ouhockeyplayer

Thanks Dan. I'll keep the idea of brilliant glaze in my back pocket when I get to washing the car. My wife's Equinox which is always neglected and not washed in a timely manor never has these issues but the one car I care about will water spot and etch so easily.

Car was washed about a week and a half ago. It has only been driven maybe 5 times since the last wash though. It was semi dusty but not too bad. Previously I was always able to park in a parking garage at work so the car sat out of the sun but now I have to park in a standard lot that is exposed to the summer elements. Subaru paint is super sticky so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't have a nightmare job ahead of me again.

So it rained yesterday afternoon and the sun came out later in the day and it looks like water spots formed on the hood of my 2016 World Rally Blue STI. Unfortunately I was not able to wash the car last night so the car is out in the parking lot at work and it is upper 80s and sunny. Should I be worried about etching requiring polishing if I have a coat of Adam's Paint Sealant on the car and a coat of Americana on top of that? Sealant was applied about a month and a half ago and wax maybe a month ago. I'm nervous when it comes to water spots as I had two layers of another brands carnauba wax on the car under similar conditions and ended up having to do a full correction to remove water spots a few month ago. Unfortunately I daily drive the car so avoiding the rain and sun is not an option. I'm hoping to wash the car tonight but it is looking like more rain so it may not get done until the weekend.

Thanks. So I am assuming it maintains for quite sometime then especially if your gallons are still looking good at almost a year.

I like to keep a 16 oz bottle of diluted rinse-less wash in my car for the occasional bugs, bird poop or other random road grime that I don't want sitting on the paint in between washes. I don't usually have to reach for it to often so I'm wondering how long I can count on the rinse-less made into a waterless wash combo lasting before I would need to remix a batch?

Thanks Rich. The dash is a plastic material. Can you use leather conditioner on plastic?

Thanks. I'll keep adding coats until eventually it stays a uniform color. It looks great after I coat it but a few days later it's back to this. Hopefully I'll be it there though.

I applied leather conditioner to the side bolsters on my seats and I have noticed that I am getting some odd discoloration in the areas closest to the center of the seat or near the Alcantara. Basically it looks like those areas are still dark from a fresh application and the rest of the bolster looks lighter. I usually wait 24 hours before driving after applying the conditioner and I've tried both methods of wiping after application and not wiping the area down. I'm assuming this is due to where my body contacts or rubs on the bolsters but I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar issues.

What would be the best method for cleaning out a washer and dryer to clean the towels? Sounds like I almost need to invest in a separate washer and dryer just for my towels lol. Hopefully it is only a matter of time before Adams introduces a super plush drying towel as the idea seems like it would be safer.

Thank you for the tips everyone. I always use detail spray and pool rinse when drying the car. I'm assuming my issue might be over drying them in the dryer. I'll try drying until slightly damp and see if that does the trick.

I have two great white drying towels that I regularly use to dry off my car. They are not brand new, but they aren't that old either. Lately I've noticed how rough these towels feel and how quickly they lost their plushness. The towels are always washed after each use using only microfiber revitalizer in warm water and dried on extra low heat for approximately 40 minutes. Lately I have been afraid to use the towels because I'm starting to notice swirl marks and scratching in the direction that I wipe the car down to dry it. I've switched over to using an Uber Super Drying microfiber towel from detailers domain and have had good results with that. Is there anything that I could possibly be doing wrong in caring for these towels to cause them to become rough to the touch? I don't want to put these in the bin of towels that are designated for door jambs and wheels. The car is also misted with detail spray after rinsing down to provide further lubrication while drying.

Thanks everyone for the tips. Dan, I actually am using the liquid paint sealant. Sorry for the misinformation. Also I always do wash the entire vehicle with Adams car shampoo before rinsing to avoid water spots. For extra insurance I do mist the car with detail spray before drying as well. It's very strange because no other flat service on the vehicle gets spots like these. I might try laying a towel down as mentioned while I finish cleaning the rest of the car. I thing I'm doing a good job of drying all the door jams out and blowing water out of places but who knows where some other droplets may be lurking. Paint on these STIs is a real bear to deal with as it is so this little water spot issue just adds to the challenge. Dont even get me started on how easy it is to get a paint chip or scratch just from looking at it wrong

So every time I wash my 2016 World Rally Blue STI I notice that my rear bumper (flat portion right by where the trunk closes) develops water spots, but I can only notice them when the sun reflects off the bumper. I first hit them with detail spray thinking it was water that just dried on the car faster than I could dry off with my waffle weave drying towel. The detail spray did nothing to help so I got out the clay (previous gen blue bar). The clay did nothing so I then proceeded to use my porter cable with white pad and finishing polish. This seemed to do the trick and all was right with the world again so I applied super sealant after an IPA wipe down to make sure the paint was free of any polishing oils. To my dismay next weeks wash revealed water spotting again and I had to go through the entire process all over. All was good again until the next wash revealed the same problem. I am at a loss for what to do to prevent these spots from constantly forming on my bumper, and I don't want to have to keep polishing every time I wash to remove them. Its spring in Michigan so it rains every week, so I feel like I am fighting a losing battle here. I've even layered buttery wax over the sealant on my last attempt and this did nothing. It would seem to me that the sealant should protect the paint from this happening. Any ideas?

Did my 2 month old STI in 34 degree weather this weekend. Just warm enough to keep the water from freezing. That will give the neighbors something to talk about. I can't wait until spring to finally get the new car swirls out.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Last night I did a rinse less wash followed by a coat of brilliant glaze and the streaks are now gone. I have an incredible shine now with the glaze sitting on top of the H2O Gaurd and Gloss. Definitely looking forward to getting my technique down for future applications of this product. It sure can be a time saver over traditional hand waxing/sealing.

Thanks everyone. Most likely this was a case of too much product per panel. I was working too quickly to hit each panel before the vehicle water spotted. 1st timer mistakes I guess. Will definitely need to try the sprayer tips as Dan recommended. I'll do a test tonight with rinse less washing the hood down (since I have drove the car to and from work the past couple days) and then hit it with some brillant glaze to see if the streaks disappear.

I tried H2O Gaurd and Gloss for the first time this weekend on my Dark Grey Metallic WRX, and I was very impressed with the shine that was left when I was done. However, fast forward a couple of days, and I am now noticing streaking and dots of the product on the car in low light situations. When the car is in direct sun you can not see the issue areas. I was having difficulty with the sprayer not putting out a mist of the product, so I am assuming this is one of the main culprits, and possibly using too much product. Any ideas on how to remove the streaks? Detail spray does not seem to be any help, so I am hoping that maybe doing a quick rinse less wash of the panels well help since the product is water activated.

Thank you very much everyone for the tips. Dan, you brought up a lot of good points. Besides the possible liability issue I also worry about over staying my welcome in the wash bay. I can spend hours on a simple wash, and lose track of time quickly. It drives my wife crazy how long I can be out in the garage when I tell her I'm doing a quick wash. Robert, I'll shoot you a PM about your contact just in case I need some help.

Thank you very much everyone for the tips. Dan, you brought up a lot of good points. Besides the possible liability issue I also worry about over staying my welcome in the wash bay. I can spend hours on a simple wash, and lose track of time quickly. It drives my wife crazy how long I can be out in the garage when I tell her I'm doing a quick wash. Robert, I'll shoot you a PM about your contact just in case I need some help.

Not sure, I guess that would depend on how busy they are. The dealership is not very big and has a small service area, so I'm going to guess that it might not be something they would be super open to allowing.

So I ordered a brand new 2016 WRX STI last week and Subaru is estimating that the car will be delivered the last week of December. As we all know, Michigan winters can wreak all sorts of havoc to a cars paint and make regular washing near impossible. I have requested that the dealer not prep the car and add their swirl marks to it as any OCD car lover would do. Being winter, wondering how I should approach detailing the car for the first time and putting down a layer of protection to help it fend off the elements that it will immediately be exposed to as my daily driver? I have a garage but it is not heated, and I am concerned that applying any type of sealant wont be possible/have a good outcome if the weather is below freezing out. I am almost wondering if I should bite the bullet and take the car to a professional detailer that has a heated shop to do the first prep. The car is being delivered in Troy, MI and I believe HD Car Care is also in Troy, and I have heard great things about them. Any thoughts/suggestions are much appreciated. Oh, might be a dumb question, but since I am getting the car with all the protective wrapping on it, should I remove any protective film from the car (especially from the hood) before driving it home? Worried that the heat from the engine might make the films adhesive do something bad to the paint.

Quick question I just thought of. Wondering if the extreme cold we are experiencing here in Michigan right now would have any effect on the new paint? Obviously keeping the salt off of it at this point is impossible as well. It was -16 this morning on my drive to work and got me wondering if the cold and salt could be harming the fresh paint?

Just got the car back from the dealer's body shop today, and it looks pretty good from what I can tell so far. It didn't take long for it to get covered in the wonderful Michigan winter road gunk though. Looks like they took a little more time with it this time and surprisingly the rotary swirl marks are not that bad this time. Maybe I lucked out this time and got a more experienced employee working on it. I guess we will find out in the spring when I can give the car a deep clean.

I only use Adams Car Wash Shampoo and finish off with their detailing spray when doing a wash. I'm assuming these are safe to use after a repaint. Also, I always wait at least 90 days before applying any wax to a repainted area, but how long after repainting can you polish. Obviously I'm going to be very careful with this bumper moving forward as the WRX as a lot of edges on the front bumper to navigate.

Thank you for the advice. I wasn't all that happy with my Subaru dealers body shop to begin with as they left a lot of orange peel and dull wet sanding marks in the paint that I later discovered when detailing, so I am assuming they did a rush job on this and didn't lay enough paint down. The light wasn't hitting the car just right when I picked it up so I never noticed it until later on. After getting the car resprayed, how do you suggest that I remove the swirl marks from their rotary polishing? Should I just use revive and the blue hex pad? As you can tell in the picture there is still paint damage from them going to town on it after the paint work.