[Boglin]

I enjoy hand washing my cars. However the first time I tried it at home I found that our outside water (since it doesn't go through the softener) leaves a mess of hard water spots on the car. So I usually go through the touch-free car washes but I'd really rather do it myself. I've seen "spot-free" car wash products but would they eliminate hard water type spots? I actually tried a little spot using water and spot-free dish soap but that didn't help.

 

[bigplayrayr]

Don't use dish soap, as it will strip the wax off your car. I bought a Mr Clean wash system and it does give a spot free rinse. It says you can let the car go without drying, but I dry mine with a California water blade anyway. I usually don't even have spots on the windows.

 

[mustangbaxter]

Whole House Water Filter

Or you can do what I did, and I installed a " whole house water filter " total cost was about $100.00. it filteres everything, from garden water, to house, now when I was mine, or the Mrs. black 4 door super duty, I can take my time, no water spots:green . I change the filter about every 3 months, the new one goes in white, the old one comes out BLACK, and think I was drinking that water...EWWWWWW


Tim

P.S. dont even have to squeegy the marble in the shower any more:thumbsup

 

[Vandil]

Yep an RO filter will take care of that. You could just run a bucket or two out of the RO filter and use it for final rinse off water. Or possibly hook a pressure washer up to a 40 gallon reservoir trash can of RO water.

Living on the east side the TDS of madison tap water is 455ppm. The RO filter knocks that down to 40-70ppm (4-10ppm if DI resin is used) though I've honestly got no idea what RO+DI water would do to your paint.

 

[OhYes05]

Yeah don't use dish soap, it will cause it to spot as well.
It also strips the car of all the wax you may have put on it.

I use PoorBoyz soap on my car, I find even if I wash it in the sun, minimal spotting occurs, Almost non!

 

[Boglin]

Yeah I saw the Mr. Clean thing. It looks really cool but I thought it was a lot of money wasted if it didn't get rid of the spots. ...but if it works....

Sounds like there are a lot of options out there. Thanks guys.

 

[rodneylynn1977]

Are you on Domestic Water or Private Well? I deal in Mcclean Water filters so if you wanted me to price anything out for you I could... I guess I am lucky down here the water is pretty good.

What is a California Water Blade?

 

[rodneylynn1977]

RO (reverse Osmosis) Water is so pure that at a fairly high pressure it can ware at metal... In the pump industy we like to use a pump with Nylon Seals and stuff cause nylon seems to handle the pure water much better. So I am not sure what RO water would do to your car.

 

[rodneylynn1977]

http://www.macclean.com/OneStep.htm

 

[bigplayrayr]

Are you on Domestic Water or Private Well? I deal in Mcclean Water filters so if you wanted me to price anything out for you I could... I guess I am lucky down here the water is pretty good.

What is a California Water Blade?

Calif. Water Blade is a fancy squeegee, but it is much more flexible for the curves of the car. Your local Walmart should carry them for about 9 bucks. The same company that makes the Calif. Car duster makes it. Car duster is awesome as well.

 

[chollan]

Make sure to not wash your car in the heat of the day. If your car dries too fast it will leave spots that will not come out until you wash it again. I wash mine at night during the summer and it looks perty.

 

[blmpt]

Don't buy the Mr. Clean system. The soap strips your wax. And when you rinse your car off using the filtered water you have to be sure to get all the unfiltered water off. At the rate the filtered water (or mist) comes out, it takes forever.

Instead, take the nozzle off your hose and let the water sheet off of your car. Then towel dry. It shouldn't take more than 1 bath towel and is faster than using the mr clean filtered water. Works great, no spots.

 

[VHStang]

Here is my two cents worth:

A true spot free rinse system will use either reverse osmosis (RO) or deionized (DI) water to reduce the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water. The dissolved solids are what causes the spots when the water dries (evaporates). When you wash a car with hard water, the spots are a combination of calcium and magnesium which leaves a hard spot. Using a water softener swaps the calcium and magnesium for sodium which is much softer. The sodium spots are easily wiped off. All in all though, RO water is better to rinse with than just soft water.

RO water will not harm your car. However, I certainly would not run the RO water through a high pressure system. I wouldn't spray my car with any high pressure system. Most car wash places that advertise spot free rinse use RO water.

Definitely don't use any dish soaps since they contain abrasives that will scratch your paint.

 

[ixtlan]

Washing, Paint, and Wax

I bought the california blade and it does a good job where you can get it.
The draw back is the curves and under spoilers and things where you cant get it into or around. I use a leaf blower to blow the water off best I can then the blade and finally a diaper.
Never use dish soap unless you like to wax cars (I dont).
The Armor All gels work pretty good.
The wax it dry is a great idea and easy to use but the wax doesnt stand up real well, They need to improve that part.
Oh and something about waxes...
If you plan on putting stripes or other paint on the car then stay away with anything with polymers or silicones. They work really well but they work too well.
They will actually penatrate right thru to the metal. And when you go to paint (Strips ect) then you get fisheye. There are additives that you can add to paint to help prevent it but they only do a fair job of it.
Stick with a pure wax like carnuba. It holds up great and you wont have the problems in the future. The drawback is you need to wax it more then twice a year (3 or 4). I can deal with that.