Bad Water Marks

[rosstheboss]

I cleaned my new is200 sport yesterday using turtle wax wash and wax and then rinsed it it off with a hose. I did not have a leather so just let it dry . The drops of water dried into a horrible white marks. They did not just rub off. I had to wash it again with just plain water and then I leathered it and got rid of most of the marks.

Any ideas what could have caused this ? could it be the chalky water in my area or is turtle wax totally rubbish ?

Ross

ps being astral black probably does not help !

[Doodlebug]

Ross

You are not alone, I have to leather my car each time I wash it as well or I get very noticable water marks.

I dont think it has anything to do with the turtle wax as I have tried numerous car washing products.

I live in a hard water and put the white marks down to that, also my IS200 is Granite Sky which like your Astral Black shows every mark and gets dirty very quickly.

You will get used to it

:) :)

[Scorpion]

Ross,is your car Brand New, because it could be a reaction between the polymers in the polish. :o

Try to find one polish that works and stick with it. B)

On the odd occasion i took my car to be hand washed it looked good B)

but when in the sun it looked like someone had gone over it with a angle grinder

(bad swirls marks)so i now stick with 'Auto Glym'products or Meguires,both are top quality stuff

Mine is also Astral Black cleaned once a week polished/waxed once a month

[UKPulse]

Water down this way is hard as nails (what with living on chalk at the foot of the South Downs)! My car was done with that Superguard stuff by the dealer, and I use Auto Glym car shampoo, but still the water marks show up if I just let it dry - and that's on a silver car! No choice but to shammy it off :o

[jonthebarber]

i use "mer" in hot water and wash the car and it comes up fine . try it !

[Steve]

Just the water hardness.... always make sure you leather off

also.. do not leather off in the sun...

[Parthiban]

why not in the sun?

know you're not meant to wax in direct sunlight, but drying?

[Steve]

drys too quick!

Plus I have always washed my car in the shade.. apparently its not good to wash in the sun. I only do this so it does not leave too many water marks with quick drying hot paintwork

[rosstheboss]

I feel better now I know I am not the only one with this problem . I am still a little worried though. I rewashed the car and leathered it , but today I noticed that I could still see the outlines of the old water marks everywhere except the glass, they are even on the sunroof.

I cant wait till my car is a few months old and I am not totally paronoid about every fly that hits the car !!

[Monster-Mat]

the reason for not washing your car in strong sunlight.

the water droplets magnifi the sun rays(like little magnifing glass's)

and burn small microscopic holes into the paints surface, allowing the ingress of dirt and impuritys

yes....yes......i know its a bit geeky

its actually best to wash a car in the rain, as the soft PH level of rainwater helps clense the paints surface, while washing with a good quality motor shampoo(obviously not in acid rain......or radioactive rain)

[Matthew_McNally]

heres my recipe for perfect cleaning - do this most Saturdays, so can vouch for its success

* drive to the All American Car wash down the road

* had them the keys, and ask for a full wash and valet

* sit in waiting room, drinking coffee, and leisurely reading the paper

* wait until someone says your car is ready

* handover the money for a full interior valet, hand wash, wax, chamois leathered dry - even use a compressor to get the water out of the wing mirrors!

no hassle, no effort - and some decent coffee!

[Jogra]

i use "mer" in hot water and wash the car and it comes up fine . try it !

i also use Mer shampoo as well as the Polish comes up brill

[ricky_is200]

heres my recipe for perfect cleaning - do this most Saturdays, so can vouch for its success

* drive to the All American Car wash down the road

* had them the keys, and ask for a full wash and valet

* sit in waiting room, drinking coffee, and leisurely reading the paper

* wait until someone says your car is ready

* handover the money for a full interior valet, hand wash, wax, chamois leathered dry - even use a compressor to get the water out of the wing mirrors!

no hassle, no effort - and some decent coffee!

How long does that take though Matt? I couldn't be bother to sit waiting for it!

Regarding the other posts, if ever you just wash a car and let it dry it wil look terrible. I'd recommend those hydro blades if your in a rush - but make sure the blade is clean before using it.

[Risky3301]

the reason for not washing your car in strong sunlight.

the water droplets magnifi the sun rays(like little magnifing glass's)

and burn small microscopic holes into the paints surface, allowing the ingress of dirt and impuritys

yes....yes......i know its a bit geeky

its actually best to wash a car in the rain, as the soft PH level of rainwater helps clense the paints surface, while washing with a good quality motor shampoo(obviously not in acid rain......or radioactive rain)

It might be a bit 'Geeky' but True!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[UKPulse]

...and it helps if you don't have a neighbour who insists on feeding bl**dy pigeons. The damn things cr@p all over the car if it's out of the garage for more than half an hour!! Bah, mutter... mutter... shotgun... mutter... pigeon pie... grumble! <_<

[Matthew_McNally]

How long does that take though Matt? I couldn't be bother to sit waiting for it!

Regarding the other posts, if ever you just wash a car and let it dry it wil look terrible. I'd recommend those hydro blades if your in a rush - but make sure the blade is clean before using it.

about 3 cups of coffee and a through read of the paper

say - 45 minutes?

its still not as long as it would take me - plus they do a significantly better job - for example, about 4 of them chamois it dry in 3 minutes.

plus its all done undercover, and they use a compressor to get all the water out of wing mirrors, door drames, handles, fuel filler door etc - so water marks are a non-issue.

[SteJ]

Matt,

1) Is this coffee better than Autoglym & Mer??

2) Does it not leave brown stains?

3) Does de-caff scratch less?

4) Would you recommend Gold Blend for the callipers?

[Matthew_McNally]

2) Does it not leave brown stains?

Ste

I can only suggest that you try cleaning your car with coffee.

I am certain it will leave some brown stains, although they may not be on the car

[SteJ]

I've already washed mine in January. I'll have to give it a go in July..................

B)

Must admit though mate, I think I prefer the Matt M 'chilling-out-while-lackies-sweat' method. Hence the infrequency of my own valet jobs!

[Matthew_McNally]

I've already washed mine in January. I'll have to give it a go in July..................

B)

Must admit though mate, I think I prefer the Matt M 'chilling-out-while-lackies-sweat' method. Hence the infrequency of my own valet jobs!

not too far from Warrington mate

M56 > M53 junction one

turn right at roundabout, past B&Q / Halfords

Second left next roundabout,

about 3/4 mile down that road.

I do home to Warrington a coupla times a week - about 30 minute drive, chill for a hour while the car gets cleaned, cruise back!

(just remember not to use the "chilling while the lackies sweat" analogy while you are there! )

[woggledog]

You want to try living in Suffolk:

It's impossible to get a car to look half decent after a wash, even despite a quick Blat down the A14 to 'Blow Dry' it. You HAVE to use a leather!

The water is so disgusting down here, even the cat doesn't drink tap water!

[Bazza-old]

The water is so disgusting down here, even the cat doesn't drink tap water

coz he cant turn the tap on i suspect :P

[Fever]

The water definitely doesn't help!! But i do find the Turtle Wax shampoo makes those white marks alot worse!!

[NigeSt]

The water in the area I live is very hard (limescale, not flick-knives ;) ), so we had a water softener installed.

The guy installing the softener was pretty amazed when I said we wanted the outside tap on the softener (optional) as I wanted to wash my car in softened water.

The water has a higher salt content when softened, but I figure that's better than limescale deposits, and the car is waxed, and wax-protected regularly.

Nevertheless, I still get smears unless I go round with a chamoix.

Nige

[Claire G]

I don't have time to leather my car off each time, so I use a hydra blade instead. It works quite well and I don't get many water marks. I also haven't found Turtle Wax to be that good and have just bought some Zymol from Halfords - that seems to be a lot better.