Spotless Water Sytem


Kingman

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 11, 2006
4,072
Surf City, USA
Spotless Water System from Costco
http://www.costco.com/CR-SPOTLESS-De-Ionizing-Spotless-Water-System™.product.11751987.html

Metro Vacuum MB3CD Air force Master Blaster 8-HP Motorcycle Dryer
http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-...87295509&sr=8-1&keywords=master+blaster+dryer

FLEX XC3401 VRG Polisher
http://www.autogeek.net/flex-orbital-polisher.html

Flex XC3401 Changeable Backing Plate System
http://www.autogeek.net/flex-xc3401-backing-plates.html

Lake County Buffing Pads
http://www.autogeek.net/lakecountry.html


(For those that remember: all the above were recommended by Jason during lengthy conversations)



Just came across this coupon from AutoGeek. Good until 12/20:
15% Off FLEX Polishers, Polisher Kits, and Accessories with coupon code FLEX15
 
Last edited:

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
^^For those that are willing to pony up the $$ for the best of the best polishers, the Rupes Bigfoot is the gold standard nowadays, not the Flex.
 

Kingman

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 11, 2006
4,072
Surf City, USA
^^For those that are willing to pony up the $$ for the best of the best polishers, the Rupes Bigfoot is the gold standard nowadays, not the Flex.

You obviously have experience. Please post the "how's and the why's" of it's superiority above all polishers. I am extremely curious.
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
You obviously have experience. Please post the "how's and the why's" of it's superiority above all polishers. I am extremely curious.

I have experience as much as the next amateur detailer, but I know a few professionals and periodically keep up to date with new detailing/paint protection technologies on the detailing forums.
The main advantage of the Rupes is the longer orbital throw which allow more surface area to be covered at once and with less product resulting in reduced working time. Similar to the Flex, it is safe to use by the amateur.
Supposedly less fatigue as well due to less vibration??

Main disadvantage is the price of admission. I think $350-400 for the unit. Not cheap

Is it vastly superior to the Flex? For the amateur, probably not, but I can't speak from personal experience as I have only used the Flex. For the professional that doesn't have endless time to correct a single car, it's probably worth the investment.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Color of the resin is different but it performs exactly the same. I still have 2 full refill bags from CR that I haven't used if anyone wants to buy them from me:)

Replacing resin for the first time. The meter went from 000 to 006 during the last wash. Also reading the instructions for the first time. Replace resin when meter reads 020. Unused resin starts to lose effectiveness after one year. Hmmm....I just bought the 1 cu ft bulk resin. I know I won't use it in a year. I may have to bag it and become a reseller. :/
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
Replacing resin for the first time. The meter went from 000 to 006 during the last wash. Also reading the instructions for the first time. Replace resin when meter reads 020. Unused resin starts to lose effectiveness after one year. Hmmm....I just bought the 1 cu ft bulk resin. I know I won't use it in a year. I may have to bag it and become a reseller. :/

Do you use the water just for rinsing or in your wash water as well? I go through the DIC-20 canisters in a few months tops but I use it for everything, from the bucket water, to wheels, to the final rinse. I'm not taking any chances on getting spots.

I've gone through 2 full cubic feet over the last 3-4 years?? and I haven't noticed any significant drop in effectiveness.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Just rinsing. Softened water in the bucket.
 

GTdrummer

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Mar 13, 2010
2,122
Richmond Virginia
I go back and forth between the pita of the thing taking up space, buying resin etc, vs the pita of drying off spots.
 

DakotaGT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 9, 2012
1,715
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
I go back and forth between the pita of the thing taking up space, buying resin etc, vs the pita of drying off spots.

+1
 

SYCO GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 9, 2006
5,043
California
I may have to bag it and become a reseller. :/

Heisenberg Blue Mix?

Br Ba
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,154
MA
I did too, but nice not having spots in tougher areas, like door jams.


I go back and forth between the pita of the thing taking up space, buying resin etc, vs the pita of drying off spots.
 

GT35065

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Good one SYCO :lol
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida

I loaded this windows101.com bulk resin, bought 2/14, and used it for the first time today. The TDS meter read 220-225. I let the water run for about 10 minutes. The TDS meter dropped to 160-165 after about five minutes and stayed there. Remember, you are supposed to change resin when the TDS meter reads 20.

Fortunately, we had a nice rain shower while I was washing the car, so it got an automatic soft water rinse.
 

jcthorne

GT Owner
Aug 30, 2011
792
Houston
I never liked the cost per gallon for those resin based systems. Went with a distilled water maker and rinse with that. TDS reads 0. Costs a few cents per gallon in electric but no where near the cost of the resin. Does a great job of spot free rinse, also use it for hot water/air-sol cleaning of the engine bay, very clean with no spots or residue. Up front cost is similar.
 

Sinovac

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 18, 2006
5,862
Largo, Florida
I never liked the cost per gallon for those resin based systems. Went with a distilled water maker and rinse with that. TDS reads 0. Costs a few cents per gallon in electric but no where near the cost of the resin. Does a great job of spot free rinse, also use it for hot water/air-sol cleaning of the engine bay, very clean with no spots or residue. Up front cost is similar.

What distilled water maker are you using?

Gary-I tries that resin too and it isn't nearly as good as the resin from CR Spotless.
 

FBA

GT Owner
Dec 5, 2010
1,672
31.022340° N / 44.846191° W
Sounds like a lot of work to me to wash a car. I would think a water wetting agent would get the exact same results...
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
What is that? Sounds like the blue stuff I put in my dishwasher. If you don't have hard water, it may be hard to understand.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 

GTdrummer

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Mar 13, 2010
2,122
Richmond Virginia
I have gone back and forth on these systems and finally decided I am too lazy to deal with the hassle. There are some excellent cash wash shampoos that are made not to spot. (Or not much) I have been using one on my black M6 with excellent results.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
To establish a baseline, I will say that if you don't need a home water softening system then you don't need this.

I need about 30 pounds of salt per month to make our home water usable.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

jcthorne

GT Owner
Aug 30, 2011
792
Houston
The with vs without spot free rinse step when washing my GT is very pronounced. With the spot free rinse, it really does not matter how long I take to dry the car, it does not spot. On my truck, I dont bother drying at all other than blowing the excess water off with the air hose.

I tried it first with store purchased distilled water in jugs before purchasing the distiller. Try it, it only costs a few bucks for a few gallons of distilled water to try. Then if you like the results, decide on resin based or distiller. The resin systems do have some convenience as they are 'on demand' where the distiller makes the water ahead of use, far too slow for on demand.