Ok, when I got my car it had some pretty noticeable(to me) water spots on the trunk lid and the top. Anybody got some good ideas for how to get rid of them or am I stuck with em?

wash-clay bar-wax-then polish

Do it yourself, seems difficult, but no one will work on your car harder than you will-wash places dont' really care and somehow sh** just appears after a week. I hated washing my car, now i do it evry sunday with two buddies, and it costs a whole lot less than paying for car washed.

If you go to a pro detailer the results are immaculate. "car wash places" are cheap, use poor quality products and untrained ataff which is why the results are sub-par or don't last long.

Euroaudi said it perfect, check out zainostore.com, thats what i use and has an excellent shine, takes some time but you will definately be happy with the results, plus if u put 2 coats on it protects and your car beads great for a good six months...and stay away from car wash places do it yourself!

Clay bar and wax

Am I going to get flamed if I say that I always take my cars through the water-only washes and then do the finishing touches myself?
I learned my lesson years ago when one of the brush-type drive through washes scratched the crap out of my hood and I figured that the spray only washes were the best / cheapest alternative if I wanted to be lazy. No?

Used to do the drive through (i'm a clean fanatic) and did finishing touches myself - now with new wheels I was told NEVER take it through auto wash. So, I get the lowers painted this week and as I'm picking up the car the guy sez "one small snag" - as they took it though the auto wash one of my new ECS smoked sides falls off (they do not fit as well as OEM) and they couldn't find it. Okay that sucks I'm thinking, but also panic-ing - are my wheels gonna be all f'ed up now... well, they weren't - but - still gonna continue to do it myself...

ORIGINAL: fuche

Used to do the drive through (i'm a clean fanatic) and did finishing touches myself - now with new wheels I was told NEVER take it through auto wash. So, I get the lowers painted this week and as I'm picking up the car the guy sez "one small snag" - as they took it though the auto wash one of my new ECS smoked sides falls off (they do not fit as well as OEM) and they couldn't find it. Okay that sucks I'm thinking, but also panic-ing - are my wheels gonna be all f'ed up now... well, they weren't - but - still gonna continue to do it myself...


Can you explain why you wouldn't take it through the auto wash with new wheels?

he said that due to the wide lips on the wheels they were more likely to get scratched on the guide rails that most autowashes use. This makes sense cause just my stock wheels were scraped a couple of times in this manner and the new wheels are wider and have a prominent lip.

had the same problem.....Mothers #1 paint cleaner and some elbow grease....amazing

--E

i need an education ... what is the clay bar and how do you use it?

it is a bar of clay that you rub on the paint (with lots of lubrication). It pulls the oxidation staining from the paint - when you are done the paint will feel likes its new.

ORIGINAL: brrman

it is a bar of clay that you rub on the paint (with lots of lubrication). It pulls the oxidation staining from the paint - when you are done the paint will feel likes its new.


yeah, you wash your car and while it's wet, rub the clay bar on it, when done rinse, then wax. The clay bar smells and feels like playdough :)

Start here autopia detailing guide. Download the exe and register it (http://autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html) read a section a day, then read the whole thing a few times. There is too much information to absorb at once.

Clay bar is used with, water, soapy wash, or clay lube. the process can be time consuming 1-4 hours to do properly.

Water spots will respond well to claying, slight acetic acid solution (1 cup vinager to 1 gallon of water) spritzed on and wiped off with towel, and more agressive polishing.

Lots of discussion here about clay bar. That's a good thing. Clay bars are THE means by which we remove surface contaminants. Grouse points to an excellent reference (www.autopia.com) for learning about how to use clay bar and other detailing products. A few more excellent resources can be found at Car Care Specialities (http://www.carcareonline.com/howto.aspx) and Classic Motoring Accessories (http://www.properautocare.com/).

That said, water spots may or may not be surface contaminants. If the car has been subjected to very acidic water (as can happen when a car sits at a port and the high sulpher exhaust from the ships interacts with the rain -- this is why you see new cars showing up at the dealer with protective white plastic on any horizontal surface), the paint can be etched. If this is the case (can only be determined by thoroughly washing and clay barring) then another critical step is called for: polishing. Polishing works by removing a very thin layer of clearcoat/paint from the car. Obviously this needs to be done in a gentle manner so as not to remove too much. How does one learn more about this all imporant step. See the first paragraph above. No, I don't work for any of them. Just love my car.

Cheers to all.