Hand wash problem - weird spotting

[The Wiz Lives]

Anyone have an issue like this or know what may have caused it? I hand washed my CT for the third time since owning and it created some weird spotting. It is also on the black plastic around wheels. I did nothing different and used only car soap, water and hand towel dry. The spots do rub off.

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[Spacenoddle]

No car soap. You only need water and 2 Costco carwash towels (yes, 2 is enough for whole vehicle, one for wiping out majority of water, one for final drying). I have been clean my CT several times, it had never been so easy for me to hand wash a car in my life befoe.

 

[Woodrick]

Anyone have an issue like this or know what may have caused it? I hand washed my CT for the third time since owning and it created some weird spotting. It is also on the black plastic around wheels. I did nothing different and used only car soap, water and hand towel dry. The spots do rub off.

I hate to ask the question, but have you hand washed a vehicle before?

Basic rule, especially when it is hot and sunny is that you need to hand dry the sections.

It also appears as if your water may be dirty. What's the water source?

 

[CyberGus]

Anyone have an issue like this or know what may have caused it? I hand washed my CT for the third time since owning and it created some weird spotting. It is also on the black plastic around wheels. I did nothing different and used only car soap, water and hand towel dry. The spots do rub off.

Do you apply tire shine? Excess can splatter onto the exterior.

 

[The Wiz Lives]

Yes, I have hand washed cars for 30 years. I made sure it was early and in the shade. The same water did not do this before. Very odd, but no permanent damage done. Going to also try a waterless wash.

 

[SteelMyHeart]

I hate to ask the question, but have you hand washed a vehicle before?

Basic rule, especially when it is hot and sunny is that you need to hand dry the sections.

It also appears as if your water may be dirty. What's the water source?

I agree it is probably water source that shows on stainless but wouldn't on normal cars

 

[Dahongfei]

Yes, I have hand washed cars for 30 years. I made sure it was early and in the shade. The same water did not do this before. Very odd, but no permanent damage done. Going to also try a waterless wash.

Citrisurf 77 is what Tesla recommends. I’ve used a few waterless washes, ceramic, quick detailers, and it ends up just smearimg the stainless.

so far, I use regular car soap and then blow dry it off immediately and it’s pretty darn good. But I will be trying the citric surf 77 on next clean.

 

[SCTesla]

I just use a car wash. It comes out great, IMO.

 

[RoboTaxi]

It’s recommend to use a ph neutral soap like Adam’s car shampoo(available at autozone). I’m pretty sure windex on a microfiber cloth will make the spots disappear. Many use glass cleaner some say not to.

 

[bongulous]

Water spots from minerals in your water. Seems to show up more in the stainless than your regular cars.

 

[Netwizzerd]

Based on my experience that looks like water mineral deposits and/or the result of the surface of the truck being too hot when mineral-rich water was applied.

FWIW, My process for washing and caring for the CT after some trial and error (and plenty of unwanted/unsightly spots):

• Confirm surface temp of the stainless steel is not too high (My rule of thumb here is if I can place my full hand on surface for 5 seconds without saying "ouch")
  • Washing the truck hot, or in the full sun, is a recipe for disaster for me as I live in the very hot desert.
• Ensure truck is in shade
• Use just 1 oz of PH NEUTRAL car soap (this is important and why I don't trust drive thru car washes) in 5 gallons of water
• Rinse, soap, rinse, hand dry - Start with the roof and tonneau, then proceed to sides, then finish with frunk/front-end. Dry quickly after each 1-2 panels with large microfiber towel (beach towel size ideal)
  • For me, hand dry seems to generate much better looking results vs blow-drying. My guess is the wiping/rubbing action of the hand dry removes most of the minerals in the water that are not being fully removed by the evaporative drying effect of the blow dryer. Again, I live in the desert where our water is VERY hard.
• Hand clean windshield with microfiber rags and glass cleaner

In between washes, fingerprints and water spots seem to be best tackled by SprayWay glass cleaner and Costco microfiber towels (keep in sub-vault).

 

[ChiTownCT]

If your looking for the easiest, and least work to make it look perfect..

Find a self car wash, spray the truck down with Tire Cleaner and let it sit for a minute.. Wash it off and wipe the truck down.. Thats all

 

[TyPope]

Based on my experience that looks like water mineral deposits and/or the result of the surface of the truck being too hot when mineral-rich water was applied.

FWIW, My process for washing and caring for the CT after some trial and error (and plenty of unwanted/unsightly spots):

• Confirm surface temp of the stainless steel is not too high (My rule of thumb here is if I can place my full hand on surface for 5 seconds without saying "ouch")
  • Washing the truck hot, or in the full sun, is a recipe for disaster for me as I live in the very hot desert.
• Ensure truck is in shade
• Use just 1 oz of PH NEUTRAL car soap (this is important and why I don't trust drive thru car washes) in 5 gallons of water
• Rinse, soap, rinse, hand dry - Start with the roof and tonneau, then proceed to sides, then finish with frunk/front-end. Dry quickly after each 1-2 panels with large microfiber towel (beach towel size ideal)
  • For me, hand dry seems to generate much better looking results vs blow-drying. My guess is the wiping/rubbing action of the hand dry removes most of the minerals in the water that are not being fully removed by the evaporative drying effect of the blow dryer. Again, I live in the desert where our water is VERY hard.
• Hand clean windshield with microfiber rags and glass cleaner

In between washes, fingerprints and water spots seem to be best tackled by SprayWay glass cleaner and Costco microfiber towels (keep in sub-vault).

Instead of using towels, why not a water blade? It won't scratch the truck and makes very quick work of water. The fact that the truck is flat panels makes this seem to be ideal. I use the waterblade on my little Maverick and our Model Y and both look great.

Bonus: It's really fast.

 

[rjbonds]

Had the same thing on my Cybertruck and it was from tire dressing being slung onto the side of the truck while driving after the application of the tire dressing.

 

[Netwizzerd]

Instead of using towels, why not a water blade? It won't scratch the truck and makes very quick work of water. The fact that the truck is flat panels makes this seem to be ideal. I use the waterblade on my little Maverick and our Model Y and both look great.

Bonus: It's really fast.

This is cool! I've never seen or used one of these on a car. For sedans and SUV's it's probably terrific. The only issues I can see with it on the CT are the lack of reach, and the fact that I don't think it would dry the tonneau cover because it's not a flat surface . The CT is massive, and getting the glass roof, windshield, and tonneau dry requires a step stool and a beach towel-sized microfiber. I'm 6'1" for reference. I climb the step stool, fling the towel out as far as I can, and then slowly pull it back towards me. This picks up all the water and leaves a streak free dry.

To get the roof and windshield with the waterblade I think you would have to attach it to an extension rod of some sort, as even on a step stool I can't reach the middle of either.

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