What is this stuff on my car called, and why so costly

[CuTeBoi]

Mineral deposits? hard water? calcium buildup? the clear coat is still on the car I think, but I can't tell with this thick build up. Someone suggested I clay bar it, someone else suggested I get the car in the shade and use CLR.

Can someone help me on this?







What do I need to get this stuff out, I've tried the waxing and washing, nothing gets it out... it's such a pain, my `work out arm` can't get it out, it got sore.

[im the fit]

It bight be from acid rain...

[09 Fit]

It looks like hard water deposits. If the sprinklers come on and your hood is hot from the engine heat or hot from the sun the H2O evaporates and leaves the chemicals behind. These deposits can etch your paint and cause permanent damage. This is why it is important to keep a layer of wax on your paint for protection from pollutants including acid rain to bird droppings.

When my fit was 6 days old (I had not waxed it yet) it was purposely sprayed with a hose on a 102 degree day. Same problem.

Meguiar's recommended product 47 MARINE RV HARD WATER SPOT REMOVER.

It is made for boats. Try a marine shop for this product. It takes a lot of rubbing but it did work. It would be a good idea to clay bar but you must polish and wax (or protectant of some type) after since all of the wax will come off with the deposits.

Good Luck and be careful where you park.

[smaglik]

ouch, it hurts looking at that. that happened to a previous M3 of mine. I drove to an resort in escondido, parked the car and went in, and the sprinklers went on. Didnt see it till the next day.

I got lectured by one of the driers at the car wash about treating my car that way, but he was able to get most of it out with a little elbow grease and some compound they had. He got a nice tip!

I would try what 09 Fit describes, or, locate a solid detailer in your area and take it to them. If you're not sure where to find one, do a regional search on a luxury car forum. Good luck!

[CuTeBoi]

Ok, what detail shop should I be considering (Fremont CA)

Hopefully for under 200$?

I already called two places, and I was told it would cost about 300, and another said 250$

Not sure how to approach someone about it.

[Fitting]

Had this recently when I parked next to some sprinklers and didn't realize they were there.
Lucky for me a co-worker run a detailing shop so he polished it out for me for free .
Here's a link with some more info:
Water spots

[CuTeBoi]

I'm going to drive around today, with my note pad and pen and go to all the listed detailers on google maps. 5 nearby I am thinking of stopping by.

[kenchan]

yah, clay but that hardwater stain looks pretty severe. you'll probably have to polish it. try some ScratchX with a foam pad with moderate pressure. you'll need to do 4-5 apps.

wax afterwards.

[qbmurderer13]

Dont go to your local wash and wax boy. They have no idea what theyre doing and will most likely cause most damage. Either pay for a PROFESSIONAL or do it yourself. And your arm shouldnt be getting a workout, the more pressure you apply the more you can damage your paint. More pressure isnt always better.

As someone already suggested wash and clay bar the car. And then try SwirlX or ScratchX with a foam pad, work it in the paint till its clear with not alot of pressure. You may have to do a couple of passes. Wipe away with a microfiber cloth after each pass.

You can also try vinegar. Soak a microfiber towel in it and slowly pass it over the car. Then wash it afterwards of course. It might stink for a while, but this has worked really well on windows for me.

If you want a professional detailer check out www.autopia.org/forums and find someone in your area. This way you can see their work before you hire them and you know they get correct information. And because 99% of the detailers out there do more damage to your car than help it.

[CuTeBoi]

Ended up taking the car yesterday to a PRO, they detailed the car, outside and in, steam cleaned everything, waxed everything, engine cleaned with some strange oily stuff, and all for 220$.

Very good work, and there isn't a single spot on the whole car, except on the windshield, which I can accept as a forgotten spot, but they got what was important.

[qbmurderer13]

So all they did to the paint was wax it? Water spots are embedded into the clear coat. Wax applies a layer of protection OVER the clear coat hiding and covering up imperfections. The ONLY way to remove the waterspots/defects/swirls is to remove a microscopic top layer of clear coat by using a polish which is an abrasive.

And there is no professional that can work for that cheap. Considering it takes about 6 hours to fully wash, clay, polish, and protect the paint. Sounds like you went to a newspaper detail kid and it wont suprise me if those spots show up as soon as the wax is gone.

Not trying to be a negative nancy but im just being truthful with you. But as long as your happy.

[CuTeBoi]

spots are gone, will be taking photos later, when I get off work at around 7am, (YES AM!). They did an awesome job, it took about 3 hours, with 3 people, (9 man hours), so if what you say is true, then they did the job like you said.


They did an awesome job removing allthe dimples in my headlights, I found out they added in the head light restoration kit if I gave a review on fitfreak, which I will be doing on Wednesday when I see how clean the car still is.


They did an awesome job, and I will be promoting them... my arm is still sore from trying to clean the car myself, thank god I didn't do it myself, I would have damaged the paint myself.


EDIT:

This shop does all the high end cars for the car dealerships in Fremont's auto mall parkway. I was watching them do a Lexus, and they let me watch my car get worked in, it was nice to see how they got everything done, and even let me watch them do it, they even gave me a cheese burger from Wendy's when they were on lunch. Nice people.

[09 Fit]

Sounds like they did a good job for you. Do you know what products they used?
Look for swirl marks.
A second coat of wax would probably be a good idea.
Be careful where you park.

Please give us an update after a month or two.

[CuTeBoi]

not a single swirl mark, Jimmy took a look at it, and said "not bad"

but he's not the type of guy to take his car to a shop to get it detailed, he said there were some slight swirl marks...

I say that those swirl marks are my fault from taking my car through car washes for the last 2 years... The detail shop filled in the swirl marks, or they got them out, they buffed and polished my car so much with such big pads, like 24" buffers, and they had a few small ones for the headlights and hood..

[Koi]

I can't believe nobody even suggested a white vinegar wash? Easiest solution to hard water spotting - mix white vinegar into your car wash, clean areas with deposits until they're gone, then wash the car again regularly w/o vinegar. Wax afterwards.

Every single time I've had water deposits covering my previous car (black Mustang) and the current fit (Blackberry Pearl), all it needs is a simple vinegar rinse and most if not all deposits are gone - simple as that. If they are stubborn enough to not go away, that's the point where you need to get it polished off.

Best part is, it's like $3 for a gallon of white vinegar, and you'll only use like 1/3 of it.

[baylorbro]

I have a similar problem but didnt want to make a new thread for it. I let my car sit underneath a pecan tree for two days while I was out of town, and when I washed the car the pieces of the shell left brown stains, almost like coffee stains. I think it's just on the clear coat, but what should I do with them? They wouldn't rub off with soap and water.

[09 Fit]

Originally Posted by Koi

I can't believe nobody even suggested a white vinegar wash?

Vinegar is a mild acid!

While it is a great cleaner for things like glass I would not use it on my paint.

Vinegar is used for etching (roughens up the surface) paint and galvanized metal before painting so that the paint will stick better.

[qbmurderer13]

Originally Posted by baylorbro

I have a similar problem but didnt want to make a new thread for it. I let my car sit underneath a pecan tree for two days while I was out of town, and when I washed the car the pieces of the shell left brown stains, almost like coffee stains. I think it's just on the clear coat, but what should I do with them? They wouldn't rub off with soap and water.

Clay bar!!!

[baconsandwich]

CuTeBoi, what was the name of the detailer you ended up using? I'm in Fremont too, and I've been looking for a professional nearby to establish a baseline level of clean/waxed for me to maintain.

[Slimjimx701x]

Originally Posted by baconsandwich

CuTeBoi, what was the name of the detailer you ended up using? I'm in Fremont too, and I've been looking for a professional nearby to establish a baseline level of clean/waxed for me to maintain.

Marvin (510) 656-1280 @ auto pro detailing

Tell him that Anthony send ya (aka Cuteboi)