bad water spots

[lloyd3]

You'd think I'd learn (as I had this happen last year about this time).  I needed to keep my 11-year old busy over his spring break and the car needed a good spring bath. The same Turtle Wax Zip Wash that I used last year was still on the bench and I thought that if I was careful about how I used it, it would be fine (it did work fine on my modern stuff last time I used it). Wrong! Very wrong.  I threw away the mostly-full gallon container of it so I wouldn't make that mistake again. It takes an immense amount of work to get the hazy spots off the car and the spots on the chrome trim are nightmare(!).  I'm wondering if it had somehow frozen and changed somehow? Maybe it got too old?  My wife suggested using a mild white vinegar and water mix to get the spots off.  Anybody here have any ideas or warnings about that one?

[bakerhillpins]

Did he dry the car with a chamois? We have hard water here and if you let the car air dry it will leave the same. At least if I understand you correct.

[Hard Charger]

can't water spots be removed by washing the car again?

[lloyd3]

Washing the car might get them off, but it's not a hard water problem per se. Somehow the Turtle Wax product now leaves a bad film behind after washing. The car is clean, but it has a weird haze that is only removed by lots of elbow grease. On the chrome trim, the film has a hard-water like residue that washing doesn't necessarily fully remove. My water isn't soft, but it normally doesn't produce these results. I'm guessing that the Zip wax either froze or got old somehow and doesn't work like it used too (I originally used it to not strip-off the old wax when washing).  It was originally a work-saver, not a work-maker.  I threw it away so as not to have to ever deal with this again, but I was hoping for a better fix than buffing everything.

[Wicked72]

I use any wash with a built in wax. i try to use a water blade to get most of the water off. Then I use two micro fibers, one damp and one dry then do the karate kid move wax on wax off over the entire vehicle. Everything I own is black, and that's how I win the battle with the garbage water we have here.

[MxRacer855]

My project is coming back from the body shop this upcoming week with a high quality black finish.. NOT looking forward to this struggle!

[lloyd3]

I have to wonder if the problem here is the fact that I had it repainted using period correct paint (acrylic enamel) and not the more modern base coat/clear coat?  Do older paints and finishes require different cleaners and waxes?

[bill440rt]

Stay away from the Turtle Wax Zip Wash product, then. Sounds like bad news.
I've had some good results with Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax on the daily drivers (yellow liquid). Worth a shot. Try it on something else before using it on the Charger.

Does your car get that dirty that you are forced to use a hose to wash it? Have you tried just using a California Duster then a liberal spray with some detailer? 

[lloyd3]

Colorado is dry and dusty place, and after a long winter storage the car needs a good cleanup.  I like the dusters for maintenance clean-ups, but every once in while a somewhat regularly driven car needs a good bath.  It doesn't leak too-badly anymore and I use a hose to gently rinse it off in the driveway, just like in the old days.

[bill440rt]

A little on the expensive side, but you could try one of these:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/in-line+water+softener+%26+deionizer+with+fittings.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search

[68X426]

A good read from nearly 6 years ago: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,63654.0.html

Use distilled water and Simple Green.  Or try Calgon - see the posts above from 2009.

[lloyd3]

Thank you folks, all good suggestions.  I'm going to try the diluted white vinegar idea on some isolated spots and see how it does on the trim pieces.  If that works well (and with no unintended consequences) I might venture out a bit. I'll let you all know.

FWIW: My water simply isn't that hard, as I've never had these types of problems before. It's the oddball Turtle wax product I used, pure and simple.

[freddyd02]

You're going to think I'm nuts but wash your car with dish soap. It's a de-greaser and it'll remove all the old wax from your car. You'll then have to wax and shine the car again afterward. I've seen pro detailers do this.

www.ammonyc.com have really good wash and wax products and videos on how to apply.

Or you could just have a professional buff it for you and it'll come back squeaky clean.

Good luck  

[MxRacer855]

You're going to think I'm nuts but wash your car with dish soap. It's a de-greaser and it'll remove all the old wax from your car. You'll then have to wax and shine the car again afterward. I've seen pro detailers do this.

www.ammonyc.com have really good wash and wax products and videos on how to apply.

Or you could just have a professional buff it for you and it'll come back squeaky clean.

Good luck  

That's actually a really cool piece of advice.   
I'm going to try that when I get in this situation again!

Thanks

Jeff

[myk]

Stay away from the Turtle Wax Zip Wash product, then. Sounds like bad news.
I've had some good results with Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax on the daily drivers (yellow liquid). Worth a shot. Try it on something else before using it on the Charger.

Does your car get that dirty that you are forced to use a hose to wash it? Have you tried just using a California Duster then a liberal spray with some detailer? 

Another vote for the Meguire's Ultimate wash & wax as well.  As for hard water spots, I actually had to lightly compound mine out...