GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have a new (had it less than a week) Lava red vibe. I now have water spots all over the car. I'm not sure if they were caused by the rain or the one time I sprayed it with the hose (hard local water).I tried to remove them from a small area of the hood with a car wax (some Eagle 1 I had laying around.) I found that I had to rub very, very hard, over and over, to get the spots off the small area. And when I tried the same thing on a small area of the plastic bumper, some red paint came off on the rag.What is the best way to remove water spots without breaking my arms rubbing hard for hours (and removing the paint from the non-metal areas)?Also how do I prevent them from coming right back the next time the car gets wet?

I just bought Mothers california something but it was a Clay Bar kit + wax. WOW that stuff was amazing and water beeds off like no other. I would recommend that. I also have hard water at my house and my car is sparkling and very soft to the touch! it was $16 bucks at checker and is good for 2 clay bar + wax's. The clay bar scrubs off the top layer of nasty to bring it to the clear coat then you put on wax and the cars panels are smooth and glass looking!

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »I just bought Mothers california something but it was a Clay Bar kit + wax. WOW that stuff was amazing and water beeds off like no other. I would recommend that. I also have hard water at my house and my car is sparkling and very soft to the touch! it was $16 bucks at checker and is good for 2 clay bar + wax's. The clay bar scrubs off the top layer of nasty to bring it to the clear coat then you put on wax and the cars panels are smooth and glass looking! northvibe, are you saying this will remove existing water spots or prevent new spots --- or both? Thanks.

both, it removes "nasties" from the top layer and then the wax protects it. so i had water spots, bug guts, leaf spots, gooey other stuff, and they are all gone now and the paint is protected once again!

To be honest I have never heard of using clay bars for stripping old wax. Most that I ever do is put on a fresh coat of wax after I wash it. I get the feeling this is wrong...Sooo, with that said. How does one use the clay stuff and how should I be waxing my car. Everytime I wash it, once a month or every few months??

when i have time and since i drive on the highway a lot, i try to wash it at least once every week or two. Waxing can be done i think average is twice a year depending on the wax used. once in spring once in fall is what i do for wax.For the clay bar kit this is how it works. you spray a spot with the detailing spray then use a clay bar (its like putty almost, you can kneed it) and just rub the spot until its smooth, some bug guts needed some elbow grease. then wipe up the spray on the car and proceed until the whole car is done.

yeah i'm gonna get some of that stuff. do you think the meguiars 3 step paint cleaner, polish, and wax are as good as the clay bar?? that's what i currently use

nothing can compare to the clay bar, it gets all that hard to get off stuff. I washed my car by hand and there was TONS of crap stuck to the body, but the clay bar got it all off! im a happy camper, except i drove back to duluth last night and my cars full of bugs in the front again