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Argh! Water spots! How best to get rid of them?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ghostofjk, Apr 21, 2006.

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  1. ghostofjk

    ghostofjk New Member

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    On April 27 I said I'd try a little citrus juice to see if I could remove "hardened" water spots.

    Well, I got around to it yesterday. I squeezed about two teaspoonfuls of fresh lime juice into about 3/4 cup of water.

    IT WORKS! The water spots don't just dissolve instantly, like magic, but if you bear down a little using either a back-and-forth or circular stroke (I used a sponge), it'll get them off. I tried using a similar stroke with plain water first, on the same area, then the lime juice. The plain water wasn't touching it. The lime water got about half of it using a light touch, then got the rest by bearing down just a little.

    So this is a good option between having to use a cleaner/polish, which you may not want to use on top of a good sealant (e.g., Zaino, which I have on mine), and a mildly abrasive plastic scrubby thing (such as that on the back of many kitchen sponges). I'd never use the abrasive plastic on Zaino or other sealant.

    Hmmm, a business opportunity? Real Lemon---For Cars!
     
    #21 ghostofjk, May 26, 2006
  2. dbaro

    dbaro New Member

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    At the cost of appearing to beat a dead horse on this subject, consumer reports on line has an excellent free essay on the very best way to wash your car without creating water spots. I have used their system and my black car shines like a diamond. There was one reply here that mentioned rinsing, cleaning and drying in sections. That is the key to having a spot free car. But check out CR on their "the best way to clean a car". It truly works.
     
    #22 dbaro, Jun 12, 2006
  3. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    wow.. sounds like this can get rather complicated.....
    I've moved to texas where there is tons of lime in the soil and water.

    I had my car spotless and parked where someones lawn sprinker hit it a couple of time and that was enough to leave some serious water spots all down the side...

    I just went home and rewashed my car "in the evening" the sun was still out but low in the sky and wiped clean as usual with my leather chamois.

    although the wash job removed the spots from the sprinkler, I had some lesser new ones from the fresh wash... when I used my leather chamois it virtually removes them completely with only a little trace.

    I have zaino on and I have learned that a little of the gloss finishing spray will do the trick too to finish with a perfect shine.
    But after the chamois, the spots or so subliminal, I usually don't bother trying to do more.

    But I would say the wringed out wet chamois removes most of the deposits... everytime you wring it out the filthy deposits leave the chamois.

    The biggest killer with hard water is a hot surface and or direct hot sunlight.... try to get a bit of a shade or wash early or late.
     
    #23 windstrings, Jun 16, 2006
  4. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    Some great replies.

    I use water from my whole-house water softener for wash and rinse. But the secret is in drying. I use a spray wax and microfiber towel. When I'm done, the car is completely spot-free and as shiny as the last day I polished it. I never dry without the spray wax as a lubricant.

    But the times when I HAVE found water spots (from parking next to a landscape sprinkler, for example, I found that white vinegar does a pretty good job of removing the spots. And it is CHEAP. It will also remove your wax, so you'll want to reapply that afterwards!
     
    #24 darelldd, Jun 16, 2006
  5. ghostofjk

    ghostofjk New Member

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    White vinegar, hmmm. Thanks.

    Well, I took a small plunge today and bought the Mr. Clean Ray Gun with the de-ionized water auto-dry system. Got that? Some people here praised it and it was on sale for $17.99 (reg. $24.99), so what the hey?

    I immediately broke it out (broke it in?), and I must say, it's one of the better car-cleaning gizmos of my lifetime. The various parts work and it doesn't leak water down my leg.

    But I got a strange result at the end. I have Nu Finish on the car, which makes water bead up. The Mr Clean soap-with-mysterious-polymers and the final spray of de-ionized water, together, are supposed to cause the water to "slide" away in sheets, about the same way the evaporating water would look if the car WEREN'T waxed or "sealed" (in other words, the opposite of beading).

    What I got was a car half with beaded (but deposit-less) water sitting on it and half dry where water had sheeted and fled. Strange. For fun, I'm going to call Mr Clean on his 800 number tomorrow and ask about testing they may have done on variously-treated surfaces.
     
    #25 ghostofjk, Jun 16, 2006
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