heavy water spots on paint

fraochdha

Member
Anyone know of a good polish or cleanser for heavy water spots on car paint? My sprinklers leave spots down one side of my car, and its annoying. The local car wash doesnt have a clue.

Anyone?

Thanks

P.
 
if they have etched the clearcoat then they will need to be machine polished out... hand polishing wont be able to do what machine polishing can.

i would recommend a dual action polisher, some orange cutting pads (or yellow depending on how bad it is, yellow has a much heavier cut) and a polish like meguiars 83. i think that should be abrasive enough to remove those water marks.

your hand will not be able to generate the friction possible to break down a polish properly to its lowest point, therefore a machine is the only way to do it

check out autopia.org, and detailingbliss.com
 
Also, after you remove them, try washing the car with Mr Clean auto dry, or use a polymer coating, rather than wax. Either will make the water sheet off, instead of bead and make spots.
 
CX9 SportOwner is right, Mr. Clean auto dry works really good! I use it over here in Germany, where it's technically illegal to wash your car in public. (on the street.) Also, check out www.zainostore.com I've used alot of their products on my 5.7L HEMI Jeep before I sold it. No offense men, don't use a machine, unless she needs it.
 
I'd bet that the Mr Clean soap removes the spots. Even without the self drying polymer, it would be the best car soap on the market. Dissolves everything, including brake dust and bugs.
 
I doubt any regular car wash would take off hard water deposits that have been sitting there for a while. You could try a dedicated paint cleaner to see if that helps. For over the counter stuff, you would want Meguiar's of Mothers Step one products. If that doesn't work (and it wouldn't surprise me), you'll need to step up to a orbital polisher like a Porter Cable 7424 or 7336SP and some polishes like those from Menzerna, Poorboy's, Optimum, Pinnacle, etc. Of course, that is more for the detailing enthusiast. These machine are random orbit in nature, so they will not harm or burn you paint, even with a novice at the controls.

We have hard water here in Houston and the reason I refuse to install a sprinkler system is because of the water spots.
 
I've also heard to try 50:50 water to vinegar for water spots too....cheap, cant hurt to try, almost certainly have the stuff around already.. .


-jason
 
vinegar will work, as well as light paint cleaners by hand depending on how bad they are.

But as it has been said, if they are really bad you will need a machine to get them all out.

I would start with a light paint cleaner by hand and/or vinegar first though. If you use either of these you will have to rewax the area afterwards.
 
I doubt any regular car wash would take off hard water deposits that have been sitting there for a while. You could try a dedicated paint cleaner to see if that helps. For over the counter stuff, you would want Meguiar's of Mothers Step one products. If that doesn't work (and it wouldn't surprise me), you'll need to step up to a orbital polisher like a Porter Cable 7424 or 7336SP and some polishes like those from Menzerna, Poorboy's, Optimum, Pinnacle, etc. Of course, that is more for the detailing enthusiast. These machine are random orbit in nature, so they will not harm or burn you paint, even with a novice at the controls.

We have hard water here in Houston and the reason I refuse to install a sprinkler system is because of the water spots.

This is correct, my wifes car had them bad (from previous owner), we used Meguiars (step 1) Paint cleaner, which removed all the spots.
Then we used Meguiars (step 2) Polish,
Then sealed it with Meguiars (step 3) Canauba wax.

The results were amazing, and the Canauba Wax + we always chamoise the car, helps it from ever repeating.(2thumbs)
 
Anyone know of a good polish or cleanser for heavy water spots on car paint? My sprinklers leave spots down one side of my car, and its annoying. The local car wash doesnt have a clue.

Anyone?

Thanks

P.

Using one of the clay bar products available, Mother's Gold, ClayMagic, etc. will remove the spots. So long as you follow the instructions and keep the surface wetted with the spray solution there's no danger to the finish.

These clay bars work quickly and effectively. I've used a clay bar to remove water spots on several occasions and it's the best, quickest, and easiest method I've found.

Ted
 
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Clay will work as long as the deposits are still on the surface of the paint. Once they have become etched into the surface, they will need to be polished out.
 
Clay will work as long as the deposits are still on the surface of the paint. Once they have become etched into the surface, they will need to be polished out.


My experience has been that clay removed deposits on the finish that polishing couldn't/didn't. Yes, one probably would need to go back and polish the finish after using the clay to buff out the etching, but the clay will remove the imbedded material. That's one of the points/features of clay.

Ted
 
Anyone know of a good polish or cleanser for heavy water spots on car paint? My sprinklers leave spots down one side of my car, and its annoying. The local car wash doesnt have a clue.

Anyone?

Thanks

P.


Have you tried anything yet? Some these suggestions will do the job. Be sure to check out the detailing section for info in this as well. This has been talked about a few times and there might be some relevent info for you. http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=241
 
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