Water Spot Solution

JMod

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What is up!

A buddy of mine showed me how to remove water spots without having to go to the extreme! He had a squirt bottle filled with distilled water and vinegar (50/50) which he sprayed on a microfiber and BAM!

I don't know if anyone else has tried this but I can personally say that it worked for me! As for severity of your water spots, I have no idea where this solution would draw the line.
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civicdabest-foo

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I tried 50/50 vinegar and water and stronger acids from a hot spa chemistry kit. Didn't totally get rid of them. Their outlines are still visible. Used clay bar aggressively, still no luck. The spots are from the days of using crappy tap water with hard minerals and letting the water dry out on the glass.

I only use warm distilled water to clean glass and make sure to California blade all water off it. With time those hard water spots fade, slowly.

It's a bummer when these spots end up on the paint though, fortunately WOP paint is so radiant you can't see these spots.
 

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turbo dragon

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this is why I always wash my car at dusk and the towel dry. water spot are the worst to get rid of.
 

parshisa

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If you are having an issue with water spots give CarPro Spotless a try. Quite easy to use and works great to remove spots as long as they haven't fully etched into the finish.

Here is a good write up showing how to use it by my buddy Zach.
How does it affect ceramic coating? or does it affect it all? I had a few water spots on my CQUK coated civic and spotless really did nothing in terms of removing it..ended up polishing it out.

Although, it made wonders on the glass and some lighter water spots on the paint. But with it being of an acidic nature, does it degrade the coating in any way?
 


parshisa

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If you are having an issue with water spots give CarPro Spotless a try. Quite easy to use and works great to remove spots as long as they haven't fully etched into the finish.

Here is a good write up showing how to use it by my buddy Zach.
Another offtopic question Sir: have you had a chance to measure your civic's paint thickness? if so, what numbers were you getting? Perhaps any Hatchbacks you had a chance to work on and measure the paint as well?
 

CEPA_Si

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How does it affect ceramic coating? or does it affect it all? I had a few water spots on my CQUK coated civic and spotless really did nothing in terms of removing it..ended up polishing it out.

Although, it made wonders on the glass and some lighter water spots on the paint. But with it being of an acidic nature, does it degrade the coating in any way?
Spotless is safe for use on coatings. Obviously its not a product you want to use on a coating regularly though as it will eventually effect the coating.

Another offtopic question Sir: have you had a chance to measure your civic's paint thickness? if so, what numbers were you getting? Perhaps any Hatchbacks you had a chance to work on and measure the paint as well?
I have not measured the thickness on my car at all or any other civics really. I rarely measure paint thickness unless its an older car or it shows since of prior rotary work having been done on the vehicle.
 

17CivicTypeR_Brian

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Two other things you could do-
1. when you wash the car, do a final rinse with distilled water you buy at Wal-Mart or whatever.
2. If that's too ridiculous, get yourself a CRSpotless water deionizer and get beautiful, spot-free rinses every time. I have one - I love it. I have them on my website etc. if you're ever interested.
 

Aurelleah

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Lol.. what do you guys do when it rains? You can do your best to get all the water off during washes but unfortunately morning dew and rain probably gonna just leave spots again
 

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Lol.. what do you guys do when it rains? You can do your best to get all the water off during washes but unfortunately morning dew and rain probably gonna just leave spots again
Rain is typically quite pure compared to water used for washing from a hose (unless you live in an area prone to acid rain). Very rarely will rain ever cause spotting.
 


17CivicTypeR_Brian

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Rain is typically quite pure compared to water used for washing from a hose (unless you live in an area prone to acid rain). Very rarely will rain ever cause spotting.
Agreed. If anything, if the car was dusty before the rain, it might get spotty as the dust concentrates on the surface as the water spots are slowly evaporating... or if you catch it in time and 'drive out from under' the water droplets, you come ahead cleaner.
 

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Agreed. If anything, if the car was dusty before the rain, it might get spotty as the dust concentrates on the surface as the water spots are slowly evaporating... or if you catch it in time and 'drive out from under' the water droplets, you come ahead cleaner.
I park at my work which unfortunately is industrial, nothing like having industrial fallout spots from rain :p
 

17CivicTypeR_Brian

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I park at my work which unfortunately is industrial, nothing like having industrial fallout spots from rain :p
Eeee that's the worst. You're in a big parking lot and think you're safe from dirt...
 

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What is up!

A buddy of mine showed me how to remove water spots without having to go to the extreme! He had a squirt bottle filled with distilled water and vinegar (50/50) which he sprayed on a microfiber and BAM!

I don't know if anyone else has tried this but I can personally say that it worked for me! As for severity of your water spots, I have no idea where this solution would draw the line.
I took my Sonic Gray out to the car wash this weekend and noticed that the water spots (mineral etchings?) on the hood and passenger side unremoved. Unfortunately I do park outside under a tall tree with a sprinkler head on the passenger side. I wouldn't say I neglect washing, but it is certainly infrequent for me to wash because the weather is predictable in SoCal. I now know the trouble I'm in from the hard water sprayed from the sprinkler and the morning dew droplets off the tree leaves...

It's hard to see but you can make out the dried mineral lines in the center area of the hood. I tried waxing with Klasse, claying, and then Klasse again, but the spots are still there. However, I need to add that the Klasse and clay bar is about 9-10 years old (expiry date?) not sur if this affects how well it removes the deposits.

I have only read and watched on YouTube the results from 50/50 distilled water and vinegar, and 25/75 distilled water and vinegar which work under certain situations. Here's the YouTube video that I want to try using wheel acid:



Any thoughts on using wheel acid on paint? Or any other recommendations is appreciated. I certainly don't want to damage the paint!!

Honda Civic 10th gen Water Spot Solution 2018-11-18 11.51.32
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