[Lowe5]

We've got a bad case of weeping mirrors in our 2001 MDX. We can't seem to get rid of the stain (our water isn't even hard) with soap and water. Has anyone found something to remove the stain without damaging the paint/finish?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[TheWorm]

white vinegar.

if that doesn't work, you'll have to hit it with 3M scratch and swirl remover (aka 3M SSR). The part # is 39009 and your local auto parts store will have it. By hand is fine, by random orbital is quicker.

I've had to do both myself.

You have had the TSB done to get the mirrors fixed, right?

 

[Lowe5]

Worm,

Thanks for your help. What's a TSB and does the dealer do it? Who pays for it? We've had the X over a year.

 

[TheWorm]

TSB = technical service bulletin. They're basically "how-to's" for common problems. Weeping mirrors among them (the biggest PITA when you have a dark X, IMO).


Click here for the TSB itself. Just ask your dealer to do it...it's covered under warranty.

Click here for a discussion thread with some cautions & tips, if for some reason your dealer hasn't done it before. I'd be surprised if they haven't by now, since the TSB has been out for several months already.

 

[PsychoKnight]

We've got a bad case of weeping mirrors in our 2001 MDX. We can't seem to get rid of the stain (our water isn't even hard) with soap and water. Has anyone found something to remove the stain without damaging the paint/finish?

Thanks for your help!!

Personally, I don't like the dealer TSB solution of cutting a slot at the bottom of the mirror gasket. It still allows as much water to enter the housing as before, and now must rely on gravity and dehydration to slowly dry up the inside of the housing. What I have done is simply apply black silicon sealant to both the inside and outside edges of the gasket, leaving the area at the bottom which would have been notched by Acura instructions, free of silicon instead, and re-assembled. No more water in, therefore, no more water dripping out. Silicon doesn't stick very well to metal and paint, so if it becomes necessary to remove the mirror, the silicon will peel right off the surfaces without damage to the foam/rubber gasket.

I shared this with my local dealer service manager after his porter washed my car and said they should be doing it my way instead. He said he still gets complaints even after applying the TSB fix.

 

[accmdx]

Anyone know it the white vinegar removes the Zaino? Will the protection still be there after removing the drips?

I've got about 18 coats on and don't really want to build it back up, every time, this happens after the white vinegar.

 

[accmdx]

If anyone is interested, the white vinegar does remove all the Zaino and unfortunaltely for me it had no effect on removing the hard water spots, just completely dulled everything around it. I had to put a couple of coats of Z5 on this morning to get it back to being respectable.

I guess the 3M is next.

Question to anyone: Would wax prevent the hard water spots? I've had mirrors on my Accord drip like the MDX, but have never experienced hard water spots like with the Zaino.

 

[octavian]

acc, you also did have the TSB done to your mirrors, right? I had the same problem and the TSB work fixed it. Sorry to hear about the vinegar and your X.....most interesting. I thought the only thing that took Z off was a gaggle of fire ants or alcohol.

How do you think you got the hard water spots in the first place? You really got whacked with it!

 

[accmdx]

octavian,

I have not had the TSB done. If I was closer to the dealer I probably wouldn't think twice about it, but the closest dealer is 125 miles and mine is 170 miles away. I would be more interested in keeping the water out in the first place.

I assume my hard water must come from my well. I'm not tied into any town water system.

When we are all talking about the weeping mirror, this I assume is coming out from behind the black plastic that the mirror mounts to and not the mirror itself. Am I correct?

Would something like CLR take care of the hard water spots without hurting the paint?

 

[Neo]

Please report back. I was going to try the vinegar solution but I guess it did not work for you. Let me know if the 3M is any better.

Worm,

I know you had some hard water issues awhile back. Did the vinegar work for you? Did you find another solution? I have some on both the glass and the paint that is driving me crazy.

 

[TheWorm]

Household white vinegar will work on the water spots as long as they're not toooooo old. It's worked for me. You can try claybar, too. I found that if the vinegar didn't work, neither did claying it. YMMV of course.

3M SMR is a good alternative if neither of those "non abrasive" techniques works.

accmdx's issue is going to be different, b/c he hasn't had the TSB done, so the water is always going to be in the same place, and is always going to "stain" in the same trickling location. Before I had the TSB done, the vinegar reduced -- but did not eliminate -- the streak/spot/trail under the mirrors...because the weeping was too continuous and in the same spot. 3M took it out.

You don't want to 3M SMR on a regular basis, especially in the same place.

 

[Neo]

I made the mistake of trying to wash 2 cars at the same time. One car has recently been treated to Zaino. The other car has not. The spotting was worse on the non-zaino'ed car. From what I've read, the vinegar would also take off the Z. Is it like the Dawn wash where it would take off anything else, i.e. other types of wax? Will I basically need to "rewash" the cars, meaning wash, wax/Z .... (depending on car)?

Oh, and this happened yesterday so the spots are not that old.

Thanks.

 

[TheWorm]

I don't believe the vinegar will remove the Zaino. Dunno about other waxes.

However, you should wash the 'vinegar'd" area afterward, else you will get clouding in the finish.

 

[octavian]

accmdx, yes, we are talking about weeping from the mounting the mirror attaches too, not the mirror itself. I would strongly recommend you have it done next time you are in for service. I suspect that repeated accumulation of the water spots in the same place, particularly with well water, will etch your paint.

Just for fun, I rubbed a bit of vinegar in my X in a remote spot, then wiped it with a wet cotton towel, then Z6'ed it. I found no evidence of Zaino removal. Looked the same to me. But I was too chicken to try a larger area.

 

[accmdx]

octavian,

I was experiencing the clouding over that was mentioned and I assumed that was the removal of the Zaino. Two coats of Z6 had no effect on it and the clouding was still there. I went back to two coats of Z5 followed by two coats of Z2 and everything is back to normal, except the hard water spots are still there.

 

[octavian]

accmdx, good data points on the use and pitfalls of vinegar on Zaino....thanks!

This brings up a scary topic....after all the work I (and many of us) have put in, schopping coat after coat of Zaino on.....I have about 20 now.......it would cruel and unusual punishment if we ever "lost" the coats either thru having to polish out a scratch or take out water spots with vinegar or whatever.

Hopefully, the damaged area would be confined, but still, it would be a lot of work to bring those areas up to the same "level" as the rest of the X.

So, are multiple coats really worth it? Worth the risk?