This can be a near-constant battle made worse by heat (or just your local / sprinkler water) as you are trying to get the Truck or Boat dry "Before" the spots can form... Some spots can get etched very deep onto the clear or gel coats from the Sun on our favorite toys and become a Royal Pain requiring the use of polishes or even compounds and a buffer to remove! Thus, here are some tips to help control such issues. I have not seen other articles on this subject that may help you.
Now, to help keep spots from forming short of buying an expensive, very expensive, Water De-ionizer system which may run over $400.00. The list below you might find handy and this is what I do, to help keep such under control, and maybe better stated "Buy you more time to get it dried off before they can develop" are some simple and pretty low-cost steps.
Get set up for all the cleaning steps, and have everything in place before any water makes it onto the Truck / Boat you are washing. That time you spend going get to say... The Towel, or digging out and plugging in the leaf blower, is helping create the issue. Even worse, when working in the Sun or winds that are trying to dry it off faster than you can remove the water. I have seen times that one side was pretty much dry before I could even get around to the other!
Make sure you are using a pH-balanced car/boat soap (not dish soap) and the correct ratio of soap to water in your wash bucket. More suds is not always better (so yes, guys, read the directions on the bottle) since that soap film left behind and now dry can create havoc getting it removed.
Naturally, wash and then dry off quickly any side of the truck or boat that is in direct sunlight last... Again, it is all about time and how little you have before spots start to form.
Once rinsed off, I have my leaf blower already plugged in, set up, and ready to blow off the truck or boat. This helps get all that water off quickly and around places like the grill, window seals, lug nuts, etc. It also helps remove it from those same places so it does not run down later on and create possible problems when trying to apply paint sealants or other protection chemicals.
Then (pending what I am planning to do after blowing the majority of the water off naturally), I use a quality spray detailer on a microfiber towel as a "Drying Aid," which works very well in picking up what little water is left.
I also use a little RV water filter on my water hose line. These filters can help remove chemicals like chlorine and other heavy metals from the water you use to spray your toys down. They are not that expensive and seem to last quite some time.
7. Of course, there are some other spray chemicals in the market intended to help get rid of spots after they have formed, and some do help! I have found, though, that the use of a quality Graphene paint sealant will generally not allow them to get etched into the Clear or Gel Coats and can be wiped right off if you do find some after drying. What is that saying about Prevention being better than Cure? Amen to that concept!
If you have some other tips you use to help combat spotting due to the hard water conditions in your area. This is because some locations are much worse than others... Please, do share them with the rest of the Nation here! She who shall remain nameless, always laughs when I grab the keys and park the Truck and SUV out in the hard rain to rinse off, and then blow dry them after it quits raining. But with the proper paint protection applied, and in good shape, that is a great way to knock all the dust off them without having to break out the hose, etc., etc. just to bathe them!
Hope these tips help, and I think you will find that with a little time and effort in getting the surface be it the Clear Coat on your Truck, or the Gel Coat on your hull really clean and protected annually. That your normal post-use clean-up time will be much shorter!
Some more tips on how to go about an annual or semi-annual Clean and Protect Truck or Boat cleaning party can be found in a related article posted by clicking Here:
Now, you can order your own to try and have it shipped right to your location simply by clicking on any of the product pictures above.
In the meantime,
We invite you to take in a few Flats Nation Podcast Episodes to help "Scratch that Fishing Itch" when working or traveling and you cannot hitch up the Skiff and go, on these links:
Our newer Flats Nation YouTube Channel can be found by clicking here. If you find our videos entertaining and educational, share them with family and friends! Dave has advised me of some great guests in the works on a wide range of topics and product coverage soon.
Also, The "Flats Nation" Merch and Swag collection, if you like our content, has some new works, from T-shirts to our newer Technical wear, just in time for Tarpon Season, which can be found Here.
Tight Lines and God Bless!
Dave and the Team
