Washed car in sun : Soap/watermarks everywhere
10-19-2018, 12:59 PM
#1
Washed car in sun : Soap/watermarks everywhere
how can I fix this, I hadn’t washed my car in weeks maybe a month cuz of constant rain. I haven’t had much time to deeply wash my car in the evening like normal and today I decided to wash it in the sun with a foam cannon and wash mitt. I used one bucket to dunk the mitt in and behold, watermarks and new scratches everywhere! I learned my lesson, but what should I do next to fix this up?
10-19-2018, 02:50 PM
#2
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2012 E350 sedan
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New scratches would indicate you did not use enough water when washing the car and/or rinse the mitt often enough. Water and soap stains can usually be removed by just washing the car again with a quality car wash soap. Add vinegar if the stains are stubborn. If that fails then claybar and/or wax. If the new scratches are shallow, waxing will remove them.
10-19-2018, 04:22 PM
#3
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2014 E550-sold 😩
I wash my cars in the sun all of the time with good results with a simple approach. I use a separate bucket soap and scrubbers to do the wheels first. Then I use a good liquid car soap in a bucket with a wash mitt on the car. As usual start with the roof and windows, then hood and front bumper, rear bumper and trunk, and the sides last. DO NOT wash everything then rinse and dry. That is the problem. Wash, rinse and dry each of these sections as you go. With a good hose nozzle set in a “garden” mode you can control where the water flows very accurately. In this manner you can take down each section quickly and never have a problem with water spots.
It helps to have a good wax on the car as well to shed water quickly.
It helps to have a good wax on the car as well to shed water quickly.
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GoFastr (10-19-2018)
10-19-2018, 04:26 PM
#4
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OP, not sure how hard the water is where you are, but where I am in FL it is pretty hard and if the water starts to dry the spotting is horrible.
10-19-2018, 04:50 PM
#5
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I wash my cars in the sun all of the time with good results with a simple approach. I use a separate bucket soap and scrubbers to do the wheels first. Then I use a good liquid car soap in a bucket with a wash mitt on the car. As usual start with the roof and windows, then hood and front bumper, rear bumper and trunk, and the sides last. DO NOT wash everything then rinse and dry. That is the problem. Wash, rinse and dry each of these sections as you go. With a good hose nozzle set in a “garden” mode you can control where the water flows very accurately. In this manner you can take down each section quickly and never have a problem with water spots.
It helps to have a good wax on the car as well to shed water quickly.
It helps to have a good wax on the car as well to shed water quickly.
Agreed. Wash and then rinse each panel separately. I haven't tried drying them separately but I guess if you start with the roof and windows, then trunk and rear bumper , then hood and front bumper and move on to the sides it would be a top down approach and could work too. I'll give that a try next time too. Thx.
Yeah, I found it best to take the hose nozzle off and turn the water pressure down a bit and just let the water run out in a stream without putting your finger over the end to squirt it and the water just runs off the car and doesn't bead up causing your dry towels to get so wet.
10-29-2018, 02:02 AM
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1998 LS400
how can I fix this, I hadn’t washed my car in weeks maybe a month cuz of constant rain. I haven’t had much time to deeply wash my car in the evening like normal and today I decided to wash it in the sun with a foam cannon and wash mitt. I used one bucket to dunk the mitt in and behold, watermarks and new scratches everywhere! I learned my lesson, but what should I do next to fix this up?
1. Wash the car properly this time. Wash it when it’s cloudy and not going to rain or when the sun is going to go down. Washing the car while it’s sunny will have the soap dry on the car quickly and make it pointless.
(Wash Process: (Rinse and hose off with water, use soap in bucket and put on car with mitt, dry)
2. Clay bar the car to remove all scratches and make it look pristine.
(Clay Bar process: (After car wash.. spray wax a section like the door then rub clay bar over it and wipe off with microfiber towel).
3. If you really don’t want to screw around get a Ceramic coating. These bad boys last forever and make your car look clean all the time. Seriously I haven’t washed my car in weeks and this is the result. Thing looks like a mirror.
