[CMLS]

Hi all,

Long time lurker first time poster! 😊

I’ve a 2020 840i GC - ever since new the sills below the front door always gets stained with dirt running down. Car shampoo won’t touch it only APC seems to shift it.

Does anyone else get this and have a better solution to deal with it?

Thanks!!

[Van_bimmer]

Every sedan does this. After washing the car, I like to wipe down the water that sits behind in all the door jams and within the door seals, seems to help, I don’t get any stains like this, but then again I’m OCD and wash my car weekly.

[BKgreyinTX]

Yeah, you have to get inside the door sills to get the water inside there or it will seep out as you drive off. That's likely the cause. My car is ceramic coated and I hand wash bi-weekly.

[CMLS]

Thanks both, will definitely give that a try. It's really odd mine is ceramic coated also and my G30 never suffered with this issue.

[Al Pinã]

If you really wanna avoid water spots use an air compressor to blow out all the crevasses right after the wash.

[Baron G15]

Originally Posted by CMLS

Hi all,

Long time lurker first time poster! ��

I’ve a 2020 840i GC - ever since new the sills below the front door always gets stained with dirt running down. Car shampoo won’t touch it only APC seems to shift it.

Does anyone else get this and have a better solution to deal with it?

Thanks!!

As others have said, this is a wash technique issue, where you haven’t dried the inner door sill and it’s dribbled....I don’t think you’ve cleaned the inner sill either because I can see it’s dragged dirt down with it.

You can’t clean it with shampoo after because essentially it’s dried as a water spot. You’re obviously in a hard water area (I’m in the Cotswolds and it’s crazy how hard the water is...mineral composition is 280 ppm).

The easiest way to prevent it is to clean and dry your sills as part of your wash regime...either with a drying towel, or more quickly using a blower. I use a Flex cordless blower....not really powerful enough to dry the entire car but perfect and convenient (because it’s cordless) for wheels, sills, side mirrors grills etc.

I can pretty much also guarantee if you open your boot, you’ll have watermarks on the sills as well.

You mention you have a ceramic coating, whilst they are great for their hydrophobic properties, they can be more susceptible to watermark spotting.

If you want to remove these marks quickly and easily, I’d suggest Koch Chemie FSE. Specifically formulated as a water mark remover, and it is built into a quick detailing solution (and its ceramic coating safe) so it’s very quick and easy to use

...whatever you do, be a bit careful because, as I said earlier those marks you have are also dirty and you don’t want to scratch your paint when removing them.

Btw, I can’t quite tell from the pic...what color is your car....carbon black?

[CMLS]

Your right, I've been guilty of not drying the door sills properly i'll improve there.

Thanks "Baron G15" I will look into the water mark remover - I did try looking at a blower but they all seemed to get mixed reviews, is there a recommended one?

Yes car is carbon black (Love it when the English roads allow it to stay clean ) Picture is from collection day

[Baron G15]

Originally Posted by CMLS

Your right, I've been guilty of not drying the door sills properly i'll improve there.

Thanks "Baron G15" I will look into the water mark remover - I did try looking at a blower but they all seemed to get mixed reviews, is there a recommended one?

Yes car is carbon black (Love it when the English roads allow it to stay clean ) Picture is from collection day

Looks beautiful...mine is carbon black as well....
The cordless blowers get mixed reviews because they’re not being reviewed in the context of they’re intended use....it’s like saying a 12” ruler sucks because you can’t measure a room with it. As I said in my previous post they’re not great at blowing water off large body panels but they’re fantastic and convenient on wheels, sills, mirrors etc. They’re also great for blowing off dust on the car....my garage has old wood beams, which puts dust over the car....a 1min quick blast around with the blower and I’m good to go again.

If you’re looking for a blower that can do everything etc...then go for a bigboi or this


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They’re not a godsend tool though....you can end up chasing water around the car, and a high quality drying towel is probably just as safe (when used correctly) and quicker.

Where they come into their own is on mirrors and crevices, which is where a cordless excels...the gold standard for this type is Flex

https://www.flex-tools.com/en/products/bw-180-ec-2/

Be warned it’s not cheap, because your buying into their cordless ecosystem, which means that you’re going to need to buy the battery and charger...They’re cordless polishers and automotive kit is probably the best in the business (along with Rupee).

In anticipation that you’re going to ask about a good drying towel....I’ve tried dozen’s of them. My favorite by a long way is CarPro Dhydrate. Either pat the water with it, or let it glide over the surface of the panel (do not apply pressure)

https://www.iodetail.com/products/ca...-towel-50x55cm

And here is my Carbon Black car 😊

[CMLS]

Thanks so much for the info, i've ordered the water spot remover you suggested and will take a look at the rest of your suggestions this weekend.

I had been looking for a new drying towel, good pre-empting

Your car looks stunning!!