2013 Boss Stripes / Water Spots

[shuvl70]

Anyone having issues with the 2013 reflective stripes staining with water spots after a rain or washing?

 

[killerwill13]

Yeah, they seem to spot up quite quickly, even oil from the hands is quite attracted to them. It even occurs with a sealant and wax over them odd enough.

 

[TheMarco]

Yeah, they seem to spot up quite quickly, even oil from the hands is quite attracted to them. It even occurs with a sealant and wax over them odd enough.

It's also really hard to get them to look smooth with wash / zaino. I never got it quite perfect.

 

[Justin]

Maybe try Adams Super VRT on them maybe that will help. only speculation on my part as I dont have a 13.
this video might be helpful
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qt5QdL6pzYQ[/youtube]

 

[SOCOMech]

Anyone having issues with the 2013 reflective stripes staining with water spots after a rain or washing?

Especially with the hard water we have here.......

Wonder how good ol' Meguiar's quick detailer would work.

 

[Tflong24]

Sounds like the 13 reflective stripes may be another little issue. Hope not, it's a good concept but after the production problems they had with the stripes it seems they may have rushed these a little. Good luck.

 

[killerwill13]

Yeah, they seem to spot up quite quickly, even oil from the hands is quite attracted to them. It even occurs with a sealant and wax over them odd enough.

It's also really hard to get them to look smooth with wash / zaino. I never got it quite perfect.

Im curious what you mean by smooth. Do mean match the treatment like on the paint or by the stripe blending in and looking part of the car? I was trying for a perfect deep blend with the car but instead I got an awesome 3d effect up close, you'd swear that there
Was an inch of clear cost under the stripes.

 

[ace72ace]

More bubbling? That's disappointing news. You gotta wonder how qualified local dealers will be replacing the reflective stripes under warranty...?

 

[ace72ace]

Maybe try Adams Super VRT on them maybe that will help. only speculation on my part as I dont have a 13.
this video might be helpful
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qt5QdL6pzYQ[/youtube]

So what I got from watching this video is that the '12 owners with the matte finish stripes should go with the VRT (glaze before hand if needing to clean the surface). But at 7:48 of the video, he goes on to talk about the reflective & metallic stripes. To paraphrase "Use whatever your preferred product you use for the paint, use on the stripes, just tape the edges". This would make sense to me to get down layers of polish and sealant as soon as you take delivery to protect it right away. I bet VRT would also work OK, but I think if you have decided to go the Zaino route that layers of polish and sealant would provide longer lasting protection.

I will be doing the complete Zaino treatment from A to Z as soon as I take delivery, including the stripes. I'm lucky enough to have a garage, so I really won't be exposing my car to a lot of rain or other hard water. I did notice that after all the rain we had last week, that my wife's '11 had some serious water spots on the trunk lid. She commutes to work every day and her car sits in the lot for 9-10 hours at a time. Her Mustang will definitely be susceptible to water spot damage when a thunderstorm rolls through, clears up quickly, and then the summer sun 'prisming' though the water beads and etching the water bead edges onto the paint surface. To get rid of the water spots, I hit the trunk with some z6 then really rubbed in some z5 on the spotted areas and got them off.

Seems the really flat surface of the trunk lid can create the biggest water droplets, as the hood is a lot more sloped, and when waxed up, the water beads up nicely and rolls right off. I will give her trunk an extra coat or 2 based upon my experience.

 

[SouthJerseyBoss]

From my initial experience with the 2013 stripes I would advise ALL new owners to use a protective sealant, wax or other product of your choosing immediately after taking delivery and the initial wash. My car was washed twice out of the sun with soft water.

The water spots on the hood stripes of my GB Boss are obvious to anyone and reasonable methods to remove them has yielded no resolution.

The next step is to take it to the Ford dealer to determine if the stripes are in fact defective and replacable under warranty or if Ford has a secret weapon that will remove the water spots and all will ok.

An additional note: more bubbling of the reflective stripes is occurring since taking delivery so if it matters to you be aware.

Agree on the "more bubbling" piece. '13 owners need to observe this carefully. I had bubbling on both side stripes on my car underneath the '302' where the body crease is. I carefully pierced the bubbles with a safety pin, smoothed them out as much as possible and sat the car in the sun for an hour. All the bubbles are gone and have not returned; in fact you can't even tell where they were. Still, this is odd and it happened on both sides of the car.

 

[Justin]

Can you guys have the reflective effect reproduced with paint? Just curious as I am getting the hood decal in paint around the end of this month on my car and then will save up for the sides to be done as well. I get tired of messing with the vinyl as it has the orange peel look and swirls, water spots, bird crap spots at the drop of a hat.

 

[killerwill13]

I haven't had any new bubbling on my SBY since I have taken delivery..... What production numbers are you all?

 

[rpm3dinc]

Do the stripes have a clear Decal laminate on them or are they just printed vinyl? If you put a clear laminate Decal over them you should be able to get rid of any new water spots. My 06 is fully wrapped (entire body), and I have no issues getting water spots off, but I have a "UV Clear Laminate" over the "Printed Wrap"...

I use CroftGate USA (www.croftgateusa.com) to clean the car, but even Windex would work if I didn't have anything else. Vinyl is easily cleaned from my experience, but again, mine has a vinyl clear over the top of the actual decal wrap.

 

[ace72ace]

Can you guys have the reflective effect reproduced with paint? Just curious as I am getting the hood decal in paint around the end of this month on my car and then will save up for the sides to be done as well. I get tired of messing with the vinyl as it has the orange peel look and swirls, water spots, bird crap spots at the drop of a hat.

Replacing all the decals with paint, you going matte finish or gloss? How much is this gonna cost?

 

[batman48195]

No bubbling stripe issues here. All fine.

I used Klasse sealant glaze on the stripes and they came out great. Make sure you use way less than what you think. My old school self said I had to see something to make sure it was going on the paint/stripes. You want to take long strokes, use very little product, and keep wiping until it just seems like it disappears. If you use too much you get some streaking. After the first wash is they looked better and the streaking was reduced. If you have streaks reapply more product (light coat) and keep wiping till it disappears. I also used the Mequiers Detailing spray and they look even better and nothing sticks or stains the stripes. It also removes water spots too. Actually, I sprayed it on my front end after coming home late last night and just wiped the dried bugs away. From now on I will use the detailing spray after washing the car everytime. I think it helps protect the sealant and just makes the car/paint/stripes look great.

I am sure the detailing spray will be just as good with the Zaino process too.

Brian

 

[TheMarco]

No bubbling here yet.
What I meant about it being hard to get them 'smooth' is to get them completely streak free. It was pretty much impossible for me. Photo's don't really show it but in person it's a little different. When doing the Zaino thing with Fat Boss I noticed his 2012 decals respond a LOT better to the Zaino than my 2013 ones.

 

[Justin]

Can you guys have the reflective effect reproduced with paint? Just curious as I am getting the hood decal in paint around the end of this month on my car and then will save up for the sides to be done as well. I get tired of messing with the vinyl as it has the orange peel look and swirls, water spots, bird crap spots at the drop of a hat.

Replacing all the decals with paint, you going matte finish or gloss? How much is this gonna cost?

for me I am going gloss the hood is going to cost me 400 to get done. I will ask him how much the sides will cost

 

[VoodooBoss]

Can you guys have the reflective effect reproduced with paint? Just curious as I am getting the hood decal in paint around the end of this month on my car and then will save up for the sides to be done as well. I get tired of messing with the vinyl as it has the orange peel look and swirls, water spots, bird crap spots at the drop of a hat.

Replacing all the decals with paint, you going matte finish or gloss? How much is this gonna cost?

for me I am going gloss the hood is going to cost me 400 to get done. I will ask him how much the sides will cost

If you're committed to this I'd remove the hood decal a week or two in advance. You might like it that way. The orange peel look is the main reason why I removed mine.

 

[bkaser90]

I keep my car in the garage, and havn't had any strking or spotting issues, but I have noticed a few bubbles, but I just pressed on them and they seem to have gone away. I'll have to take another look for them to see if they came back.

I still havn't waxed my car with anything yet, but have used the Mequier's detail spray, and don't really see any streaking. I was gonna wax with the Mequiers Ultimate wax, but it says on the bottle not to use on flat or matte sufaces, so I was just gonna tape off the stripes, then just keep using the detail spray for the stripes.

 

[Justin]

Can you guys have the reflective effect reproduced with paint? Just curious as I am getting the hood decal in paint around the end of this month on my car and then will save up for the sides to be done as well. I get tired of messing with the vinyl as it has the orange peel look and swirls, water spots, bird crap spots at the drop of a hat.

Replacing all the decals with paint, you going matte finish or gloss? How much is this gonna cost?

for me I am going gloss the hood is going to cost me 400 to get done. I will ask him how much the sides will cost

If you're committed to this I'd remove the hood decal a week or two in advance. You might like it that way. The orange peel look is the main reason why I removed mine.

I have a 200 deposit on it so far. he needs it on till he can take some measurments or make a stencil. I would take it off if it werent for that. well that and its protecting the hood from the dumptrucks on the highway home every day (28 chips and counting)