Hard water blues

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Hard water blues

Yes! Please share!
but you might be able to link it, that's all

[Golden]

Re: Hard water blues

Can you let it air dry? Or do you still dry the paint after a wash?

[ShinyChevy]

Re: Hard water blues

Can you let it air dry? Or do you still dry the paint after a wash?

Yes, you can, but...

I still dry with a leaf blower and/or towels 'cuz it takes a long time for my truck to air dry on it's own.

Check out this guy (not me by the way, he's in CA, I'm in TX):

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore.com/servlet/the-96/CR%2C-Spotless%2C-System%2C-High%2C/Detail

He has the CR Spotless DIC-20 (the big one on a cart) for $370 with free shipping, an extra resin refill, a spray nozzle, and no sales tax if you're not in CA. Same package as Costco but a better price with no tax and you don't need a Costco membership. Nothing wrong with Costco for sure but given a choice I'd rather do business with a regular guy who makes a living working on cars than a big chain store .

[ajb39oh]

Re: Hard water blues

I also use a Mr. Clean for the deionizing feature. I don't think it cleans as well as they advertise, but the deionizing step does minimize the water spots. I've been using one for about 4 years.

[sharpja]

Re: Hard water blues

I've been using an in-line water softener from a company called Pure Water Products.

pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm

The filter has a fairly small capacity before it starts to "leak" hard water, but the filter cartridge can be recharged by soaking it in water with some water softening salt. I have really hard tap water, so I can't let it air dry, but it helps significantly. And it was a lot less expensive than then CR spotless system. If I remember correctly, I paid ~$50 for a filter and the filter canister.

[xlastdetailx]

Re: Hard water blues

The water where I live is very hard and leaves spots. Does anyone know of a small water softener that works with a hose?

Couldn't you just use Meguiar's Last Touch detailer? When I detail a car and approach this problem I usually spray Last Touch detailer and dry at the same time. Works great and avoids having to buy an expensive filter for the water. I believe Meguiar's even suggests doing this in their detailer manual. I could be wrong, but it seems to work for me.

[ShinyChevy]

Re: Hard water blues

Yeah, I tried a couple of quick detailers, but the spots stayed. The city water here is fairly hard, 260 - 270 ppm TDS with lots of calcium. When the calcium deposits dry they can be very hard to remove. It can take #83 to get rid of them. Soft water helps as the calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium which is softer and therfore easier to remove. DI water has no TDS (000 ppm TDS) so it does not leave any spots.