waterspots - again!

[russell336]

Ok, I need to know how I prevent water spots.
I have a black 2004 F-150 and I am having a time trying to keep the water spots off the truck, especially the hood. I spent last weekend getting rid of the spots only to have more after washing this past weekend.
Here is my normal wash procedure:

1) Rinse truck
2) Wash with Gold Class soap using double bucket method
3) I wash one section at a time, rinsing after completion
4) Final rinse with slow steady stream of water.
5) Dry with terry cloth towels, starting with hood.

As I am drying the hood, I notice water spots. I use the same procedure on my wife's Black Mustang and I do not have the same problems with water spots.
What could be causing this problem? The only thing I can really think of is that the truck takes longer to wash, thereby giving more time for water spots to occur before drying.
Shouldn't the wax help to prevent the spots from forming in the first place?
I spend a lot of time trying to take care of these two vehicles and the water spots are driving me crazy so I appreciate any help or advice y'all may have.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Gary,

There are two kinds of water spots,

1) Above Surface Mineral Deposits
2) Below Surface Water Spot Etchings

When your write,

Originally posted by russell336
I spent last weekend getting rid of the spots only to have more after washing this past weekend.

What exactly did you do to remove the previous water spots?

If you have type 1 water spots, you can use a clay bar by hand. Clay bars are for removing above surface defects. Sometimes you may have to follow the claying process with a paint cleaner like ScratchX to completely remove all traces of where the mineral deposits attached to the finish.

If you type 2 water spots, you can use a paint cleaner by hand, or a machine applied cleaner/polish, paint cleaner or in a worst case scenario, a compound.

Mike

[Setec Astronomy]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips


There are two kinds of water spots,

1) Above Surface Mineral Deposits
2) Below Surface Water Spot Etchings

Mike, those Type 2 spots, can those come from just rinse water, and not acid rain, and if so, why?

[russell336]

I probably should have posted this in my original post but here is a link from an earlier date on my battle with the water spots....

Removal of Water Spots

.. but basically I had to use ScratchX to remove the spots. I followed with a coat of Polish, followed by NXT, followed by Hi-Tech yellow Wax. Again, I use the same steps on my wife's black Mustang and I do not have the same problem.

Thanks,

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Setec Astronomy
Mike, those Type 2 spots, can those come from just rinse water, and not acid rain, and if so, why?

I would just have to say it depends on what's in the water and if the sun is out and drying the water while it's still on the finish.

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by russell336
I probably should have posted this in my original post but here is a link from an earlier date on my battle with the water spots....

Removal of Water Spots

.. but basically I had to use ScratchX to remove the spots. I followed with a coat of Polish, followed by NXT, followed by Hi-Tech yellow Wax. Again, I use the same steps on my wife's black Mustang and I do not have the same problem.

Thanks,

Hi russell336,

A while back we had a Corvette come in that had water spot etchings that were caused by mud puddle water that had been splashed upon the rear of his car while he was racing it. The mud puddle water etched some pretty deep spots into his paint.



The first thing we tried was #83 DACP on a W-8006 foam pad on the PC on about the 4.0 to 5.0 setting. After polishing the rear of the car and then applying wax, they appeared to be gone.

The owner brought the car back a week later to show me the spots that were gone, were now back. It kind of shocked me because I inspected the finish very carefully both before and after and in my eyes, the spots were gone.

So I took it as a challenge to insure they were removed. First I had a number of people inspect the finish and verify in their own eyes the spots were present. Then using ScratchX and the method for applying it outlined here,

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

I worked an area over really well, wiped off the ScratchX and then wiped the area down with a 50/50 mixture of water and Isopropyl alcohol. Then I had everyone there closely inspect the finish and the spots were gone.

I repeated the process in another area using the #83/W-8006/PC combo, then wiped the area clean using the 50/50 mixture of water and Isopropyl Alcohol and again had everyone inspect closely. The results were the spots were gone. We then polished and waxed and the last I heard from the owner was the problem was fixed.

The second time we tackled the water spot etchings, we worked the areas more thoroughly and inspected to be sure they were in fact gone and not merely filled-in, or coated over.

Perhaps you could try the ScratchX again, on a small area. Inspect the area closely before application, then apply the ScratchX following the procedures outlined in the link above, then afterwards, wipe off the remaining residue and inspect closely, in different light and insure they are in fact gone in this small area.

If the spots are gone in this one area, then repeat the process tot the rest of the finish. If they are not, then we need another plan of attack.

Mike

[tguil]

I've had to work the hood over a bunch on my black Hemi. I seem to always have a few spots if I look closely. Usually they are the result of the truck sitting outside after a rain and the rain water dries on the finish. The hood gets the brunt of this. (The thing is so tall I can't see the top all that well.)

When I wash the truck. I always wash it in the shade and keep the entire finish wet until I am ready to start drying it. I always dry the hood first. I do not wash the truck when the temperature is extremely high or when it is windy.

I have found that I seem to do a much better job of getting the black beast dried more quickly using microfiber towels. This helps a bunch in preventing the spots from forming.

Finally, the hood gets an application of NXT spray wax after every wash -- both for protection it gives and its slight cleaning ability.

Tom