Hard Water + Car Washing

Tesla

Tesla

Tesla

Soldato
Joined
19 Jan 2003
Posts
17,599
Location
Bristol, UK
I think the reason that there are always water marks on my car when I wash it is that the water in Bristol is so damn hard.

Is there anything I can add to my bucket of water, or even better to my pressure washer? Hopefully it will allow me to rinse the car off after washing and leave no crappy looking marks. I usually have to buff them out, taking at least an hour!
 
Some car wash products have water softeners in them Megiures NXT car wash does. This is what meguires say about the NXT car wash.

"Meguiar's expertise in Engineered Synthetic Polymers (ESP) has created a completely synthetic car wash concentrate that loosens and emulsifies even the toughest dirt and road grime while synthetic lubricating oils glide them off the surface without marring the finish. This cutting edge formula is gentle on all painted finishes as well as rubber, vinyl and plastic components. Meguiar's NXT Generation Car Wash leaves an eye-dazzling finish by itself or prepares your finish for application of Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. Engineered water softener helps reduce deposits in hard water, leaving behind a spot-free finish."

thedazman
 
Yes my shampoo has other chemicals in it. I usually rinse the car with cold water to remove all the suds and the like.

Am I doing something wrong here then?
 
merlin said:
Not drying it quickly enough?
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I dry it as quickly as I can but there is too much car and some of it dries before I can get to it.

I have to wash the car at stupid o'clock too as the sun is on the drive all day otherwise.
 
Stonedofmoo said:
Yes buy one of those Flash car wash units, as it filters the water. Works well on mine
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the flash system is great. shame we have a hosepipe ban as i cant use it now :mad: :mad:
 
Tesla said:
I dry it as quickly as I can but there is too much car and some of it dries before I can get to it.

I have to wash the car at stupid o'clock too as the sun is on the drive all day otherwise.
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This is why you should wash a couple of panels at a time. Then rinse them, then dry them.

It's impossible to avoid watermarks in this weather doing the whole car in one go. :)
 
How do you rinse each panel without getting spray on the others?

Do you use a cloth or something instead?

It's only the Mondeo so I am not majorly fussed as the paintwork is a little shabby if you were to inspect it closely. Washing this is good practice for when I get a proper car though. :)
 
What does it matter if you get water on the dirty panels?

Wash two panels - rinse them. Dry them.

Wash two more, rinse them, dry them etc etc.

:p
 
merlin said:
What does it matter if you get water on the dirty panels?

Wash two panels - rinse them. Dry them.

Wash two more, rinse them, dry them etc etc.

:p
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No, I meant say you wash one panel and dry it.

Then move onto the next one, when you rinse it, it's likely water will splash onto the panel you have just cleaned. I would guess you just wipe the few odd spots. I imagine it's me being a dummy, I was hoping there was some special chemical I could stick in the pressure washer resivoir to make my car water-mark free, like what you put in Dishwashers and use in photo labs, rinse aid?

Also, as you were not at the RR pub I wasn't able to thank you for your (insurance) help and buy you a drink or something. Next time?
 
Oh I see, well I just use a woolen mit and a hose pipe with a slow stream of water so it works well.

No, had to shoot to watch the lame football. K. :)
 
here comes Mr science :D

OK , There are two types of water hardness , permanent and temporary hardness. both can be removed in different ways.

Permanent hardness is caused by dissolved Calcium Hydrogen carbonates or Magnesium hydrogen carbonates.

temporary hardness is caused by dissolved calcium and magnesium sulphates.

it is possible to remove the temporary hardness by simply boiling it before you put it in the bucket , this decomposes the hydrogen carbonates to form insoluble CaCO3 or MgCO3 .

however if you (unlikely) have permanent hard water you can use two things.

the first is an Ion exchange column this basically swaps the salts for sodium ions.

however the one i used to use was simply adding some sodium carbonate to the bucket which has the same effect :)

please correct me if im wrong its been a while since i looked at water chemistry :)
 
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This too is the bane of my life - try washing a black car with hard water :(.

I don't like using a hose, so there's not much I can do except dry the thing - which I agree take ages. I may buy some microfibre towels for drying (chamois is a complete PITA).
 
This weather makes it difficult, especially with black cars :mad:

I wash mine top to bottom, rinsing off the suds about 4 times in the process. Also spraying water on the higher bits to stop them drying out. Then chamois it dry, again top to bottom. A wet chamois can rub off dried watermarks.

the water round here is hard as nails. I'm getting up at 8am to wash my car at the moment while the sun is behind my house.
 
Yes, I tried the high power jet wash at Morrisons, and it left water marks all over my black car.

£2.50 wasted.

:mad:
 
NickXX said:
This too is the bane of my life - try washing a black car with hard water :(.

I don't like using a hose, so there's not much I can do except dry the thing - which I agree take ages. I may buy some microfibre towels for drying (chamois is a complete PITA).
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Microfibre's not great for drying, look for waffleweave towels instead.
 
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