Detailing hard water marks

[Aaandroger]

I've never been very good at washing any vehicle I've owned, but I would like to keep this truck.

We got new sod and the sprinklers have left beautiful, white patches of mineral across the paint.

Does anyone have some good tips / products that you have used to safely remove these spots? The car wash did nothing to remove them, and I had to use one of those plastic scrubber sponges to get the spots off of the windshield--obviously would like to avoid scrubbing on the actual paint.

Thank you in advance!

 

[steve49]

I have hard water and it will spot terrible if you don't wipe it off right away, and even worse on windows. A friend told me about this stuff and it works very well! I use it on my Side x Side windows, truck window, even on the fiberglass siding on my rv.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GWVBQ8/ref=emc_b_5_t

 

[WisHawk]

I have used this with great success, even works well on road tar
I have never wash whole vehicle with it, just touch up.
I use it mostly on the Harley to get the bugs off. My 2 cents anyway.

Rain-X® Waterless Car Wash & Rain Repellent - Rain-X

Rain-X® Waterless Car Wash & Rain Repellent is a spray on, wipe off car wash designed to clean your car while giving it a protective water repelling coating. Not only will your vehicle shine, but water will also bead up and roll away. The highly lubricated formula makes cleaning easy and...

www.rainx.com

 

[Aaandroger]

Thank you both so much! I will grab a bottle of each and see what happens.

If I found a house with a garage that actually fit our vehicles, this wouldn't be a problem...

 

[CdnHO]

I use AeroCosmetics WashWax on mine. Works great and smells good too. I use it on my seats, dash etc as well. Also use it in the house on countertops, appliances, Great stuff.

 

[Poolmonkey]

The pool truck gets mineral from ultra hard pool water, far beyond anything that would come from any tap. Nothing works but lightly diluted cleaning vinegar, not that I care that much.
The same is the best for removing brake dust on the wheels, I let that get out of hand before doing anything about it….work truck

 

[Phil T]

I second the vinegar idea from poolmonkey. What is a water spot??? Calcium and other minerals. What removes that??? Acid, specifically vinegar. It should be weak enough to not cause damage, but it will react with the water spots.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Adams iron remover works well on mineral deposits aswell as brake dust i usually spray it on leave it dwell for 5 mins then spray it off

 

[Aaandroger]

The pool truck gets mineral from ultra hard pool water, far beyond anything that would come from any tap. Nothing works but lightly diluted cleaning vinegar, not that I care that much.
The same is the best for removing brake dust on the wheels, I let that get out of hand before doing anything about it….work truck

Great perspective! Thank you. I did pick up some white vinegar the other day, but have yet to try it. If none of these commercial spot removers work, I will go to the tried and true.

 

[Aaandroger]

I second the vinegar idea from poolmonkey. What is a water spot??? Calcium and other minerals. What removes that??? Acid, specifically vinegar. It should be weak enough to not cause damage, but it will react with the water spots

Thank you, Phil. I understand the chemistry of it. I was just unsure as to the resiliency of the paint to any form of acid; even a weak one like vinegar. Like I said, I'll try these commercial products first. Then, I'll research the proper solution of the mixture.

 

[elephantrider]

I use two rv water filters inline with the hose. it cleans up the hard water pretty well and doesn't leave as much to go back over.

 

[Aaandroger]

I use two rv water filters inline with the hose. it cleans up the hard water pretty well and doesn't leave as much to go back over.

That is a great idea as well! Thank you.

I will say that we have a whole house water filter and a salt-free water softener. I didn't know until recently that when I tied it into the house line, that included feeding the outdoor water sillcocks with filtered water. The way I understand it, a salt free water softener chemical changes but does not remove the minerals. so they are not supposed to stick to things (pipes, sinks, etc) but the trucks beg to differ.