Hard water marks on car?

[JaseW]

There seems to be marks on the top of my car. I tried washing it but it won’t come out, does anyone have any ideas? Looks like it could be hard water? I tried white vinegar and that didn’t work.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? I saw this thread glass roof marked up...can't remove spots? which had similar issues.

 

[Black306]

If it’s hard water stains, should be able to feel the roughness on the surface. If it really is hard water stains, I’d use cooktop cleaner and lightly press with 0000 steel wool. Had really good results cleaning glass with this combo.

Weiman 20 oz. Glass Cook Top Cleaner and Polish 137 - The Home Depot

Enhance the natural beauty of cooktop surfaces in your home with the Weiman Glass and Ceramic Cooktop Cleaner and Polish. The Weiman heavy-duty Glass Cook Top Cleaner and Polish is engineered with a streak-free,

www.homedepot.com

 

[JaseW]

Thanks @Black306 illl try and report back, do you know what option I should take if it doesn’t come out?

 

[Black306]

Not on the Tesla, but I did have some gnarly hard water stains on a couple other cars; typical methods didn’t come close to removing the stains. This is how I found out this combo works and it came out pretty easily. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what will work and not damage glass.

 

[Candleflame]

Theres lots of waterspot removers - all mostly crap. If you have sealant or ceramic coating on the waterspot removers struggle anyway coz you get fine droplets rather than a nice solution on top.

There is however one product which completely stands out from the rest and has superb waterspot removal properties. I have not found anything which even comes remotely comes close (which is funny coz chemical guys are largely known for making crappy to mediocre products with clever marketing).

Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover | Chemical Guys

Our Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover is a specialty gel that removes stuck-on water stains and hard water spots quickly and effortlessly.

www.chemicalguys.com

Be aware that the product will also strip sealant and embeeded grease/oil. You might think "oh thats cool i dont want any grease on my car" it will basically cause "spots" on glass or paint. These arent actually true spots, its just that the area is completely clean so looks slightly different. So if this happens be more diligent with a second application and dont miss out a spot so it strips the glass clear. Because you end up with virgin glass (the contaminated grease gives the glass some protection) I would follow this always up with a sealant or a wax or some detailer or whatever.

Its a gel so will work well with sealants too as it wont bead.

 

[JaseW]

Thanks @Candleflame should I use it with 0000 wire wool? Do you recommend any sealants to follow it up with after?

 

[Candleflame]

Thanks @Candleflame should I use it with 0000 wire wool? Do you recommend any sealants to follow it up with after?

no dont use any wool at all. The product is a chemical waterspot dissolver/remover. You apply the gel with a sponge/microbier and spread it and then leave it on for maybe 1-5min in a thin layer and then just remove it with either wash or some detailer spray etc. Could possibly do a second application but the stuff is really powerful. Sealants depend on need and material. On glass which does not have any wiper contact for the model 3 I recommend Seal and Shine - very decent glass sealant and supereasy to apply. RainX is also good on glass but a pain to apply so i only put it on windshield.

If you want to go down the "wool" pathway use a polishing pad and manually polish the waterspots off (thats also an alternative but at that point you can also just pay a detailer to polish the waterspots out)

 

[joebruin77]

When you say you tried white vinegar, did you spray it on and then wipe it off immediately? For stubborn water marks, sometimes you have to let the vinegar dwell for up to 10 minutes before you rub it off with a microfiber towel. This is what I would suggest:

Put a solution of half distilled white vinegar and half distilled water in a sprayer bottle. Spray the solution all over the area with the water marks. Make sure to do this when the car is cool to the touch and in the shade (do not let the vinegar solution dry on the car before you buff it off). Let it dwell for several minutes (up to 10 min) and then buff it off with a soft, clean microfiber towel.

For stubborn water marks, you may need to repeat the entire process 2-3 times.

And yes, this process will remove any waxes or sealants so you would want to reapply your sealant after the marks are removed. As Candleflame mentioned Turtle Wax Seal and Shine is a great sealant. Personally, I am a big fan of Griot's Garage Ceramic 3-in-1 Wax. Griot's Garage also makes a ceramic glass cleaner that cleans well and leaves behind some ceramic protection on your glass.

 

[Black306]

I like Chemical Guy products, however, their Water Spot remover is really meant for paint, not glass. For glass, it's hard to beat a glass cook top cleaner.

This was done letting Chemical Guys Water Spot remover sit for over 10 mins and rubbed off with paper towels. The cook top cleaner took me a couple mins with 0000 steel wool.

 

[JaseW]

When you say you tried white vinegar, did you spray it on and then wipe it off immediately?

I think I did do this yeah, I’ll try again by leaving it on for a bit but not letting it completely dry.

Thanks for all the info guys! Looks like I need to invest in some of that turtle wax and potentially the chemical guys product too.

I will report back if any of this worked.

 

[JaseW]

For stubborn water marks, sometimes you have to let the vinegar dwell for up to 10 minutes before you rub it off with a microfiber towel.

I just tried this and it didn’t work but I think maybe the white vinegar I have isn’t strong enough. I used this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stardrops-...8f-8a3f-1a6d166ff46e&pd_rd_i=B07J2GH9WP&psc=1

 

[Candleflame]

I like Chemical Guy products, however, their Water Spot remover is really meant for paint, not glass. For glass, it's hard to beat a glass cook top cleaner.

This was done letting Chemical Guys Water Spot remover sit for over 10 mins and rubbed off with paper towels. The cook top cleaner took me a couple mins with 0000 steel wool.
View attachment 837759

that is not a fair comparison. For one you polished the spots off with the glass cook one (you could also just polish the waterspots with a carpolish) and on the other hand i doubt the CG waterspot remover has such poor performance.

 

[Black306]

that is not a fair comparison. For one you polished the spots off with the glass cook one (you could also just polish the waterspots with a carpolish) and on the other hand i doubt the CG waterspot remover has such poor performance.

It’s a very fair comparison. Claim was made to use Chemical Guys Water Spot remover without 0000 steel wool. My claim is that glass cooktop cleaner and 0000 steel wool combo cleans hard water stains on glass much better. I just showed proof.

 

[Black306]

BTW, any water stains that can be seen on the cook top cleaner side's label is actually on the bottle, not the glass. The glass is completely clear; no "polishing." Water stain patterns match.

 

[thesmokingman]

Thanks @Candleflame should I use it with 0000 wire wool? Do you recommend any sealants to follow it up with after?

Claybar... wool is carazy!

 

[Birdsfan]

I have used bioclean for years in my shower. It is a green paste, not unlike a toothpaste. It has always done a great job for me. I'm not certain what you have on your roof glass is hardwater spots, looks like something was spilled on it?

 

[PauliePucks]

Do you have an in ground sprinkler system? We have pretty hard water here in northern NJ, we have a whole house water softener but our sprinkler system does not run through it. I have on occasion gotten hard water stains from it. My sprinklers run before the sun comes up and if I don’t drive before the sun comes out, the stains set.

They are a B to get out. I will second the CG water spot remover, it does work well.

 

[DrGriz]

We have hard water, and I worked on getting rid of water spots on the glass this week.

I made a huge mistake. I tried vinegar. Then I tried clay bar. They both worked a little but left a lot of spots.

Then I tried stovetop cleaner and it did a beautiful job cleaning it right up. I'll not bother with the other stuff again.

Clay bar worked fine on paint.

 

[jetblk]

gonna have to try the cook top cleaner, thanks for the tip.

 

[blackT3$!@]

Use a shammy to dry your car after a car wash, it cuts down on the water spots left over from non-filtered water used in car washes and your home garden hose.