Aqua Gleam – Pure Water For a Shiny Spot Free Finish

There is no doubt, that the satisfaction of taking a dirty car, then pre-washing and washing until you’ve brought back the shine is one of great pleasure for so many. But only too often, when you have completed those initial stages, things can quite often take a turn for the worse.

Once you enter the final rinse stage and the rinse water begins to dry on the surface, the dreaded water spotting or streaking effect can strike. That was until the Aqua Gleam Water Filter System came along.

In this blog we’re going to take a look at the reasons a final rinse can inflict a chalky, spotty or streaky residue onto your paintwork and most importantly, how you can now avoid it from happening in the first place.

Your Location & How It Can Impact A Final Rinse

Ordinarily, when a car has just been rinsed off the next aim in the process is to dry the moisture off as quickly as possible. The need to make haste at this stage is to ensure the removal of all standing water that is in place before it dries on the surface, which will hopefully avoid leaving any unsightly water spotting or streaks.

The reason we are particularly susceptible to issues such as this during the final rinse is caused mainly due to the impurities and hardness of water. Depending on which region of the UK you reside in, water hardness levels can differ quite considerably, from soft to hard.

For example, this map shows that for those of us living in the south, the levels of hardness are much higher and they’ll even tend to increase the further south east you go.

Most of Devon and Cornwall in the south, North Yorkshire and Cumbria in the north and the western counties of Wales have soft to moderately soft water. Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and Lancashire down through the Midlands tend to have slightly hard to moderately hard water. Lincolnshire, the Home Counties and the South East have hard to very hard water.

It’s a simple fact that unless you have something to purify your water, you are going to be impacted to at least some form of degree when rinsing your vehicle.

What Does The Aqua Gleam Filter Do?

Thankfully there are now products available which will put these hard water issues to bed once and for all for car care enthusiasts and professionals up and down the land. Exclusive to Ultimate Finish, the Aqua Gleam Water Filter is a device which connects in-line with a hose and neutralises these impurities that are found in ordinary water.

The 0ppm filter comes with a short hose and two high quality Hoselock quick connectors which enable quick connection to your hose set-up.

By way of measurement, the 0PPM De-Ionising Water Filter (coming in a 12 Inch or 30 Inch option) will purify ordinary tap water to 0 parts per million (0ppm). With the water filtered to this level of purity, it will deliver the best possible results and will keep even the most discerning car care enthusiast happy!

For those looking to invest that reside in areas with particularly hard level of water there is also a 30ppm De-Ionising Walter Filter (also coming in a 12 Inch or 30 Inch option) which can assist in prolonging the life in the filter. Alternatively a 30ppm can also be used in-line with a 0ppm filter.

In terms of how many washes you are going to see returned from the filter, this again is largely dependent on the water hardness in your area. An estimated 70 washes is achievable with the 30ppm for those lucky enough to be blessed with the softest of water, with nearer to 40 washes for Medium rate hardness and finally an estimated 25 washes for those experiencing the hardest of waters.

Instructions For Use

The process begins by washing your vehicle in the conventional way and ensuring you are thorough in removing all dirt particles safely. Following that, carry out a rinse using a hose and hand-held sprayer with regular tap water to remove any soapy water.

It is important to keep these rinsed areas wet as you complete the whole vehicle, not allowing the vehicle to dry before rinsing a second time using purified water from the in-line filter. Now it’s time for the Aqua Gleam!

Connect the Aqua Gleam filter in-line with your hose using the supplied connectors and always ensure you keep the ‘In and Out’ around the same way each time. Even though the filter may be laid on the ground during use, we recommend for best performance to keep it in a suspended position. Heavy Duty Clamps can be purchased to assist with this and will ensure the filter is fastened in place in the upright position at all times.

Keep the length of hose from the filter to the car as short as you can, then bleed the hose – you will then know when purified water is flowing because it will be preceded by air. You can then freely rinse the whole vehicle a second time.

All that is left to do after following those instructions is to stand back and allow your vehicle to air dry naturally. Once it does, you can savour a spot and streak free finish with an even shiner appearance than normal.

Recommendations For Maximum Efficiency

As well as the above, there are also several other steps you can take to ensure you see the best results from your Aqua Gleam System and to help maximise the life of the filter:

• Reduce the water flow rate using an in-line regulator

• Do not use in conjunction with a water softener or pressure washer

• Use water from the filter sparingly. Only use enough water to re-wet all surfaces

• Mount vertically and feed water from the top so that water travels through the media

• Use the filter in the same direction each time

• The colour change mechanism is affected by sunlight. After use drain and store in darkness

• The filter media will change colour to signal when replacement is becoming due

• Even when the colour has changed, continue to use the filter until you are no longer satisfied with the result

Car Care Made Easier With Aqua Gleam

We often get asked if this is something suitable for those who are in the trade and the answer to that really depends on the volume of work you are getting through. Weighing up the cost effectiveness of the filter vs how many jobs you are carrying out is certainly a worthwhile equation to explore and despite the Aqua Gleam Filter not being recommended for use in conjunction with a pressure washer, filling a mobile tank before hand is certainly a viable option. Using this procedure will then mean when the pressure washer is connected to the tank, all the water that passes through will be freshly filtered in advance for a completely pure wash.

The Aqua Gleam system certainly is one of those products to come along and prove itself to be a ‘game changer’ in the world of car care. Once set up correctly and running as it should, it will pretty much rewrite the way a car care enthusiast thinks about the final rinse and drying process.

Aqua Gleam Product Picks

The Aqua Gleam range is exclusively available from Ultimate Finish.

Visit Ultimate Finish for the best car care and detailing products from around the globe.

Have a question on any of our products? Email sales@theultimatefinish.co.uk or call 01474 360 360.
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