[Raz335]

Originally Posted by andyffer

Water sheet doesnt work when I dont have any wax on the car.

How much are those waffle weave towels? Not that it really makes a difference, Im going to have to pick one up.

That's why Wax is important. Non of the advice given will work without a layer of wax.

Waffle weaves are like $20. Get one from detailed image (E90 sponsor).

[andyffer]

Originally Posted by Raz335

That's why Wax is important. Non of the advice given will work without a layer of wax.

Waffle weaves are like $20. Get one from detailed image (E90 sponsor).

WHICH IS WHY I WOULD DO ONE SECTION AT A TIME
Then I would apply the wax, and never have to do it again.

[BK]

Originally Posted by SpecC

that is neither efficient or nice to do. it'll take you forever and you'll get water in places you already washed when you rinse. why not just let the water sheet off? it only takes me one full sized waffle weave towel to dry the ENTIRE car

+1 Don't wash and dry a section at a time when washing with soap and water (you do this with no rinse products like ONR, though). That's just a waste of time and effort. Just make sure you keep the car wet while you're washing, so water spots don't form, then rinse using the sheeting process described.

Also, I agree one large WW MF towel should be enough for the entire car (it is for me). But buy two just in case. Also, make sure you have a routine and follow it every time -- meaning wash everything and dry everything in a particular order, so you don't miss something or do one spot twice. Something like: roof, windshield, rear window, trunk and rear bumper, hood, front, left rear, left front, right rear, right front, door jambs, inside trunk and fuel filler cover. I dry my wheels last and don't use my WW on them.

You'll eventually learn the little spots that hold water where you need to wick it away. These are the places where water will drip out five minutes after everything is dried -- on the E90, it's in the crevices around the headlights and taillights, the bottom of the doors, the chrome trim on the windows, around the kidney grills, around the hood badge, where the rear bumper meets the body, etc.

If you still have water spots after drying, go over the car with some QD and a soft MF towel. That should take car of them, since they're still fresh. But hopefully, you won't need to do this.

Really, it sounds like you still need to read the excellent Detailing 101 sticky in this forum. Eventually, drying will become second nature, and you'll be able to do it quickly and effectively.

[purplewidow]

keep the other side wet!!! if it persists no matter what and your using (detailersdomain ubar waffle weave which is what i use mostly) i would go buy a CR spotless purifier.. also if you have a good sealant and/or nuba protecting then you shouldn't be getting bad water spots so fast. you must really have bad water..oh Arizona i bet you do.. get a cr spotless..it will make a huge difference from what i have read. if not use better towels that soak up water faster like the dd waffle weave i mentioned. good luck!!!!

waffle weave towels dry super fast.. they retain water much much better than a reg microfiber towel.

[DANMACINSD]

+1 on the waffle weave. I have real hard water in SD, if I don't dry it immediately, bad water spots follow. I always use two towels in hand to dry..first the waffle weave followed immediately by the MF towel to take out any streaks. AND WORK FAST after rinsing.

[andyffer]

Alright, so I will def. have to pick up a waffle towel.

The CR spotless seems a little.. $$

[MrChessy]

Simple solution to water spots...After a good wash, use any name brand Auto Detailer(I use meguiars) spray bottle and a micro fiber towel. Gets rid of the water spots and also has the wet look to your car again.

[Joonsup]

I wash one section of the car at a time and when I rinse that section I make sure I spray down the entire car to keep it wet. Once I finished washing the entire car i used to take 2 5 gallon water jugs filled with filter water and rinse my car. The place I was living at had a water filter system where we had soft water indoors so i would fill up 2 5 gallon jugs and use it as a final rinse. That would help the water spots from forming.

Since not everyone has access to the filtered water, you should take the nozzle off the hose when you're done rinsing and let the natural flow of the water to help reduce the waters beads. I have 2 waffle weave towels. I use one to pretty much soak up the water initially when I wipe the car down and I use the second one to completely dry the particular areas. I think I read that you're supposed to just "blot" the towel to dry it but that doesnt seem to work too well for me so I just wipe it in the same direction while flipping the towel every now and then to get a dry side. I think if you wipe it in a swirl motion you are more prone to get swirl marks.

I use a cheaper waffle weave towel that I got from autozone to wipe down the side skirts and the lower rear bumper since i tend to miss a spot of dirt here and there in those areas.

I've been doing it this way since last May and my paint has been pretty shiny still. I see some marks from the towels but by the time you start seeing minor swirls it should be around the time to get your car detailed anyway. What do they recommend... detail every 6 months or so? Oh and if you see a water spot or two after you're all done I just use some quick detailer and wipe off with a mf towel

[Turbo_435i]

dry it the ol fashioned way, like i use to when i was a kid.
GET in your car, and RIDEEEEEEE, weeeeeeeeeeeeee

[addy85]

I use a leaf blower and it works great

[hanmaas]

Originally Posted by addy85

I use a leaf blower and it works great

+1 make sure it's an electric blower.

[kyleb350]

[Turbo_435i]

i used a leaf blower before, but it takes too damn long. I also used a gas powered leaf blower " can you say, hot exhaust & fumes FTL ". I used the gas one, because it was what i had at the time. The air doesnt seem strong enough,and its too centralized.

found this, is this any good ?
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...8&sa=N&tab=wv#

[Dragonman4]

For window spots, you could always just use invisible glass. Works like a charm for me.

[Dragonman4]

Originally Posted by kyleb350

You know I actually bought that and it doesn't work nearly as well as I thought it would lol.

[Turbo_435i]

Originally Posted by Dragonman4

You know I actually bought that and it doesn't work nearly as well as I thought it would lol.

ya think ?

after seeing this tool pictured, i would run as fast as i can in the opposite direction.

[ianbiz]

I use an absorber. Try washing your car in the late afternoon (make sure the metal is cool though).

[uabimmer]

wow, I'm gonna have to try the leaf blower thing- cause even when my car is all dry after a few hours or if i drive it afterwards , water starts to apear everywhere (sideskirts, trunk lide and bumper, and out of side mirrors)

[halB]

Water spots come from minerial contents in the water so eliminate the problem from the source by final rinsing the car with DE-IONIZED WATER that doesn't contain mineral. You can use anything from a full dual bed water de-ionization system to varies types of water filters but Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash cost only around $20. It uses a de-ionizer filter cartridge that works quite well. Give it a try.

http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/products/autodry.shtml

[Houman21]

Your final rinse has a lot to do it with. If you remove the nozzle off of the hose mild pressure, most of the (like 80%) water should sheet off, and you'll have very little drying to do. You a blower of some type to get all the water out of the mirrors, otherwise they'll leak for hours. If you see mild waterspots, you can use something like CG waterspot remover.

[Kilgore Trout]

You guys are making it all too complex.

There is no need to use a leaf blower, dry by section, or any of that. Just wash and dry with good technique, then go over it with good detailing spray later to remove water spots.


1. Wash the car as your ordinarily would.
2. Dry it as your ordinarily would with a waffle weave (and make sure you switch to a new one as quick as one get water logged).
3. Go over the car with a detailing fluid afterwards - I'd recommend Poorboys Spray and Gloss.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by Raz335

A combination of good wax, water sheeting and a leaf blower is your solution. Make sure the leaf blower is ready (plugged in and next to the car) right after you sheet the water off. With a good layer of wax, water will fly right off with the leaf blower. No water spots at all. After this just blot dry the few damp spots with a waffle weave MF.

+1 its really not that hard! Just dont do it in direct sunlight. If you have no choice but to wash in direct sunlight. Rinse the section of car getting hit by the sun then dry immediately.