How do you guys in the Phoenix area wash your cars without getting spots?

[Lee123]

This probably sounds like a silly question but how do you wash your car with this crappy water without getting spots? No one I've talked to in person since moving here has been able to tell me. They all tell me to take it to one car wash or another. Prior to moving here 8 years ago I never took a car to a car wash, but the water here is so full of minerals that I can't wash one without getting spots. I even tried washing just one front fender of my last car in the garage to keep the sun off, dried it immediately and still got spots. So I've used a touch-less car wash on all the cars I've owned since moving here. I know, it's supposed to be awful for the paint, but I used it regularly on a Jeep Wrangler (that great green color like the Synergy Camaro) for 4 years and the paint still looked good. I also used it for the BMW 135 convertible that I had prior to the Camaro. I'm afraid to put the Camaro convertible though the car wash after reading about all the top problems (even though the dealer uses one with rollers), but I'm also reluctant to wash it by hand since I know it will get spots.

What's the secret to hand washing a car here and not getting spots? Or if that's impossible, what kind of car wash can you use on a Camaro convertible? I just don't want to take it somewhere where some idiot will be driving it.

[Mark's SS]

I too have had the same problem. Like you If I wash it at home I will get water spots. I even have a filter for my hose but it rarely helps. If it is hot out and you are in the sun forget it. Do not wash in the heat of the day. The only thing I have found that works is to mist the car with detail spray before drying. Then go over again with detail spray and micro fiber cloth. That usually eliminates the water spotting. Nothing worse than to wash your whole car and have to buff it to remove water spots.

Good luck.

[Sir Nuke]

Lee.....i too live where the water is VERY HARD.....there is a few things you can do.

You can buy a water softener to install on the ONE spicket you use to wash the car so that it will take out all the minerals....so it won't spot.

OR

As Mark suggested....I do this as well......wash the car, use a leaf blower to get the biggest part of the water off the car, then mist the car with detail spray as you dry it. I also pull my car into my garage as soon as I'm done washing it so the sun won't dry it FAST and bake the mineral spots.

OR

do BOTH!

I also use/have a waterless wash that I have been using for nearly 30 years.....and its NEVER harmed or damaged the finish on ANY of my cars. even my show cars.

[NavyDood]

Rent or own your place? If you own, install a whole house filter and a water softener. I installed both myself in our new house build for less than $450. Plumb the whole house filter before the water softener and use a gradient filter. Try a 25um down to 1um first and see how long it lasts. If it clogs up quickly then try a 50um down to 5um.

[Black Friday]

Living here in Phoenix I use the CR Spotless portable water system (Costco) and
I can tell you it works great for the final rinse. It's not the cheapest way to go, but it sure works. I also wash the car before the sun has a chance to hit the driveway and use the Master Blaster Air Force dryer to dry it. With our high temps and low humidity, I know what you're going through.

Good luck

[CamaroDreams07]

I have heard many times that adding a bit of Optimum No Rinse to your wash water will help with this. Now, I don't know if I'm 100% on board with that, but it couldn't hurt to try. But like these guys, said, water softener and SHADE are your best bets.

[Lee123]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We bought the house used and it already had a water softener but none of the outside water faucets are connected to it. I'm not good at plumbing so maybe I can have one added. At plumbers rates it might be cheaper to buy the CR portable filter. I'll have to do something, because even washing a small area in the garage and drying immediately left spots. Not the big ones that etch into the surface just a light layer that looked crappy and had to be cleaned off.

My wife, who never complains about stuff I buy (not even 3 new cars in 2 years), pointed out that $400 for a filter would pay for a lot of $8 car washes. I've been running her car through that no-touch car wash for 8 years and it still looks good and I've run all my other cars though it, too, so she's having trouble understanding why I don't just try it on the Camaro. I'm fairly lazy and not real picky about appearance as long as it looks reasonably clean so I'd no doubt try that if I wasn't afraid the top would leak. I didn't put my last convertible though it until I was caught in a torrential downpour/hail storm on the freeway and saw that it didn't leak.

[cugino]

living in fla. same combination of hard water and wicked sun/heat. car washing is a 2 person job for me. 1st, only early morning and only with my wife drying behind me. never have spots. on the rare ocassion that my cars are lightly in need of a wash and we're feeling lazy, i take it to the brushless car wash. they must use filtered water. i never get the wax/protectorant spray and then they use high powered blowers like leaf blowers to dry. btw good tip on the blowers. then i walk around with quick detailer and glass cleaner to catch anything they missed. costs 8 bucks and worth every penny. not good if you need a big job on a real dirty car, but guys, do you ever let your cars get that dirty? wheels need to be done by hand, but if you're in a hurry, can't beat it.

[Lee123]

Originally Posted by cugino

living in fla. same combination of hard water and wicked sun/heat. car washing is a 2 person job for me. 1st, only early morning and only with my wife drying behind me. never have spots. on the rare ocassion that my cars are lightly in need of a wash and we're feeling lazy, i take it to the brushless car wash. they must use filtered water. i never get the wax/protectorant spray and then they use high powered blowers like leaf blowers to dry. btw good tip on the blowers. then i walk around with quick detailer and glass cleaner to catch anything they missed. costs 8 bucks and worth every penny. not good if you need a big job on a real dirty car, but guys, do you ever let your cars get that dirty? wheels need to be done by hand, but if you're in a hurry, can't beat it.

Unfortunately my wife wouldn't be up for that. When we got married we divided up the chores, inside cleaning is hers cars and yard are mine. We each think we got the better part of the deal. She thinks I should put the Camaro through the brushless car wash I used on all the cars I've owned since we moved her including a BMW 135 convertible. The BMW forum guys though it was some kind of heresy but it worked great as long as I cleaned the wheels and touched up a couple spots when I got home. I'm just afraid the top will leak or collapse or something after reading about all the top problems. The dealer uses a brush car wash! I know my car was through it at least once before I bought it.