HollowPoint503

Hi all,

I just got my new (new to me anyway) 2006 Black 525i about 2 and a half months ago. Its by far the nicest car anyone in my family has owned. And ive been doing my best to take care of it and keep it clean. Like I mentioned, Ive never had a car nice enough I'd even want to detail regularly. So I dont really know whats what when it comes to a good detailing. I could really use some pointers from someone whos had a lot of experiance.

My main problem is as follows right now. I live in NC, and when i wash my car and let the rinsed off water set on it. it leaves behind HORRIBLE water spots. Its definatly not left over soap. What ive been doing so far to get rid of them is use windex to go back over it, and then use a microfiber towel to dry that off. And while it works to get rid of the water spots, I think this process has been whats causing me to get some pretty nasty swirl action going on in the paint. If anyone else has this same problem, I would like to know what you do to counter this.

Also, whenever i get some extra time, I try to read up some more about detailing on autophia.org. But my next question is, what do i need to do to get rid of the swirl marks? Polish my car? Wax? And in what order? what does each do for the car?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Anzafin

Congratulations on your new car!

Reading the Autopia is a good thing, that site gives a lot. But I tell my point of views shortly.

These are the general steps in a full detail (exterior).

1) Washing
- a regular car shampoo isn't enough, you need something stronger, maybe a solvent wash
- with a strong solvent wash you can remove the most of the contaminants and strip the wax layers off
- some watermarks may disappear too if they're on the wax instead of clearcoat

2) Claying
- wiping all the panels with a special detailing clay using a quick detailer or a car shampoo + water dilution as a lubricant
- removes all remaining wax layers, contaminants, and possibly water marks
- if you're not going to polish the car after this step, go straight to waxing
- a must-to-do step before polishing

3) Compounding/polishing
- you need a machine polisher (rotary or random orbital) to effectively polish a car
- is actually "sanding" = removes a marginal amount of the clearcoat (the amount depends on the roughness of the polishing/compounding product and the pad used and the technique)
- removes scratches, swirls, water marks...
- there are lots and lots of different products to choose
- if your car needs a compounding, then it will need a lighter polishing step too to make a shiny finish
- requires some learning and experience
- note that people often use the "polishing" word in different contexts too, so don't get confused!

4) Waxing
- well, I think you know what this generally is
- after claying or polishing, you will need a good wash before waxing to get rid of possible residues of stuff used
- lots of different products available with different abilities as you know
- a wax or a sealant with good cleaning abilities may remove some water marks that are not "burned" on the clearcoat itself, but on the existenting wax layer
- using a cleaner wax is a milder choice for a clay, for example if you want just to strip the old waxes and put new ones on (needs a wash before of course)
- these cleaner waxes are great to be used as the base layer for some other, more resistant wax
- some waxes and sealant include "fillers" that can fill some of the lightest scratches and swirls, but will be washed away in time


- Antti -

Saddlebum

I have the same problem in New England but solved it beautifully by using Meguires Gold Class car wash. You will be very pleased.

HollowPoint503

Ok, So what I need to do is

1 Wash
2 Clay
3 Polish
4 Wash
5 Wax

Correct?

Now my next question would be, if i wash it a second time, and it leaves behind more water spots. Then can I just wax over those and they will disappear?

Anzafin

Yes, may work for water spots but not for swirl marks...

kaiten408

Sorry if I misunderstood this but did you say that when you wash your car, you rinse it off and let the water sit there?

If that's the case, then there's your problem right there. You need to dry the car promptly after washing, and keep the car wet while washing to avoid the water evaporating and leaving water spots. When drying the car, start with the windows first then the paint. Windows show water spots worse than paint does.

Secondly, you said you are using windex to remove the spots on your paint... You need to invest in a Quick Detail spray. With this you can go over the car after you've dried it and use this to clean up little nooks and crannies and remove water spots. The best way to deal with water spots is to handle them as quickly as possible or else they etch your paint.

Take some pictures of your cars paint, especially the trouble areas, and post them up here. That way we can better judge what condition your paint is in.

Anzafin

I would add another, quick wash between the steps 2 and 3.
Dry your car always carefully with a good microfiber cloth after the wash and you will not get water spots (at least from the wash).

HollowPoint503

I read on autophia that i should blot dry the car with a terry towel, to absorb the majority of the water. Then a quick wipe over with a microfiber towel to get the little moisture thats left over. That way it minimizes the amount of rubbing i do to the car... which minimizes swirls. And it keeps the microfiber towel mostly dry, as they arent to effective once they are wet.

But thats the problem right now. Its pretty hot and humid right now where i live. The water evaporates to quickly. I dont get a chance to actually dry it myself. I suppose I could try and dry every panel one by one as i wash it. But the problem then would be that as I move on to the next panel, the hose would splash over onto the panel i just dried... negating any drying i just did.

I suppose Ill try the dry as I go method and see how that works. And just try and aim the hose away from the panel I just did as much as possible. But if anyone knows any other methods or tricks, im all ears.

HollowPoint503

It isnt so much that i just let it sit. Like I dry the water after im done washing, whats left of it anyway. But the spots are especially bad on the hood and roof, where the water doesnt just run off. What Ive been doing is Ill start out with the top of the car, wash it, then ill start out on one side and work my way around washing as i go. Then by the time im done washing everything, the water has evaporated.

As for the windex, Im a Marine. I adapt and overcome, lol. Weve been shown all kinds of ways to use different cleaning things to get different jobs done around our base. So thats kinda why i used windex. I figured if it got windows streak free clean, then it could work on the paint... The funny thing is, is that when i first bought all my detailing stuff i actually bought a quick detail spray. The guy at the store didnt really help when i asked what it was used for, and the bottle is kinda vague in the direction deparment.

Ill post some pictures tomorrow after I wash it. I just got back from a 500+ mile road trip and my baby isnt looking so hot right now

Plus i got to take some before photos before i put in my new AngeliBright lights I got mailed to me.

jherm

Always wash the car in a cool shady area. Some products do not work as well when car is in direct sunlight. And more relevant to your issue, it will slow down the evaporation/water spot process.