Hey, i'm new to the forum, please don't flame me if this has already been posted :P Ok, i'm a proud owner of a black 2k2 max. I was washing/waxing my car today, it looked great before it dried....but afterwards there were all these little water mark outlines all over the car.
Has anyone had these before? I followed the directions on the bottle of the wax to the letter. Does anyone know howto get rid of these to make my max look brand new again? Thanks for your time.

 

simply dry the car completly after washing, then wax.

 

Are you saying that you still have water spots visible on your paint even after using the wax? (Just curious, what wax is this? Not that it really matters...)

You may have some repair work to do here....

 

its some wash/wax combo, I cant apply it while its dry because I have to mix it with water. Is there any other waxes I can use without using water? What do you mean "repairs"? if so, how much would it cost to repair something like this?

 

Did you dry the car, or let the sun dry it?
Sounds like you have water spots. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind all of its minerals on your paint. In time, these will etch into the clearcoat, becoming permanent flaws.
The saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" rings true here. Wash your car in the shade (direct sunlight speeds up the drying process, oftentimes faster than you can get around to drying every surface). People have different methods for drying their cars. A clean leaf blower works well if the car is waxed. Some people use a California Water Blade (I've never used one, so can't comment on their safety). Others use 100% cotton terry towels (my preferred method along with the leaf blower), and others use microfiber cloths.
Another tip is after final rinsing, take the nozzle off your hose so you have low pressure but high volume. Then, working from top down, let the water flow from the hose, gently onto the surface, and "sheet" off the car. Works amazingly well. Using that method, I can completely dry my car with one 100% cotton terry bathsize towel without needing to wring it once!
I would suggest washing the car again, and drying properly. If the spots are still there, a 50/50 mix of water and distilled white vinegar will remove surface water spots (as long as they aren't etched in the paint). Or you could use clay, a paint cleaner, and/or polish. Top with wax whatever method you use for protection (the wash/wax combo offers very minimal protection. Personally, I don't use them as a true wax job is better in every respect except time involved).
If you want to keep your black paint dazzling, check out these forums for more info.
www.autopia.org, www.detailcity.com, and www.showcargarage.com

Dave

 

Thats what I have on my car, the "spiderweb", it looks **** nasty, along with the water spots. So will a bar of wax get rid of those? If not, how do I get rid of them? Thanks again!

 

Wash/Wax combo = Garbage.

If you want to get the car looking good follow these steps...

-Wash with regular car wash using 2 bucket method (one to rinse dirt off sponge one for soap and water)

-Dry with an Absorber or compressed air or Waffle Weave MF towels like those from www.pakshak.com

-Polish with some type of polish (use search to find types). this will remove the swirl marks/spider webs

- Wax with a real wax such as S100/P21s, One Grand Blitz, Meguiars, Ardex, etc.

Every time you wash the car you must dry it or you will get water spots...water spots which will eventually etch the paint and become permanent.

Just use search there's hella posts outlining the basic detailing procedure and options.

 

ok, thanks. How long would it take for water spots to become permanent? i've has this car about 1 1/2 years, been washing it the same way every time, I use a terry cloth to try it off. I'll go out and buy the stuff you reccomended and try it that was. There is a problem though, I dont park my car in the garage because it has a whole bunch of junk in it, and the floor is carpet, is there any other way I can do it, otherwise I would have to do it in direct sunlight =/

 

ARGH! You have a garage but can't use it...that's a sin! I would KILL for a garage!

They say don't do this stuff in direct sun, so maybe wait for an overcast day or find some shade somewhere or even get a little tent thing (some people on Autopia have them) to shade the car. To tell you the truth I have worked in the sun before though....but it's not recommended. If you're going to do it make sure the paint is cool to the touch.

 

Yeah I'd kill for a garage too.

It's not really the direct sunlight that's the problem. It's just heat and evaporation that you're trying to avoid so that the water or soap solution on the car doesn't dry out on you. If it's sunny out but the car/paint isn't getting too hot then you're fine. Either that or wash in smaller sections and rinse more often.

What I'm asking is if the water spot rings you see are there in the same place all the time even after you wash it. Try rubbing some vinegar on one of them if it's still there after washing and drying. If they come off then you've just got hard tap water. If it doesn't come off then you may have etched in water spots, probably from polluted rain water (acid rain). These will have to be polished out, and that's what I mean by "repair". You can try to DIY with the information you can find by searching, or farm it out to a detailer to do it for you. How hard this is to do or how much it will cost to repair all depends on how seriously it is damaged.

Afterwards you can prevent this from happening again by keeping the car waxed regularly, and keeping it washed or at least rinse the car off once in a while when it rains. It's worse when you have a really dirty car and it gets rained on and the rain is allowed to dry out on the paint, which concentrates all the acids and chemicals in solution.

 

thanks for all the responces everyone, really appriciate it. I just found put the water spots are not permanent, I rubed a small part of the car really hard with a cloth and it went away, should I do that with the whole car? And is it safe to use dishwasher soap i.e Dial for washing it? I'm gonna go buy a bar of wax, some polish and some 100% cotton wash cloths tomorrow. Right now the sun is behind my neighbors house so it is an ideal time to wash it, i'll wait for your response on the dishwasher soap washing though before I go out and wash it. Thanks again everyone for your help

 

if you use dishwashing soap, it'll strip the wax. i'd use some car soap that you can get at any auto parts center

 

NO!! Don't scrub the paint hard. That's how people end up scratching the bejeezus out of their paint.

Either use clay or try a vinegar solution (can't remember the ratio right now...). I would try vinegar first to dissolve the spots because they just sound like mineral deposits.

Likewise, don't use dishwashing liquid. Its use and cleaning abilities are overhyped and misunderstood IMO.

 

It's a 50/50 solution of distilled water and white vinegar in a spray bottle>