchange. That would at least help with the washing scenario, but not so much for the rain/sun.

MarkD51 said:
What part or town in NM do you live may I ask? Near any Coal Mines, or such like Coal Fired Electric Plants, as I know they have them in the 4 Corners Area-Farmington.

I lived in Alamogordo for a full 14 years. Brutal to keep a vehicle clean with the winds, dust storms, and White Sands just to the west. The high heat and desert sun would take its toll too on vehicles there.

About the only upside was low humidity most the year, and no use of salts on the roads when the rare snows would fall in the Tularosa Basin. Thus vehicles would take eons to eventually rust there.

I take it this is a daily driver? No Garage, and I gather no Carport either? At least a Carport would shield against some of the rains, and protect from damaging Hail. I ask if it's a daily driver, because although a Car Cover would help some with the fallout and pollen problems, it will sure get old very quickly to deal with a Car Cover on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

I'm about an hour north of Santa Fe. It's pretty clear up here, but there have admittedly been quite a few forest fires this year, so the air can be hazy at times. I've been through Alamogordo and White Sands a few times and I can definitely believe that it'd be hard to maintain a car there with all of the dust, wind, and sun. I think a lot of people around here have just given up, judging by the condition of their cars, haha.

Yep, these are daily drivers. No garage at the moment, so I've taken to parking in the shade of the house in mornings/evenings to do the washing and waxing.
 
Just thought I'd post back with an update. I reached out to a few companies that sell pro detailing products and they all pretty much agreed that the tap water here is the big enemy. The sun is obviously brutal too, but without a good contaminant-free baseline, there's not a whole lot I can do to protect the paint from the daily damage.

So, I am going to try rinseless washes for a while and see how that goes. No more tap water, only distilled water from the grocery store. Fortunately, we don't get a lot of rain, so the majority of dirt is just loose dust that easily wipes off.

I thought you all might like to see a picture of what I'm up against with these water spots from the hard water. Below is a picture of my door glass after ONE wash, in the shade, with tap water. The glass was buffed and absolutely clear beforehand. These spots will not come off without another round of abrasive buffing. No glass cleaner, vinegar solution, or even clay bar will touch them without an inordinate amount of elbow grease (if I'm even lucky).

So, we'll see how the rinseless washes go. I've never been a fan of this process, but it might be my best option until I can get a DI tank.


28218670457_d454940975_c.jpg
 
Another update here. I've been using ONR rinseless washes for the last month or so in an effort to combat the hard water in my locale. So far, this has worked fairly well with the suggested ratio (0.5 oz/gal) and distilled water from the supermarket. I'm fairly certain that this process is not that great for the paint, regardless of the lubricity that these rinseless wash products claim, but I'm okay with filling in microscratches every so often with wax as opposed to buffing the whole car when any tap water hits the paint.

As for a long-term solution, I'm having a Culligan water softener installed at the end of the month and probably a DI system for the garage later on. My goal is to get to the point where I can mitigate the effects of this harsh climate with a minimal amount of daily effort. A three-minute rainstorm will ruin a freshly-washed finish by depositing a coating of dust suspended in the raindrops, which then dries into ugly spots in the intense sun. This is much different than back East, where you sometimes can't tell that a car was even rained on because the precipitation is fairly clean.

So, the plan (daily, if necessary) will be to rinse off the car with DI water, hit it with a blower, and let everything dry in the garage. I'm hoping this will be enough to wash away most of the dirt during the week without requiring a lot of time or elbow grease. Then, regular washes on the weekend.
 
If you will try something. Test to remove the wax from a panel and apply Sonax BSD to it dry every other week. If it works great this way the Sonax Polymer Net Shield is the sealant with the same protection in it. It has a little different texture on the paint and that's why I think you get the crazy water behavior with it on it's own. You could also test a car soap like carpro reset and Gyeon Bathe. They have a greater cleaning ability from them as they are made for coatings to clean them. Bathe is interesting as it's a little under ph level 7 and that little lower could help with some water spots. The DI tank would be the biggest difference for you still.

Have you consider to use a PW?
They accually use less water amount when washing than a hose. And it would be great to blast of any sand before you touching the car.

You seem to be moving forward to find out what works for you to maintaining your cars. Soon you are there :)

I read somewhere here on the forum that they used carpro Spotless to polish with and think on a finishing pad with the least aggressive cut from it. Could maybe be an option.

The rinseless wash and waterless wash has water softerner in them to be able to be used as a rinse free washes. And some QD has high amount of those in them too.

/Tony
 
so im in the desrt and i mean desert with 115 degree high SUPER dry heat and waterspots are my jam. nothing is easy in teh high winds, normally over 15-20 mph here and normally daily.

ive come across 2 sealants that do best IMO for this and your enviroment. first is PNS like mentioned above and the second is fk1000p, fk does wonders with releasing dirt and grim and is what ive used on cars where people say they get bad spotting, the spots that ive dealt with in the past are very tiny little black or yellow dots. FK does seem to do better then PNS in the ability to release things from the paint but PNS is so quick and easy to apply and be done with.
 
Cruzscarwash beat me to it. I was going to suggest FK 1000 as well.
 
You could probably install a deionized water system. I have seen them on Amazon from $250-$500. It has to be better than buying distilled water from the grocery store.
 
iroc86 said:
Without polishing:

  1. Wash car with shampoo (currently Meguiar's Gold Class).
  2. Rinse and dry car.
  3. Clean glass separately (currently Sprayway Glass Cleaner, but I bought some Sonax to try the next time around).
With polishing:

  1. Wash car as per the above.
  2. Rinse and dry car.
  3. Polish glass with foam pad (currently Wolfgang Perfekt Vision).
  4. Clean glass as per the above.
The glass looks awesome when the polishing is all done, super clear. As soon as water hits it, whether from the sky or from the hose, it's all over.
Click to expand...

You forgot the main thing I was hoping to find out... Towels, what kind of towels do you use? And do you dedicate them for glass only? How do you maintain them? Do you wash them separately or at least wash them along with your better/pampered towels?

This can make a world of difference.
 
iroc86 said:
So, the plan (daily, if necessary) will be to rinse off the car with DI water, hit it with a blower, and let everything dry in the garage. I'm hoping this will be enough to wash away most of the dirt during the week without requiring a lot of time or elbow grease. Then, regular washes on the weekend.
Click to expand...

Ok, I don’t see why you would need (or want) a different system on the weekend if you’re going to be washing as much as you say. Have you considered incorporating the Optimum products into your system? It’s definitely the one line of products I would use if I was going to wash a vehicle as often as you’re planning. Maybe infuse ONR into your DI water through a pressure washer. Then add OCWax or OIDetailer in as you blow and wipe dry?
 
I've lived in New Mexico for 45 years. These are my conclusions after dealing with hard water and the intense sunlight in NM. Carnauba wax does not work. The wax evaporates from the paint surface rapidly (1-3 months) depending upon your location and the amount of sunlight the vehicle is exposed to. Once that happens - water spots every time it rains or you wash the car.

I've used a variety of products on my vehicles. For the past eight years I've used the following regimen once a year. I've given up on waxes and use only polymer-based products as they seem to last longer in the NM sun. Many people do not understand that the altitude increases the UV. I live at 5,000 feet and if you live in northern NM you're probably at 6,000 feet or higher.

1. Wash the car to remove all waxes and sealers.

2. Clay the paint surface. I used to use real clay but have switched to a synthetic clay product and I think it works better. I keep a small bucket (1/2 gallon) of water with auto soap in it. I do one panel at a time, and then thorougly rinse the clay sponge. I repeat this as I do the vehicle, including the windows. By the time I'm done with the process, the water in the bucket will be a medium gray from the contaminants removed from the surface. In fact, with the F-350 I will change the water out 1-2 times because the vehicle is so large that the water is gray after doing one side of the truck.

3. Polish the paint using a polishing compound. I've tried Mequiar's products, 3M, and currently use Chemical Guys VSS Scratch and Swirl Remover. The VSS breaks down as you polish and becomes a finer grit the longer you polish. It takes a two-step process and makes it a one-step process. Use whatever you want - the idea is to remove any UV damage to the paint or clear coat.

4. Seal the paint with a polymer sealant. I use Chemical Guys Jet Seal. I use the Jet Seal after trying a number of other sealants because it is easy to apply and remove. The secret to Jet Seal is to put it on as thinly as possible and then wait 20 minutes before removing. Do this one panel at a time (hood, fender, door, etc.). You can do one panel and while that one is curing start another panel. The thin coating + wait time allows the sealant to cure. As far as I can tell, it is oxygen cured which is why the thin coating is a must. In fact, if you do it correctly, most the sealant will be absorbed into the paint and very little will be left to remove.

5. "Wax." Use a polymer-based wax product. I use Chemical Guys Lava Infusion wax or the White Wax for my white vehicles. Any type of quality polymer wax will work. You need to put the polymer wax on exactly like the instructions direct. In the case of the Chemical Guys products, you do a small area and remove it immediately. Again, an extremely thin coating is better. The coatings I put on are so thin that I have to look at it from several angles to make sure the surface is covered. I generally go over a panel in two directions - horizontally and then vertically to make sure I have the surface covered - and then remove it immediately.

6. Let the vehicle sit for 20-30 minutes to allow all of the polymer to cure.

7. Seal the surface with Zaino Brothers CS Clear Seal (Z-CS). Z-CS is an amazing sealer. It is compatible with all other products and seems to bind all of the previous layers together. I'm sure there are other products of this type available - but, I've never found any that do quite what Z-CS does. To put on Z-CS you're going for the thinnest coating possible. An entire vehicle should only take 1/4 ounce. To do this I use a microfiber applicator. It's a sponge covered with microfiber. You spritz the surface of the applicator LIGHTLY and can do the entire front clip of a vehicle. Spritz once and do the doors and rear fender of one side. Repeat until the vehicle has been coated with Z-Clear. While it is expensive, you use so little of it that you can do 10 - 12 vehicles with a single bottle. I do an F-150 crew cab, F-350 crew cab, and Taurus every year. One bottle lasts me 3-4 years.

8 Let the vehicle sit for an hour. Then go over the entire vehicle with Zaino Grande Finale spray. This is another sealer and will even out the Z-CS if it's been put on unevenly or too thick and seals the Z-CS. You can tell if the Z-CS is too thick as you will see a rainbow or prismatic effect. Let the Z-CS dry and when you go over the vehicle with the Grande Finale sealer, the rainbow effect will go away.

9. Keep the vehicle washed and clean and finish every wash by going over the vehicle with a quick detailer spray. I use Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 as it is a polymer sealant / detailer.

If your water is extremely hard, you may want to invest in a water deionizer to rinse the car after washing to totally eliminate the possibilty of water spotting from hard water.

My vehicles sit outdoors 24 / 7 / 365 and look as good as the day I got the vehicle. My F-150 is 7 years old, the F-350 is 8 years old, and the Taurus is 4 years old. The process works and only needs to be done once a year.

Use whatever products you want. I'm not endorsing the products I've named. I'm only telling you the steps and reasons for using the products. I'm sure there are many products that will do exactly the same thing. This is the combination that I've found works for me in New Mexico.
 
All the recommendations have been great thus far, especially for the paint. Carinuba waxes will be your downfall. I live in Chandler AZ (S. East of Phoenix). High temps, unbearable sun, along with very hard crappy water and don't forget the monsoons. Also, there are species of trees out here we didn't have in my native New Hampshire that when they sap, it looks like bird poop. Oh yea, and bird poop... The Dove population is like nothing I've ever seen in my life, and they crap everywhere!

So, because I live in an area where a huge portion of the industry is semi-conductor, there is a company I get industrial water filter systems from. The water is RO and ionized.

Secondly I abandoned wax. Sealants are good, Sonax, Megs UFF, etc... But I just go with coatings now.. CQUK 3.0 or GTechniq EXO. That's pretty much it.

For glass, I use Pinnacle Glass Cleaner with Water Replant and thus far, no water spots...

Your routine looks good, I wouldn't change it, it's your water that's killing you. I had a car come in that had really bad water spots. Just before the wash, I sprayed it down with CarPro spotless, then foamed it up, and did a 2bm wash. Spots were gone.

Hope this helps... good luck with your water treatment systems.... I think the treatment will help you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top