anybody have any suggestions on how to keep a 2004 black max looking good on the outside....i just bought it and have washed it 3 times in one week. the problem i am having is water spots.....i bought a chamois but it does not take care of the problem totally. any suggestions on products and tips will be appreciated.

And also how long till I can wax the thing.....I usually use Mcgwuires or Mothers wax...any suggestions and tips will be appreciated.

Oh by the way I LOVE this car....and plan on taking care of it....only one problem......its my wifes car

 

Water spots? That is hard to beat except to use softer water. I know that I get them bad when I hand wash my car, so when I am done I go to a touchless place for a nice rinse

One of these threads has a lot of info on waxes, a lot of people use http://www.zainostore.com

 

get a water softener for your house, another thing is to have several towels on hand to dry your car

 

I have done that, but it still leaves water streaks because of the hard water.

I am trying to decide if I can put a faucet off of the water softener that is in my garage, or if I need to hire someone. I don't have a problem playing with electricity, but I am afraid of flooding my house

Grant

 

It also sounds like you have a hardwater flim built on the surface of your Maxima. Two choices, use a good cleaner wax and go for it! or have a detail shop clean & detail your car. They'll use a mild acidwash to remove the hardwater stains and polish your vehicle. I would'nt let them use a buffer on your car, it could do more harm than good. Just my two cents, Good Luck!

 

I have very hard water here in Las Vegas too. Luckily, my laundry room is off the garage. I changed the faucet tip on the laundry room sink, which has soft water, so it's threaded for a garden hose. Now I run the hose from the laundry room through the garage to the driveway to wash the car.

I use the California Water Blade to get most of the rinse water off and then I can dry the car with a single terrycloth towel. Having previously polished the car with 2 coats of Zaino, I use the Zaino Gloss Enhancer after I wash it.

 

I used to run the hose through the garage, until the door punctured it once... oops

 

washing the car during the evening when the temp is cooler may help reduce the water marks... since, i think you are pretty much trying to get the water off the car before it evaporates and leaves its dissolved crud on your paint.

 

wow 3x/wk
best time to wash the car is around sunset. you're not rushing to wipe the car dry, and have decreased chance of having H20 spot formation. Maguiar's gold wax is very easy to apply, and has an impressive shine.

 

The answer to your hard water spot(s) problem is simple, distilled white vinegar. Wipe the car down with a clean soft micro fiber towel saturated with the distilled white vinegar and the spots are gone. The vinegar breaks down the hard water spots but does'nt damage the paint. Problem solved, and cheap at that.

 

And, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than Lime-Away!

 

LOL...how true!
I don't think I would think about smearing my new pride and joy with Lime-A-Way...ever!!

~E

 

it ain't easy! the red op shows every little dirt mark!

 

I have superhard water. I always wash my cars, and keep them wet until I am finished, them pull into the garage. From there if there are any marks they are small and pretty easy to get off with just a glass cleaner. But then again, I use only us one proffesional line of car care products, so I don't know how my glass cleaner compairs to something like windex.

 

have you tried trick of taking the spray nozzle off the hose on your final rinse...let the water flow freely on the panels as opposed to it being sprayed on...a lot less water to deal with when drying..if water spots still show...have tried doing a QD after drying??

 

Ever think that the water spots were there before you started washing/drying and they just show up on a clean car? They might need to be polished out if they had etched into the paint a little bit.

 

That's a good point. The tips the others offered are all very good. The object in avoiding water spots is to not let the water dry on the car. Never wash in the sun (especially dark cars, they evaporate water quicker because of their heat). Use the nozzleless rinse to sheet the majority of water off before drying. Re-rinse the entire car after washing a panel to keep the surface wet and cool. After drying (I use 100% cotton terry), do a QD with microfiber cloths to remove any film or haze left from the water. Distilled white vinegar will dissolve water spots (as long as they haven't etched in the paint yet), but can also remove wax. Many coats of a layerable wax will help, as the spots will be on the sacrificial layers of wax, and not on the paint (keep in mind cleaner-waxes are usually not layerable as the cleaners strip off the previous wax. Since you use Meguiar's, #26 Hi-tech is an excellent layerable carnauba wax). You can also use a leaf blower to dry your car, then a MF or terry towel for what's left.
If the spots have etched in to the paint, a good polish, or more likely an SMR like MEguiar's #9 will be needed. Follow with a good coat or three of a quality wax. Remember that a true glaze contains fillers to hide imperfections instead of removing them.
Unless you've seen the work a specific detailer does with a machine (specifially rotaries), avoid letting him use one. Improper use can wreck your paint.

Preventative maintenance is key with dark paint, so wash and wax often. QD'ing very often will also help.

Dave