Try CLR out, but make sure to test on a less visible area first. You should be able to find it at Home Depot but here's what it looks like: http://www.polsteins.com/clrcallimrus.html --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ComposerZelgadis@xxxx wrote: > I, for one, love my stainless steel, as does the next guy, I'm sure. So > far, it's been extremely low maintenance, though I'm only about three months > into ownership here. > > Something, though, has seemed to "stain" my stainless. It all began with > hard city water, a cramped garage, and a sprinkler system. > > Unfortunately, I have to park the car outside (no, I cannot change this). > To counter-act this problem, I'm working on a product to help alleviate some > of the problems we get with a car parked outdoors. But I digress. > > If it's a clear night, and the forecast looks good, I'll leave the car > without a cover. If there's so much as one cloud above, the cover goes right on. > But on a few of these clear nights, the sprinkler system ran on the car. I > wake up the next morning, and there are dried water spots all over the car. > I take some warm water & dish soap to it, and I can clean up everything... > except for the outer rings. You simply cannot notice them--at all--at > distance, but they stand out like a sore thumb if you get close enough. It's almost > as if the sun has cooked it on there. The rings vary from color. I've seen > light grey to almost black (thankfully, those are few). I've tried using > Windex, Dawn Oxidation Dish Soap, DMCH's SS Glo++, white vinegar, Coca-Cola (for > the phosphoric acid), and a handful of other things I can't seem to > remember. Nothing has even put a dent (so to speak) in these rings. The SS Glo will > "hide" the rings, but once the polish dries or is washed off, the rings come > back (in the exact same spots: I've checked). The only things I haven't > tried so far is gasoline, and straight-up phosphoric acid. And of course, > regraining the panels, but even that's unsatisfactory. I can take pictures and > post them later, but I was hoping someone out there has already faced this > problem and dealt with it. What's in our city water? Not a clue! But it did > something to my stainless... And yes, we have a water softener installed. Two > of them, in fact. Any advice? > > Thanks in advance. > > Regards, > William Fries > #1366 > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/