[MismatchD]

Hello everyone! Straight to the matter, I've been busy with certain work, so couldn't get around to regularly maintain our Taigun for the past few weeks. Finally got to check on it today and started cleaning it, but once everything dried off, I was in for a shock: the entire car was covered in hard water spots!

I was dumbstruck and stood clueless, how did this happen? I started repeatedly cleaning it with shampoo, rinse off, shampoo again but the stains were persistent. I looked up for quick solutions online, vinegar was one, but didn't have it at home. Lemon was another and I used it, but it didn't have any effect on it. After an hour or two, I gave up and just sat there in dejection looking at the car, barely 6 months since we bought it.

The water spots are not in certain parts but rather the entire car is covered in these spots. Attaching pictures of the same:

Large and vividly visible spots on the bonnet


Spots on every door


Spots on the front windshield


Spots on the rear windshield


Driver's view of the windshield


(Note that the pictures don't do justice to the intensity of the spots on the car in person, especially the windshield, it's very distracting while looking at the roads.)

I'm very new to personally maintaining a car, and this incident made me really sad, especially with a car that'll go for the 6-month service in a couple of days. I'm considering a few things to fix this problem:

1. Let the ASC take care of it, part of the 6-month service. I wonder if they'll really care about it.
   
2. Send it to a car wash/detailing shop and try to get it fixed. Might be a foolproof solution, but I have no prior experiences with detailing shops.
   
3. Try the Vinegar trick, which I'm not too hopeful of.

(Regarding potential causes. The car is parked in a spot where the sun hits it on one side from sunrise to around 11am, after which there is no impact. Could this have been the cause? Or maybe there is something wrong with the water used to clean it? I also usually clean it in non-sunny times in the evening. Last time I cleaned (2-3 weeks ago), the car was spick-and-span inside out, with no such spots.)

Not only does it ruin the looks of the car, it also equally makes it dangerous to drive with a severely diminished view of the roads. What do I need to do now and how to prevent this happening again?

[Sandegov]

Try claying a few test areas and see if it helps. I used to clay my previous car regularly and have definitely seen it remove water/salt spots.

On prevention - what has worked fairly well for me is to use Sonax BSD diluted 1:2 with distilled/RO water at the end after the car wash and quick blow drying. I do this after every "full" wash. My more frequent rinseless washes using proklear gives a very good finish straight away and doest not require BSD.

Here in Bangalore I have access to cauvery water and use it to wash the car and that helps too - I never use borewell water.

[Raghu M]

I have the same problem on my sunroof in the 3OO. Take it to a 3M detailing shop, they will get it done for you. Mention that clearly before you give it for a wash. Shouldn't be a big deal actually.

[anantpoddar]

Originally Posted by MismatchD

I looked up for quick solutions online, vinegar was one, but didn't have it at home. Lemon was another and I used it, but it didn't have any effect on it.
The water spots are not in certain parts but rather the entire car is covered in these spots. Attaching pictures of the same:
[*]Let the ASC take care of it, part of the 6-month service. I wonder if they'll really care about it.[*]Send it to a car wash/detailing shop and try to get it fixed. Might be a foolproof solution, but I have no prior experiences with detailing shops.[*]Try the Vinegar trick, which I'm not too hopeful of.[/list]
What do I need to do now and how to prevent this happening again?

A diluted solution of vinegar + soft-water works wonders in removing hard water spots. My TUV's windshield was covered in hard water spots that had accumulated over 3 years. I soaked a microfiber towel in a 25% vinegar-water solution and applied it liberally on the glass and let it stay for a while; wiped it dry then again applied another round and wiped dry. After that used a glass cleaner spray and all the hardwater spots had gone.

I'm not sure if this will be good on paint also as the vinegar might damage the paint? Maybe the detailing experts can guide here.
If I were you, I'd start with a 10% solution of vinegar and try it on a small patch of painted surface and see the results before proceeding.

If you're sceptical, take it to a good detailer and they will take care of it. Maybe through a one-step polish.
I doubt if ASC will be of any help here. Most folks don't care about such things and ASC might end up making things worse as they're not used to such detailing work.

Claying won't help as it is meant for dirt/tar. Rather it will induce micro-swirls that you will anyway need to remove through a one-step polish.

If you want to protect it for future, I'd recommend a good wax like collinite 845 or 476s. I haven't had any issues since I did this.

[sanjeevgpc]

Its easy to get rid of hard water spots from car or any other surface. Just squeeze some lemon juice on the area and rub gently using the lemon peel for a minute. You can use some citric acid dissolved in water as well (That's what I use).

Citric acid is harmless to paint etc and will dissolve the hard water salts in few seconds or within a minute. Just wash with clean water after that.

[rajathv8]

I dont have a solution but I can relate to how you feel.
I got my A-Star ceramic coated in ~2016 and it looked amazing in black with the blue metallic flakes showing through. I used to ogle at it at every opportunity.


About a month or so later, I left the car at my parents place and when I returned a week later it was covered under a layer of dust - no biggie, I gave it a good wash but was shocked to see that after drying it had hard stains an every inch of the car! Headlights, taillights, all panels and glasses. I religiously follow the 3 bucket method, use Sonax high gloss shampoo and have a dedicated MF towel to dry off the water so no chance of the stains occurring from my wash. I use soft water for washing and have never experienced this with my bike or car previously. Like your case, driving seemed dangerous due to the stains on the windshield.

I do not know what caused it. I washed the car multiple times over the next few weeks and over time the stains reduced and went away. The incident did not repeat itself.

I know how dejected and heartbroken such an incident can make one feel.

[Drivaholic@2727]

Some elbow grease and spirit solution ought to do the trick. I do not suggest spirit on plastic bodies as it will end up removing the paint. Also do not use spirit in its original form use it in a dissolved form. Although this is just a "Jugaad", I would suggest you use a clay compound to get rid of these water marks. I would not go the ASC route as ASC does not wipe the car after cleaning. Take it to a detailer in your city and get him to do a wax polish and buff the car. This will resolve the problem.

[ashivas89]

Since it is a VAG car, it will have good corrosion protection as a part of the paint job. The diluted vinegar idea ought to do the trick without damaging anything.

However, try it first on glass surfaces to see if the DIY works.

If it doesn't, then you will have to shell out to get the car detailed. I have seen water stains worse than this being dealt with by professional detailers.

Maintenance: Final rinse of the car can be done using RO water, or the car should be dried immediately after a wash.

[TheCarLover]

To remove the water stains from the glass, I use IPA in a 1:3 ratio with soft water.

This tip was given to me by one of my detailers whom I know personally.

Wash the glass with water. Do not dry it. Spray the diluted IPA solution and then wipe it clean. The water spots are removed like a charm.

The only catch, we need to get the 99% concentrated IPA which I got from my detailer.

[Strider24]

Let me join the long list of people who suffers the heart burn every day at the sight of those hideous hard water spots on their car, what really ticks me off are the stains on front windshield as it distracts me big time while driving.

However I was able to get rid of it eventually. How? I have now simply stopped using water for car wash altogether as my society has very HARD water and its impossible to avoid getting stains after every wash.

First I got my car detailed by a professional which was the only way to remove the existing hard water spots. within 5 hours, the car was shining as new.

Now to keep it shining, I instructed my car washer to not use water on my car at all. I explained the stains to him ( which so far were invisible to his eyes.) & how its a torture to see my car like this. Next I trained him in using waterless car wash spray and now he is doing this every 3rd day. he is happy as his efforts are reduced. I am happy as my car stays really clean.

Try any waterless car wash concentrate available on Amazon. At first I had Turtle's waterless car wash/wax bottle. Now I am using another brand. there is no difference so far however one can do experiments with them.

[JoshuaS]

When I had to deal with similar marks or tree sap on the windscreen and windows of my Toyota Urban Cruiser, I used 0000 steel wool along with Proklear's Waterless Wash. It worked wonders.

Obviously, I would not recommend this for the body and any painted surfaces.

If you do choose to use this method for the glasses, please wear gloves and a mask. The steel wool breaks up when it is dry and the fibres fly all around.

[HMV]

I can relate to you. I experienced similar thing when I first washed our Vento TSI. But, don’t lose your sleep over it. They eventually go away but definitely not immediately. Mine went away during the next week’s wash (I wash it weekly). Just the normal weekly wash removed them.

This is how mine was:




And this is how it was after the next weekly wash:





Just make sure to not wash in direct sunlight.

[nishsingh]

Vinegar and lime/lemon are among the poorest of solutions.

https://youtu.be/1Oe7XiDOZCw

If the stains are set, you would need a dedicated hardwater spot removal (you should find some on Amazon) or will have to undertake a polishing for the car.

This is why some basic protection for the car (such as a wax, or a hybrid protection) is a good practice. They help immensely in preventing water stains or bird poop stains.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by MismatchD

What do I need to do now and how to prevent this happening again?

If you're a DIY guy like us, then pls use this; this one product is all you'll need (tried tested & dusted since 2016)


Or take it to any detailer to fix this OR buy this product, which is very easy to use & give the exercise (wiping with MF) to someone; all instructions are crystal clear on the bottle & pretty easy to use.

[On4Wheels]

Avoid washing the car, if possible. Just dust it and use it like the jeans. Also, utilize the rains: the best cleaning solution ever discovered. I follow this strategy and it saves my car from tiny scratches and fading early.