Tiny spots from waterless wash.

BryanH

BryanH

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Some months ago I tried a waterless wash for the first time. I used Ultima Waterles Wash Plus Concentrate, diluted it with distilled water, and used plenty of fresh clean quality microfibers, turning to a clean side for each swipe, swiping only one direction, doing a light buff off with a separate towel, etc. Basically being as careful as possible not to instill swirls into the paint. This was after driving 3-4 hours to a location and doing a waterless wash the next morning outdoors in the sun but under cool temps. I didn't let the product dwell on the surface any longer than it took me to set the spray bottle down and start to swipe with a towel. I worked sections of paint at a time - the hood, for example, was probably broken up into 3 or 4 sections.

Knowing all of that, does anyone know why I got these small-diameter spots that don't come off with 2-bucket washing or QD or anything else? They're going to have to be polished out. My thought after the first waterless wash was that I was using so little pressure with the microfibers that trace amounts of product stayed on the surface. However the next time I waterless washed I used more pressure and still got more spots added.

There's nothing for scale in the pictures below but to give you an idea, these spots are much smaller than a typical water bead would be. They're not noticeable in all light, but trained eyes will certainly see them stick out like a sore thumb.

View attachment 58983

View attachment 58984

Any ideas on what I can be doing better?
 
It's a little hard for me to see but I have gotten polymer spotting before using Ultima and or ONR. Not sure if this is the case here but it could be. You said you used the concentrate was your dillution ratio accurate?

I find if one uses too much WW or Rinseless solution it can lead to spotting and sometimes it's not easy to come out. I had to polish my doors.
 
Ok I can see them better in the links provided. Kinda looks like polymer spotting. If you used distilled it's not regular water spotting. Very similar to my issue a while back except my doors were covered.
 
What is the cause of polymer spotting. I've seen this before didn't know the cause and was on a car that had BF Crystal Seal applied a month prior.
 
lol Bob

I had good luck in the past getting rid of this kind of spotting by performing a traditional bucket wash with warm to hot water. If that doesn't remove them a light polish certainly would. Clay does nothing.

Sometimes it's easy as rinseless washing the car again but these seem like them been on a while.
 
idriveblackcars said:
It's a little hard for me to see but I have gotten polymer spotting before using Ultima and or ONR. Not sure if this is the case here but it could be. You said you used the concentrate was your dillution ratio accurate?
Click to expand...

I believe I diluted correctly. I'm usually pretty careful with that kind of stuff and don't rush myself.

I had wondered if the polycharged additives in UWW+ might have anything to do with these spots. Is there an outstanding waterless wash that doesn't have any protection ingredients? You mentioned ONR sometimes spotted for you, too... ONR seems to be a go-to for a lot of people and would have been my next product to try.

idriveblackcars said:
I had good luck in the past getting rid of this kind of spotting by performing a traditional bucket wash with warm to hot water. If that doesn't remove them a light polish certainly would. Clay does nothing.


Sometimes it's easy as rinseless washing the car again but these seem like them been on a while.
Click to expand...
Warm/hot water is a great idea! I'll try that. I have a half dozen different car soaps and none of them have removed these spots, but I always use cold water (California, so it's not that cold!). And you're right, these spots have been on since March/April.

I'm happy to polish the car again this fall, although ultimately I'd like to be able to perform waterless washes without getting these spots showing up.

To be clear, I've never tried a rinseless wash, only 2BM and Waterless.
 
Mbss said:
What is the cause of polymer spotting. I've seen this before didn't know the cause and was on a car that had BF Crystal Seal applied a month prior.
Click to expand...


It's tough to say what truly causes the spotting, I'm sure every scenario is different. Heat, wrong product dilution etc. can't really say for sure.
 
BryanH said:
I believe I diluted correctly. I'm usually pretty careful with that kind of stuff and don't rush myself.

I had wondered if the polycharged additives in UWW+ might have anything to do with these spots. Is there an outstanding waterless wash that doesn't have any protection ingredients? You mentioned ONR sometimes spotted for you, too... ONR seems to be a go-to for a lot of people and would have been my next product to try.


Warm/hot water is a great idea! I'll try that. I have a half dozen different car soaps and none of them have removed these spots, but I always use cold water (California, so it's not that cold!). And you're right, these spots have been on since March/April.

I'm happy to polish the car again this fall, although ultimately I'd like to be able to perform waterless washes without getting these spots showing up.

To be clear, I've never tried a rinseless wash, only 2BM and Waterless.
Click to expand...

I don't really do waterless, I'm into rinseless washes although I do pre soak the panels like a waterless and I think that's what caused my issue. And the only time I had an issue with ONR it was with the wash and wax version not wash and shine, green vs blue. I still use both, especially the wash and wax( it's my fav rinseless even over ultima and WG) but make sure I use distilled water and my dilution ratio is perfect. Never had problmes since.
 
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