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      10-16-2012, 10:49 PM   #1
mgallen
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Water De-ionizer - Is it worth it?

Does anyone have any experience using a de-ionized water system to rinse your car in order to avoid water spots? I've read conflicting opinions on its effectiveness.

I'm leaning against making the investment, but wanted to hear from others with experience.
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      10-17-2012, 07:40 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mgallen View Post
Does anyone have any experience using a de-ionized water system to rinse your car in order to avoid water spots? I've read conflicting opinions on its effectiveness.

I'm leaning against making the investment, but wanted to hear from others with experience.
I bought this CRSpotless system:

http://www.crspotless.com/de-ionizin...ed-system.html

If I had it to do over again, not sure I would spend the $300. Half the time I end up drying the car off anyway because I need to drive somewhere and I don't want road dust getting picked up by the residual water on the car. If you have the time to let the car sit for a couple hours after you wash it then it may save you 15 to 20 minutes of drying time.
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      10-17-2012, 08:03 AM   #3
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The trick is to combine this with a blower so you have the car mostly dry but don't need a towel.
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      10-17-2012, 10:55 AM   #4
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A water deionizer like CR Spotless is actually the primary item I recommend to clients after I've corrected their paint. Removing the drying stage from a maintenance wash is one of the best ways to avoid swirls, as most people swirl their car during drying. I've written a bit about how important 0 PPM water is on my FAQ (look near the bottom):

http://eclipsisna.com/?ena=faq

Quote:
Originally Posted by AGS View Post
I bought this CRSpotless system:

http://www.crspotless.com/de-ionizin...ed-system.html

If I had it to do over again, not sure I would spend the $300. Half the time I end up drying the car off anyway because I need to drive somewhere and I don't want road dust getting picked up by the residual water on the car. If you have the time to let the car sit for a couple hours after you wash it then it may save you 15 to 20 minutes of drying time.
The car doesn't need to sit for several hours to dry if you're using 0 PPM water. If you let the car dry under the sun, 15 minutes of drying time should suffice.
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      10-17-2012, 09:04 PM   #5
mgallen
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Thanks for the insight. I read your website, and you recommend a 3-step process (water softener, reverse osmosis, then DI water). The CR Spotless is DI water only, so do I need to also buy the water softener and reverse osmosis system in order to get spot-free water? Seems like a lot of steps.
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      10-18-2012, 06:19 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mgallen View Post
Thanks for the insight. I read your website, and you recommend a 3-step process (water softener, reverse osmosis, then DI water). The CR Spotless is DI water only, so do I need to also buy the water softener and reverse osmosis system in order to get spot-free water? Seems like a lot of steps.
The 3-step filtration is for efficiency. You can get spot free water w/ a RO system or DI system on their own, but when you combine each of them, each offers something that the others don't. For someone like me that details a lot of cars, the cost is worth it, but I think for the average user, it's overkill. Stick to CR Spotless, it's more than worth the cost.
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      10-18-2012, 08:59 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eclipsisNA View Post
The 3-step filtration is for efficiency. You can get spot free water w/ a RO system or DI system on their own, but when you combine each of them, each offers something that the others don't. For someone like me that details a lot of cars, the cost is worth it, but I think for the average user, it's overkill. Stick to CR Spotless, it's more than worth the cost.
Excellent. Thanks for the advice.
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