Detailing Products - Help Needed

I'm looking to wash/wax my new 2020 Tacoma in the near future. My plan is to wash, clay bar, and then put a sealant on the truck. If you can keep in mind while answering, I'm a low budget infrequent detailing/cleaning type on a budget (I do have a Porter Cable 7424XP). There's 3 topics that I need some help on; they are:

Water Spots - One of the challenges I'll face is that I always get water spots all over my truck whenever I've washed any of my previous vehicles. Do any of you have this issue? And what do you do to remedy this? I've been reading about inline water filters that can remove some of the calcium but there's conflicting information about whether they work or not. I even spoke with a supplier of them (Camco) and while they couldn't guarantee it'll work, they gave me a suggestion for the one they feel has the best chance to make a positive impact; their Hydro Life 52804 Pool Pre-Fill Water Filter with Calcium Blocker (

Hydro Life 52804 Pool Pre-Fill Water Filter with Calcium Blocker, White

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074W85D3...colid=P7EIZFK99VR8&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it).

Tire/Rim Cleaning - I'd like to purchase some products that will greatly aid in cleaning my rims and tires. I'm specifically looking for a brush/mop/something else that I can use to clean my rims plus some kind of cleaning product that will help get rid of brake dust that gets almost embedded in the rims. I see brush and mop combinations but those things are pretty expensive. Is there anything that works for the entire rim that doesn't break the bank.

Sealants - Since I don't perform a full detail on my vehicles all that often, everything I've read is that sealants are the way to go as they last alot longer than a traditional wax does. The 3 sealants that I've read/heard about that seem to fit this bill and are fairly budget minded are: Meguiar's Ultimate Wax, Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Liquid Wax, and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. I see the Wolfgang's almost double the price. Is it worth it? Which of these do you suggest? Is there something else you'd suggest?

Thanks everyone!

David

 

Paper filters will not really help with water spots they may snag some of the larger particles or other things in water but scale will tend to pass through them. The main thing that fixes water spots is a DI (deionized water) filter which is filled with resin beads. These will pull off all the contaminants to the point you can actually let the rinse water from a wash air dry since toweling off paint causes micro scratches. Water softeners will also do the job, just not to the degree DI can. Either solution is expensive, softeners can cost thousands to install and DI resin will need to be exchanged often depending on how hard the water is. Usually you'd install a bypass on a DI filter so that you can switch it on only for the rinse phase. If using for the entire wash, it's going to get expensive like a few dollars per wash. Some water spotting is so bad even the harshest of chemical wont touch them, only an abrasive compound or polish will remove them.

One thing that can help avoid spots are using a rinseless wash product to do your washes rather than soap. These by design have water softeners in them and when you perform a rinseless wash, as the name says you don't rinse the truck off at the end. I can't speak for all of them but the ones I've used, Wolfgang Uber and Carpro Ech2o won't give you issues if it dries on in the sun. With some car shampoos this would be an absolute no no as it will likely stain into the surface if dried too long. This is why everything detail product related will pretty much warn against using them in direct sunlight.

As for the wheels, look into a wheel cleaner that has an iron remover in it or use a standalone iron remover. These products smell horrible but they will eat away at iron particles from rotors/pads, see picture of it on the paint turning purple:



As for brushes, they come in all configurations from makeup style for getting into small crevices to the Speedmaster ones that are meant to clean the barrels. Unless you've got performance brakes or neglect cleaning wheel for a long time I'm not of the opinion that you need a strong dedicated wheel cleaner. If you clean every other week or so car soap will do just fine.

Sealants will definitely help with water spots in my experience. Before all the "ceramic" and "silica" products came along Wolfgang Deep Gloss was no doubt one of the best paint sealants on the market. The bottle does have dozens of applications, like wax you need to spread it out VERY THIN. Laying it on thick does absolutely nothing beneficial as most of it gets buffed off so leaving too much product on the paint makes it more difficult to remove. As for price look for it on the sites Autogeek and Autopia, Wolfgang is one of their house brands. In fact, today on Autopia it's on sale 25% off https://www.autopia-carcare.com/wolfgang-deep-gloss-paint-sealant.html

I used to use it and passed the rest on to a buddy whom has also put it on several cars since giving it to him. Everyone's car that we put it on was amazed at how good it looked and only a couple of them were actually polished. It really does make the paint pop too, I didn't get that effect as I have a white truck.

 

I've been washing my vehicles with hard well water for a long time now. They key to avoiding water spots is to never wash in direct sunlight. Either wash in the shade or the early morning or late afternoon. Once the car is washed take the sprayer off the hose & perform a flood rinse. This will reduce the amount of water to remove when drying the vehicle. Once the flood rinse is performed use a microfiber waffle weave drying towel to dry the vehicle. Another trick I have found is to soak the drying towel in a bucket of clean water while your washing. When your ready to dry, take the towel out of the bucket, ring the heck out of it & it will soak water up much more effectively than if you started with a completely dry towel.