water spots....LOTS LOTS of water spots... what do I do? - Benzworld.org

ML_captain · 10-01-2004, 10:43 AM

AHHHH!!! So mad!!! Parked next by a broken sprinkler for 2 weeks while I was out of town. Now I got water spots all over the car. The spots on the windows are so bad that Windex and 409 don't work at all!!! I was told that vinegar can take care of this problem.... but what do I do with the spots on the body? I don't think I should use vinegar on the paint. My car is 4 months old. Should I use wax to remove the water spots? I heard that we shouldn't apply wax to new cars for at least 6 months. That's the time it takes for the paint to "settle". So, what should I do to remove the spots on the paint?

...thx for any suggestions

AC_ML · 10-01-2004, 03:38 PM

I just had a similar problem with my ML..

I asked my daughther and her friend to wash my car. Of course, it was a very hot and sunny day here in Houston, TX.

As always my daugther and her friend were throwing water all over the windshield for hours and it was being bake on it. At the end my car was inpecably clean but the windshield was totally messed up.

So I tried to washed it, put windex, etc.. and nothing worked. I couldn't practically drive with the sun refracting from the window spots so I did something very stupid.. I left it overnight with dish washing liquid all over my widnshields..

Well..!! Never try that because it is really bad..!!! I thought I edged and ruined my widnshield since there was an additional white layer that could not be removed with anything.. and still I could see the miserable spots all over my windshield..

Somebody told me then to get those kitchen sponges that are yellow on one side and green on the other (for dishes and pans..?) and use windex with it and scrub the windshield very good with it in circular motions with the green side..

That did the job and much more.. I haven't seen my windshield so clean and completely transparent since I bought my ML... No traces at all of any water drops/marks.. Finally I got a way to really clean my windshield without any scratching..

AC

bjwebster · 10-01-2004, 03:41 PM

Some vinegar on your paint shouldnt hurt it. If it makes you more comfortable, you could dilute it too. Just apply it to a rag, place rag on spots, let dwell, rinse, then wash....

ae86pwr · 10-01-2004, 04:12 PM

RainX brand has a windowshield polish (white bottle) you can apply... go check it out.

Tom Deckowski · 10-01-2004, 05:15 PM

Quote:

ML_captain - 10/1/2004 9:43 AM

AHHHH!!! So mad!!! Parked next by a broken sprinkler for 2 weeks while I was out of town. Now I got water spots all over the car. The spots on the windows are so bad that Windex and 409 don't work at all!!! I was told that vinegar can take care of this problem.... but what do I do with the spots on the body? I don't think I should use vinegar on the paint. My car is 4 months old. Should I use wax to remove the water spots? I heard that we shouldn't apply wax to new cars for at least 6 months. That's the time it takes for the paint to "settle". So, what should I do to remove the spots on the paint?

...thx for any suggestions

Yes you could wax a new car (today's paints do not need to cure like the older paints) however don't do it now. You'll put a wax layer on top of the spots. Instead wash the truck with a dishwashing liquid (obviously you don't want to do this all the time because it strips the wax, but in this case its probbly best). So wash it and then use a polish to remove any remaining spots. Then you must put wax over it, since your paint won't have any protection on it. If you need suggestions on products go to my old wax off pages, or email me. I didn't read where you are, but if your in the San Jose area I can help.

take care,
Tom

ML_captain · 10-04-2004, 10:25 AM

Thank you guys for the reply. Getting water spots all over a brank new car really stinks [:(] The only good news is that my car color is white. The spots are pretty bad, but they aren't that noticiable looking from certain angles. Guess I'll have a lot of work to do this weekend. [:(]

Thanks again!!

Andrew · 10-04-2004, 12:37 PM

ML Captain and all the other readers,

First of all what I am saying has to be taken in the context of what I did and do but I am not instructing anyone else to do it because I donâ€™t want to be responsible for the results, you see, I have painted cars and done body work including adding and cutting metal pieces, all as a hobby, which I think forces one to be even more of a perfectionist, but this long experience gives me the knowledge to see way before if I am doing damage and correct my technique or procedure, so I am giving this as information only of how I proceeded.

Water spots are caused by the minerals suspended in the water, the water will evaporate but the minerals donâ€™t, they stay on the surface and bond and they are not water soluble, they will suspend only, and they can be very hard, for that reason they resists mild abrasives and cleaning pads of common household cleaners and they take strong acids to dissolve.

I do too hate water spots and I have searched long and hard for a safe and effective way of removing water spots and one day in a flea market a guy sold me a bottle of Bio-Clean, I was skeptic but he showed me on his vehicle, I took it home and tried in a small place on an older vehicle and detected no damage, making the story short one day I decided to clean my ML glasses, since the areas was so large I ended up soaking the pad of a small orbital polisher and go all over the glasses and go by hand on the edges and areas that the machine could not reach, after that I washed the glass with water and soap to remove all residues and went over with a paper towel, the results were very pleasing, the pad on the polishing machine turned almost black from so much grime it removed from a glass that was washed very thoroughly and considered clean before I started.
I could feel and see the difference too, not only were the water spots gone but the glass was clearer and velvet smooth, not since new the glass felt that smooth and clear and the wiper makes a smooth swipe and glides effortlessly on the surface. (The product is also excellent with the same results on the bathroom, tub, tiles, sink, faucets, shower glass doors etc. Not recommended for synthetic surfaces)
The product contains Sulfonic acid and ultra fine abrasives, and while I am at it I want to say that I am NOT related in any shape or form to the brand or compensated, all I have is a couple of bottles left from a long time ago.
I also found that preventive maintenance is a good idea, just like the paint is protected by the wax there are glass waxes that you can find in your favorite auto part store.

The picture that I am publishing comes from a long time and I published them here at the time since the subject comes up from time to time, the picture is from the rear door window of my ML, the back section undone but clean with Windex and the front section cleaned of water spots, you can also see the clarity of reflection of the glass.

Since I took so much space I will later explain how I removed water spots and bad stains on the paint of my newer and more expensive Porsche , it was drastic but I had no choice, while you are here you can go to my gallery here at Benz World and take a look at the restoration of My Mercedes Benz Unimog as of several months ago, now almost completed.

http://www.funtigo.com/clearglass

Andrew
http://

marcelc · 10-04-2004, 01:11 PM

I have taken to rinsing my cars, after washing, with rain water from the barrel which fills from the roof (admittedly this is not much of a suggestion for people who live in California).

Rain water leaves almost zero water marks and does not need to be dried if you wash the car out of direct sunshine (evening).

Another idea I have not yet tried is to put a small amount of rinse aid, normally used in dishwashers, into the bucket before washing the car.

nimit · 10-05-2004, 08:19 AM

andrew......were you talking about this?

http://www.statewidesupply.com/

Andrew · 10-05-2004, 10:49 AM

Nimit,

I had to grin but no, that is some kind of bacteriological sewer pipe cleaner.
I did a quick search but I did not find it, is called, BIO-CLEAN Water stain Remover.

A neighbor of mine is a car care fanatic and he happened to come by the house the moment I was doing the windows on my ML and saw the results, we talked for a while, he was grinning because he was marveled about the results, I already did the experimental part of it, that is doing my Mercedes and using an orbital polishing machine to save elbow work and speed up the time because lets be honest, I havenâ€™t seen anything yet that one pours over a windshield and whala! crystal clear but is not hard labor either, just a little dedication. Anyway, he had to have it too, I told him I did not know where to buy it, but he took an 800 number from the bottle and he got some later on because he told me, I do remember the company is located in Sacramento, California.
If you are interested later on I can find the bottle and give you their 800 number but one cant argue with the results as you can see in the pictures of my previous post.

Andrew