How do you avoid water spots when working outside?

I always do a final rinse and I try and dry it as fast as possible. Today after I saw more spots I got out the Zaino but that did not work! I used a clay bar and then Z2, and sure its smooth, glossy, and water beads but the spots are still there! What can I do for them?

You can try using some distilled vinegar, white vinegar and distilled water mix or a cleaner wax. If that doesnt take it off and its etched the paint, its going to need a compound/polish. Any of those will take of your wax/sealant, so it will need it be reapplied.

Wash car and just keep it wet...when ready to dry spray with a quick wax or detailer..Spray everything including windows, trim, everthing... Wipe dry with a nice soft waffleweave. Dry's car and puts down a nice little layer of wax..no spots.

Since I have been doing this method I havnt had a single issue with hard water spots and you can get your calcium intake from the water around here.

Ceramic Coating

Do this....then you are done....done...with water spots!!

Get an inline water filtration system for the hose you use to wash. Don't wash in high heat, use good quality microfibers to dry the car (your leaf blower is just sandblasting the car because it has no filter). Clay bar with lots of lube can help to remove some deposits but if they are really bad you need special acids to remove that have to be used very carefully. If it is etched into paint you need to "power polish" which means cutting compound to take away the top layer of shit then polish buff and seal. Once you get paint back to regular condition you have to seal the paint so shit doesn't stick, I would recommend either sonax polymer net shield or AMMO paint regime.

Easy fix - DETAIL SPRAY. Once you finish washing hit it with a QUALITY detail spray (I prefer Adam's Polish's). That should fix the pH of the water eliminating spots and also adding some "slickness" when you dry to reduce the chance of scratches from dirt that was not removed during the wash.

Yes you can do all the other coatings and blah blah blah...but the easiest, simplest is use a detail spray prior to drying.

Kinjirra said:

Wash car and just keep it wet...when ready to dry spray with a quick wax or detailer..Spray everything including windows, trim, everthing... Wipe dry with a nice soft waffleweave. Dry's car and puts down a nice little layer of wax..no spots.

Since I have been doing this method I havnt had a single issue with hard water spots and you can get your calcium intake from the water around here.

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[MENTION=26241]Kinjirra[/MENTION] you spray the quick wax while the car is still wet? Have you had any consistency issues with this finish such as needing extra buffing? This intrigues me as it would save me about 10-15 mins if it works the same as spraying a quick wax after drying.

yomamma219 said:

[MENTION=26241]Kinjirra[/MENTION] you spray the quick wax while the car is still wet? Have you had any consistency issues with this finish such as needing extra buffing? This intrigues me as it would save me about 10-15 mins if it works the same as spraying a quick wax after drying.

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I spray my quick wax on while it's still wet. I have my girl keep the rest of car wet as I'm washing and then give it a good spray with QW from meguiars before I dry it.

Good to know, I recently started using the Meguiars Ult Quick Wax and love it. I will be using it forever now. I tried using it on my dads 2001 dodge ram in hopes it would give the 17 year old paint the same black luster it gives my car but that was a futile effort. :headbonk:

Only have about one wash's worth of the Ultimate W&W left though. While I liked it I am going to try something else, maybe the gold class, to see how it compares.

yomamma219 said:

Good to know, I recently started using the Meguiars Ult Quick Wax and love it. I will be using it forever now. I tried using it on my dads 2001 dodge ram in hopes it would give the 17 year old paint the same black luster it gives my car but that was a futile effort. :headbonk:

Only have about one wash's worth of the Ultimate W&W left though. While I liked it I am going to try something else, maybe the gold class, to see how it compares.

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I personally use Gold class, with gold class carnuba liquid wax. Use Ultimate quick wax, and ultimate detailer as well.

yomamma219 said:

@Kinjirra you spray the quick wax while the car is still wet? Have you had any consistency issues with this finish such as needing extra buffing? This intrigues me as it would save me about 10-15 mins if it works the same as spraying a quick wax after drying.

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Yep sure do. I use the Megs quik wax from walmart. Stuff works great imho. Takes longer to dry as your also pulling wax off but well worth the effort due to no water spots. You do sometimes end up with some spots that need some extra buffing to get the wax residue off but its not anything major.

vernonator said:

Easy fix - DETAIL SPRAY. Once you finish washing hit it with a QUALITY detail spray (I prefer Adam's Polish's). That should fix the pH of the water eliminating spots and also adding some "slickness" when you dry to reduce the chance of scratches from dirt that was not removed during the wash.

Yes you can do all the other coatings and blah blah blah...but the easiest, simplest is use a detail spray prior to drying.

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Is Zaino Z6 a good detail spray to use for this?

lots of good ideas in here

I use the two bucket method. As the last step I use another bucket with a 1/2 gallon of filtered water (from a reverse osmosis system) with some Optimum No Rinse mixed in. Soak a clean wash mitt with the ONR solution and wipe the car down. Not much extra time and the "spot free rinse" will nearly completely eliminate hard eater spots even if you don't dry the car off.

Follow the ONR wipe down up with some spray of your favorite quick detailer as you dry with a microfiber towel

1. Use the Sheeting Method:
Remove the nozzle and run clear, uninterrupted water from the top of the vehicle down following the flow of water. This will create surface tension and drag most of the water off with itself.
2. Use a leaf blower to blow out trim/lights/mirrors/etc
3. Dampen your drying towel. Either with a spray wax, quick detailer, or just some fresh water. This will rehydrate the minerals that are leaving the spots and pick them up into the cloth. This is really the step that's going to get the water spots that are already forming as your vehicle dries, which seems to be the issue.

PatrickGT said:

1. Use the Sheeting Method:
Remove the nozzle and run clear, uninterrupted water from the top of the vehicle down following the flow of water. This will create surface tension and drag most of the water off with itself.
2. Use a leaf blower to blow out trim/lights/mirrors/etc
3. Dampen your drying towel. Either with a spray wax, quick detailer, or just some fresh water. This will rehydrate the minerals that are leaving the spots and pick them up into the cloth. This is really the step that's going to get the water spots that are already forming as your vehicle dries, which seems to be the issue.

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I don't understand dampening the drying towel. The biggest issue is a wet drying towel! It leaves nothing but streaks