I don't think this should be the reason not to have a swirl-free and glistening finish The water spots can be a thing of the past if you use DI water. I think the reason that some get spotting when using the DI system is due to resin being exhausted or too much water flowing through the filter too fast. I say, life's too short to live with swirls

 

But DI water setups require a garage and money. I live in an apt w/out an appropriate car washing area and until I get a residency I wont have a garage, or money for that matter.
The cost effectiveness of all that equipment considering my schedule is low...later in life I'm sure I'll have that, but for now I guess I'll depend on guys like you to take care of the hard work for me...

 

I see. Lugging products and machines around to set up for a wash can take the fun out of it.

 

can't help you with the garage issue, but in terms of cost, here's how i see it.

cost of good detail to get rid of water spots: $400-600

cost of cr spotless system: $450

how bad is your water? i measure >32 grains, or 550-650 ppm tds. if you think you have hard water, my water will etch if not removed. so, for my purposes, the cr spotless is definately worth it.

i simply made the mistake of not recharging the resin (replacing.) hopefully the flex will give me a hand with a quicker detail. water spots from softened partially deionized water is still far better than 650 ppm tds.

 

We'll be having a special on resin soon...stay tuned.

 

If I start the season with a new set of cartridges for the DIC-20, I will probably go through two replacements each washing season. It's pricey, but the alternative for me is etched paint.

 

As you said, small price to pay for water not etching and damaging the clear coat.

 

Good point Bobby. I guess I didn't think of it in that sense, but like I said for now the utility isn't quite there yet from a $/use/efficacy perspective.

The garage is a function of my career, until I am done with residency I wont know where I'm settling down. I suppose I could have a place with a garage during residency, but that's up in the air and I wont know until I cross that bridge.

I honestly don't know by the numbers how bad Columbus water is. I suppose I should do a test. I know that it etches my wheels if I don't dry it immediately, it leaves significant water spots if not dried immediately and even during drying you can see where it began to sit. It's friggin terrible but no secret here. If I had the means water tx would be one of the first things I would do for sure.

 

I feel your pain.

When I moved to this area, the first time I washed my car was when I realized how bad the water was...It etched into the clear coat and took a weekend of PowerGloss, SIP, and P085RD to fix it...I vowed never again.

 

Update:

Received my Flex the other day from Phil, and gave it a pretty good workout.

I wasn't sure if there was going to be a big difference between the Flex and PC. After about 3 hours of work, I am fairly impressed.

1. Significantly less effort is needed to cut. Plain and simple...dual drive requires less push less time, leaves less hazing.

2. Feels heavier and fights a little more. A little more tired after working on my car. The machine is well balanced, but is a little heavier and requires more concention to keep it even during each pass.

3. Variable trigger is great. Nuff said.

4. Saves time. Produces results that would take me about 1.5 to 2 times the time and effort.

As for my water spot problem...I found PO85RD and a white pad easily took care of the problem - thank goodness I didn't have to result to something with significant cutting.

Thank you all for your advice.

 

A work in progress...

Yes - it's 9 degrees outside
Yes - my garage is insulated
Yes - thank goodness for propane heaters

 

bbywu,

that looks great thanks for sharing.

 

I love your level of enthusiasm...good job taping the trim. Looking good so far, make sure you take final beauty shots outside. Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks Moe.

I can't believe how freak'n cold it is this December...We're seeing January weather a month early. It's a little painful to detail a car in this weather, but thank goodness for propane...

More pics to follow.

 

Perfect example of why you should have both a water deionizer, and a Flex orbital polisher.

Before and after...

These are spots on my rear decklid using water filtered with a iron filter, Sodium exchange water softener, and finally, my CR Spotless DI resin which I had stupidly allowed to saturate to about 56 ppm tds.

The first picture are the spots after attempting to get them out with my PC and PO85RD.

Second picture are spots after 2 passes of my new Flex and PO85RD...once with a green pad (yes green and PO85RD!) and then a white pad.