DetailCity forums saved my ass ...

http://burnedimage.afraid.org/temp/spots.jpg

 

I washed the car this afternoon and used the hose at home. It's been years since I've done it at home, so I didn't realize what I was getting into. When I got it ready to dry, the hard water spots had already formed, and I couldn't even dry any of the panels fast enough to prevent it. No matter how much I tried to wash, the spots wouldn't come off. I finally resigned that I'll probably have to take it to a detailer to get it fixed properly when even a little polish wouldn't seem to make any difference. Yes, that picture is as bad as it looks. Autofocus was able to lock onto the spots and nothing was getting them out.

 

So I jump on the internet in a last ditch effort, and I end up searching DetailCity forums ... Thank god for forums like that!

 

I read a suggestion about trying vinegar, and I figured I'd try it out. I first applied to a window and it seemed to work, so with caution I tried the same spot where the polish had failed ... Success! So there I started, working a small area at a time with my bottle of vinegar and my extra soft paper towels, one with vinegar, one dry and cleaning off the water spots. Interestingly, the areas around the hood scoop (insert) and the spoiler seemed to etch more than the metal surfaces (didn't seem to matter whether it was aluminum or steel ). But after a few hours' worth of work, the car is gleaming.

 

Here's a shot of the same section as above after I was done ... the white things are fuzz from the Cottonwoods:

http://burnedimage.afraid.org/temp/spotfree.jpg

 

It was such a clean finish even I couldn't focus it anymore even in Manual Focus mode! I've since done the windows too. The sides are in good shape, but it looks like I'll have to do a little more work on the windsheild and rear window.

Yup, vinegar is a great remedy for all kinds of things. Waterspots are the most comon thing I use it for. A faster way of using it is to soak a towel with vinegar and lay that over the water spot damaged area. The vinegar has more time to really soak in and eat up the calcium deposits and hard water stains. The important thing is to get that stuff off right way. I'm Jngrbrdman over there. I think I saw your question. I'm glad you got the problem taken care of.

Didn't even post a question over there. Just did a quick search on the topic and read a few posts and then decided on a course of action.

Even better. Someone who searches!

Sad isn't it? It shouldn't be newsworthy, considering that so many forums have SO much information available if you just look.

Man, the same thing happened to me and my BLACK LGT.

I spent like 4-5 hours with my buffer and finally got most of it.

Wish I had known this then.

Wow... i've never heard of this before... i'll definatly try this on my black lgt.

Oh, I'd love to see the before and afters on a Black car. It was dramatic on my car as it is. I found it just amazing how easy it was to take the hard water spots off with vinegar and glad I didn't have to use a polish (I like to avoid polish as much as possible).

my extra soft paper towels

 

You just scratched your whole car.

You just scratched your whole car.

 

im afraid he did too.....ALWAYS use detailing specific cloths...or at least 100% cotton cloths

For what he was doing there wasn't any harm in using a paper towel. It was saturated in vinegar anyway. I've often used shop towels for different things and it doesn't automatically ruin your car. I wouldn't suggest washing or drying your car with one, but spot work like this is usually ok to go outside the normal detailing tools.

"if it were socially acceptable, i'd drape myself in microfibre towels"

I always use Viva brand (made by Kleenex) and haven't ever scratched the paint. It has worked better than any towels in the past for me because they never get dirty (throw it away when done) containing particulates that scratch paint. Viva is the ONLY brand I would do this with. The rest scare me. Don't remember who convinced me to try it, but I'll be damned if I haven't had better luck with Viva towels than I have other rags, even detail specific rags.

 

I use my share of Microfiber towels too, but I'm pretty careful about what I use and how.

Don't paint cleaners also work on water spots?