Water Spot Prevention

[ggrrrrrr]

I detailed my car this weekend and noticed some etched in water spots that required polishing to remove (tried clay and revive with no success).  We've had crazy rain in the Denver area lately so its likely that some of these spots etched in while the car was sitting overnight in my garage.  I hadn't worried much about water spots since I thought my liquid paint sealant  / H20 G&G would be enough but I see now that I need to modify my regimine to specifically prevent etching.  

 

What do you guys do when you park a dirty car wet with rain water?  I would love to rinseless or waterless wash the car each time but its simply not realistic to do so.  Is there something that can be used to mist the car to at least neutralize some of the damaging acid / minerals while they dry (I know its no big deal for the shampoo to dry on the car so it got me thinking...)?   I would imagine that patting or drying the car would introduce swirls given the dirt.  

 

Finally, I had to borrow some polish from a friend to get rid of the spots.  Would I using Revive with a orange pad and a DA polisher do any good as a low abrasion way to correct water spots?

 

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

[Team Adam's]

Rain water typically won't etch... At least not sitting in a garage. Our relatively clean air typically means cleaner rain. Etching will usually occur in high TDS water situations or if the sun is allowed to bake the water onto the surface.

 

What specifically makes you think it was etching?

[ggrrrrrr]

Rain water typically won't etch... At least not sitting in a garage. Our relatively clean air typically means cleaner rain. Etching will usually occur in high TDS water situations or if the sun is allowed to bake the water onto the surface.

 

What specifically makes you think it was etching?

 

I washed and clayed the car and saw outlines of water spots that remained on the paint.  Tried Revive and that didn't work so I broke out the paint correcting polish and that took care of the water spots.  Car is typically parked outside during the day in the sun (no cover in the parking lot) and is garaged at night.  I typically wash every other week and it doesn't get hit with sprinklers or any other water source.  I guess the etching could have happened during the day after the sun came out.  I'm pretty crazy about my car so I'm not above running out after rain to wipe it down or do whatever I need to do to prevent spotting.  What do you reccomend?

[Junior]

Rinseless is a good way to go man. I do that often with my car which is black and tends to show everything. You can have a bucket on standby and use it a few times over the course of a week or two. Either that or get a DI water set up and rinse the car down.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Junior