The first time I washed my black C300, I started around 7PM and finished when it was dark. To dry it, I just drove fast up my road and watched the beads of water slide off my windshield. It looked really cool. In the morning, there were a few water spots, but they quickly disappeared when I used a t-shirt and wiped it off.

But this time, I started washing my car at about 2:30 PM, and I parked right in the middle of my driveway where sunlight was everywhere. After washing, I noticed the water spots. I informed my cousin, and he told me to wash my car in the shade. So I put my car in the shade and just rinsed it. Still saw water spots, so I rinsed again and dried with a face cloth, I guess that's what it is. It seemed okay in the shade, but when I drove it out to the middle of the driveway to take a quick picture, water spots were everywhere, well more like lines from the towel not picking up every drop of water. I was feeling my paint and it was rough! The windows too! The only place that wasn't rough was the right side doors; they weren't in sunlight when I first started, maybe that's why. Pretty much the whole exterior is rough and water spot covered.

A theory of mine: Maybe I didn't put enough water to dilute the soap, and it took something off. But this can't be, because the windows feel exactly like the paint. Rough.

Can someone tell me how to fix this problem? I hate feeling it and looking at it.

 

In the shade??? I'm assuming this means under a tree??? Tree sap could possibily what is making things feel "rough"?? Don't know if I can make suggestions on this board but, I would suggest - this is only my suggestion - washing this car, removing the spots with Danase Water Spot Remover or any professional quality water spot removers = Phil at Detailer's Domain is a long time sponsor here and would be a great source for your product needs!!! This will take a bit of work with a micro fiber cloth, again, get these from Phil - no t-shirts or face cloths!!!! Next would be to clay the car- paint and glass - with lube (you can find this at your local auto parts storeor pick this up from Detailer's Domain). Use plenty of lube to avoid marring the finish. Wash again. Finally, apply a quality sealant and stop washing in the sun, drying with t-shirts and face cloths!!!

For drying the car, I would suggest waffle weave mf blankets from Detailers Domain. Phil also has microfiber towels to remove the sealant. Sounds like I am kinda promoting DD but, Phil does a great business and is a great source for higher quality prducts for your Benz!!!

Find him:

phil@detailersdomain.com
Detailer's Domain



Good Luck

 

WOW!!! This is the classic case of do not wash the car in the sun. What sounds like is happening is the impurities in the water dried rapidly in the sun and have etched the clear coat and the glass. Washing won't remove this, you have to clay and polish the paint and glass.

So, here's what to do:

1. Wash the car IN THE SHADE AND COOL TEMP ATMOSPHERE
2. Dry the car using a microfiber drying cloth, not bath towels or t-shirt. Both face towel and t-shirt are made of cotton. Cotton is soft for your body, but not the delicate clear coat on your car

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...Core%2C/Detail

3. Clay the paint and glass. This step uses a silly-putty type clay to safely deep clean the paint and remove contaminants and impurities that could not be washed off. This should minimize the water spots, but may not completely remove them

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...-Rubber/Detail

4. Polish the paint. Polishing uses light abrasives that will gently remove the water spots, light swirls and scratches, and bring back the shine and depth back into the paint. There are many types of polishes. Use the least aggressive to get the job done. You can get by with a mild polish like Menzerna Super Finish or Einszett Paint Polish

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...32oz%2C/Detail

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...00mL%2C/Detail

5. Wax. This will further enhance the shine and the depth and give the paint the protection it needs

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...00mL%2C/Detail

Hope this helps. Next time, wash when the weather is cool and out of the sun. You may also consider a portable water deionizition system.

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...High%2C/Detail

This means you can wash anywhere and anytime even in direct sunlight. The water is free from the calcium and magnesium particles that created the spotting in the first place.

 

Looks expensive...
Do you think I should take it somewhere for this?
I've never done anything like this.

And once this is done, how often should I do this?
Would a wash and dry with a microfiber towel suffice?
Thanks for all your help!

 

Wash the car with DuPont Car Wash. I would suggest you buy several gallons (cheap) of distilled water at the drug store so you have a neutral pH.

Apply 3M Imperial Glaze - you may have to get this at a speciality autoparts supplier to the trade.

Apply Mother's Carnuba Wax (not wax-cleaner) - Pep Boys has this locally.

Result- world class shine that lasts and is paint-compatible!

 

Here's a kit that will do the trick:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...Wax-Kit/Detail

 

Is it a must to polish and wax after claying?
Can I just wash then clay and wipe off the lube with a microfiber towel?

 

If you've never done this type of work before, you night want to consider paying a professional $100 - $200 to get this done for you. Venturing into these areas with no experience could leave your car as bad or possibly worse than when you started.

 

I think I just might have to pay a professional...
All this trouble just from washing my car in the sun...

 

You CAN do this all by yourself and it won't take long. You MUST polish and wax after claying. It's the polish that's going to get rid of your water spots. I'd save the money to pay a professional and get the basic kit I recommended since you'll be able to detail your car for years with the products I recommended.

 

Lesson learned, no worries. Just make sure you prevent it from happening again.

 

If I don't do it myself, I'd like to know something.
Is it difficult to find a place that could fix this?
Or do many places do this kind of stuff?

 

You should easily be able to find a detailer in your area here on MB World. There are also other detail specific forums that you can find others to help you. Check your PM

 

I've decided to do it myself.
Would it be bad to wash, clay, then wax, skipping the polish?
I was at my local Advance Auto Parts store just browsing and the only clay they had was a Meguiars kit. Should I get this?

 

The polish is the key product to use. What is your budget? The products at the auto parts store are ok, you can do much better and stay at almost the same price point if you buy a pro-sumer line of products like einszett rather than the consumer line of products found at the local retailers.

If you absolutely have to get what's out there, get the mother's clay bar system, some meguiar's polish, and meguiar's nxt 2.0.

 

They were out of Mother's clay, but I did see multiple kinds of Meguiar's polish and the Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Tech Wax.

 

Hey, buddy take a deep breathe, nothing that you have done is undoable or hasn't been seen before. Tip- call a couple of reputable body shops and ask them who their 3M supplier is.

Make haste slowly. Be happy in the long run!

MoeMistry is right - the polish is the key step. I agree that you should use distilled or purfifed water at this point to wash the car. You may have hard (acidic) or soft (heard of bleach?) water that could have contributed to your spotting problem as MoeMistry points out.
(I have a water purifier/softener on my well so I am cool pH wise.)

(Don't use anything that has silicone because it is not paint-compatible. Body shops will not allow silicone product near their paint booths, etc.)

The above system is used by a restorer who has had over customer cars go through Barrett-Jackson auctions at top dollar as well as winning many Concurs events. For example, my technician is used by a major Chrysler retailer to work on his personal cars even though the retailer owns a number of body shops!

When I bought my CL55 (black) the dealership gave me a check instead of detailing the car. I gave the car to my restorer and doubled the size of the check to have him do the finish correctly.

Order of increasing competency concerning paint, bodies, and interiors:

1. The average Detailer (MoeMistry is MUCH better, IMHO as a enthusiast with too many years of experience.)
2. The average Body shop
3. Restorer
4. Restorers whose customers regularly win Concurs event, etc. and who actually delivers on time or close to it.

Check their hourly rates and you'll see why. I have nothing against any of these parties but it's like comparing a bunch of guys in a garage with a lathe and a MS-DOS program to Bilstein or Koni when it comes to shocks.

Too bad I have no opinions on the subject.