My car was detailed about 3 months ago by the dealer before I bought it. The finish is in really good condition. Like I said before, washing it in cooler temperatures and drying it right away did get rid of the spots.

I'm going to have to look into getting some detailing spray. In fact, I guess I need to invest in some several different detailing products. I used to have a California water wand (or something like that) that sounds like the jelly thing you described. That thing was great. I also need some better towels and wax.

It's just too damn humid here to put in a full day detailing a car right now. I'm from Oregon and haven't adjusted to Florida yet. I've been here for 2 years, so who knows if I'll ever get used to it. The Winters are great though...

 

Oops, didn't think of that... No water conservation laws here.

 

I've been using this to help the hard water problem with pretty good results.

http://www.pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm

Also washing the car early in the morning or later in the evening helps.

 

Wow, that's a lot cheaper alternative. I might look into getting that. Thanks for the tip.

 

I tried that one, isn't bad, but you have to recharge the filter by leaving it in salt overnight. I still have that one, but the one thing I found with recharging is at first it leaves some "salty" spots. I've been using de-i water for over 10 years now, been buying it in gallons at the store, and using a garden sprayer to wash, I know de-i works because of that. I always washed my tires and wheels with the tap water, and then rinsed with the de-i, then washed the car with de-i, you could leave it dry with no spots.

 

Didn't think about the detailing part, my bad. My car has about five coats of Zaino, it's stored in my garage and is not my dd. I'm pretty sure that much Zaino plays a big part in the water just rolling off.

 

I washed my car today in the shade, quickly towel dried it, then went for a spin to get the excess water off. Came home, pulled into the garage and put the door down looked at the front, I hit about 5 bugs... what a waste... =/

 

Where I live, the water is very hard so the car has to be dried fully really quick. What I've found best is to use a California water blade (or similar product) to quickly get the majority of the water off the car. Then, I use a towel and take my time fully drying and I get no water spots. If I do have water spots, using Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer removes them instantly and provides a little bit of protection as well. If I'm doing a full detail, the water spots don't matter as the paint cleaner will remove them for me.

 

Waterspots are a horrible eye sore and on hot days those little water droplets act like little magnifying glasses on your paint when the sun hits them. Always avoid washing your vehicle in direct sunlight if possible and if your paint is warm to the touch. I would recommend investing in a dedicated air blower to remove excess water quickly from hinges and cracks instead of the water blade, which can drag debri across your paint. Chemical Guys sale a nice one, you can check it out here Air Dryer

Sheet the water over your panels on your final rinse instead of using a jet spray or the such. If you wax your car regularly, this will allow most of the water to sheet off or bead, which will make drying easier and quicker. A solid waxing routine really helps minimize most problems.

I love the Big Blue Towel, I can usually dry off my entire vehicle before having to wring it out once. The Absorber and such tend to require a lot of wringing, which delays the time you have to dry off the vehicle, plus the towels are easily to rinse regularly IMO. I have used the Meguiars towels in the past, but was not completely satisfied with them.

In short, avoid direct sunlight and hot panels, keep a good coat of wax on the car and hose the car off with an open flow of water instead of a nozzle, and invest in a good drying towel. I use two towels, the first one I drap over the panel and slide it across to remove most of the water and follow up with a second towel for the remaining water. Natty's Blue Wax really beads well, but I still prefer P21S Carnauba Wax. If you live close to a Harley Davidson shop, go pick up a jar of the S100 wax, which is a relabeled version. Autogeek has it as well, S100, but they don't offer the member discount that Greg does.

 

i usually wash my cars in the morning before the sun gets real hot.

even my black car is fine while washed in the sun as long as there is
plenty of wax on it. also the tap water we get isn't too hard so that
helps too. sheeting off water during the rinse is a great idea, never
spray water during the final rinse.