Washing a black car can be tricky, as sometimes, it could get water spots. They are caused by the contaminants that are left behind once the water evaporates from the car. They can ruin your car’s aesthetic and worse, can also corrode or damage car paint.
To avoid such problems, you must know how to wash a black car without water spots. There are three main things to keep in mind when washing black cars: avoid the heat of the sun, wash your car section by section, and dry each section immediately. Read further for a more detailed explanation.
What You Will Need to Follow This Tutorial
Apart from practicing the proper way of cleaning a black car with caution, you must also use the proper cleaning materials to achieve the best results in cleaning a black car. Below is a list of some of the things you need for washing your black car.
1. Car Wash Soap
When it comes to soap, you must only use car-washing soap. Only soap that is particularly for cleaning cars would do the best job for cleaning your car.
Do not use dish soap and laundry detergents. Not only can they leave water spots when you wash your car, but they can also damage your car’s paint. That is because they are not specially made for washing black cars.
2. Bucket
For preparing and containing your car washing solution, you would need a bucket. You would need one big enough to contain the water and car wash soap you will be mixing for washing your car.
3. Wash Mitt
A wash mitt is the ideal material for soaping down your car because it works gently but effectively on cars. It’s soft and is not harsh on a car’s paint. And it can hold in more water, which allows faster washing.
4. Plain Hose Without Attachment
Although using the “jet” or spray feature in a hose may be a quicker way to rinse off your car, this can actually contribute to unsightly water spots on black car. It’s best to go simply with a hose without a nozzle, as water will flow freely onto your car without making water spots.
5. Microfiber Cloth
You would need a microfiber cloth for drying your car. A microfiber cloth has a soft texture that makes it gentle for drying cars, but it can also absorb a lot of water, so it lessens your effort in drying your car.
Also, unlike any other cloth or towel, a microfiber cloth has a better capability of holding tightly in its surface the lint from a car, which can cause water spots and streaks when left over.
6. Drier or Leaf Blower
You can use a drier or leaf blower if you want to speed up the drying of your car. They can also be very helpful for drying the wettest and hard-to-reach areas in your car.
7. Wax
One very effective way of preventing any damage to the paint of your car such as permanently baked dirt and scratches is applying wax on its surface. Applying wax on your car gives your car a layer of protection.
When your car has been protected with wax, the water spots would only be on the surface of the wax layer. And those spots would be easier to remove from the wax layer as compared to when they get stuck on a car’s paint.
8. Water Spot Remover
When you have noticed some water spots on your black car, you can get rid of them with a water spot remover. A water spot remover works effectively for washing or rewashing a car that has gotten water spots.
9. Water Filtration Systems (Optional)
The quality of water can affect the result of washing a black car. When the water you use for car washing has too many minerals present, it could cause water spots in your car.
The main problem would be hard water, meaning water that has too much calcium, magnesium, and iron. It can cause water spots that are very hard to remove. Not only that, but it can also impede the lathering of soaps, so people would try to resolve it by using more soap, which is ineffective and not to mention, costly.
A solution for that would be to use a water softener, as it eliminates hard water minerals. However, sodium, which is a soft water mineral, is left in the process. This may also leave some spots, but compared to hard water mineral spots, they’re easier to remove.
For a 100% water spot-free black car, it would be best to go with a reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration system. It can get rid of most minerals in water called total dissolved solids (TDS) by 95%. It may come at a high cost, but it’s highly effective.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Car owners should always be careful and practice proper car washing, especially when they clean a black car because dirt and scratches are more noticeable on black cars.
The steps for the best way to wash a black car to avoid water spots are provided below. But in case you have noticed water spots on your car, also included is how to remove water spots on your car.
Step 1: Set Your Car Washing in the Right Temperature and Location
Temperature and location are also important factors when it comes to having a spotless black car when car washing. As the color black gets way more hotter than any other color, you wouldn’t want your black car to be exposed to the heat of the sun, which can cause water spots.
So it’s either you should wash your car amidst cooler weather or early in the morning when there isn’t too much heat from the sun or in the evening. Or you may also do it under a shade or indoors.
Step 2: Wash and Rinse Your Black Car Section by Section
Pour your car wash soap into a bucket containing water and make it lather. Then apply the solution on your car with your wash mitts and start washing.
The technique in washing a black car to prevent water spots is washing and rinsing it one section at a time. That is because you wouldn’t want the solution, dirt, and minerals from your water to be forming water spots on your car once they stay too long on your car and the water evaporates.
The right way of rinsing to prevent water spots would be to use the hose without the nozzle attached to it. Avoid using the spray, as this can cause water spots. Allow water from it to freely flow on your car instead for a much more refined effect as compared to a spray rinse.
Step 3: Dry the Section You Worked on Immediately
It is important to also dry your car immediately after it has been rinsed, so that no water would be left on it for longer, which can result in water spots. You need to dry it quickly to prevent water spots, so it’s best to use a microfiber cloth.
But if you want to speed up the drying process even more, you may use a drier or leaf blower, especially in the wettest and hard-to-reach areas to dry your car more quickly.
Once you’re done with one section, you can start washing another section. Just repeat the same steps for washing, rinsing, and drying for the following sections.
Step 4: If You Found Water Spots on Your Car, Apply Water Spot Remover
Use the water spot remover in accordance with its instructions for application provided on its label. After rinsing it off, you would want to double-check for leftover water spots. Once the area of your car that you’re working on is finally water spot-free, don’t forget to dry it.
Step 5: Wax Your Car
Wax application would depend on what type of wax you choose to use for your car, whether it’s paste, liquid, or spray type. Paste and liquid wax can either be applied by hand or machine in small, circular motions, while spray wax simply has to be sprayed.
You would have to let the wax sit on your car for a few minutes, as per product instructions. Then you would wipe it off your car and give it a nice polish.
Conclusion
By now, you already know how to wash a black car without water spots. You can say goodbye to water spots with the knowledge you acquired on the best way to clean a black car. Practice the tips provided in this article, and you won’t have to worry about water spots on your black car anymore.
Did you enjoy reading this tutorial? If you found this helpful, maybe you can also share it, and it might also help another car owner. Or tell us what you think in the comments.
