EK-MAX92

Car got wet from the sprinklers now I have water spots on the paint and windows. How can I get rid of them?

99electron_blue_si

1) wash car

If spots persist:

2) clay bar (remove any mineral deposits sitting on top of clear coat)

If sports persist:

3) use an orbital da polisher with compounds that are progressively coarser until spots are removed (polish out any small dips/grooves in clear that could be caused from acidic rainwater) Make sure to apply a sealer and wax afterwards.

I use a porter cable 7424xp and xmt compunds.

EK-MAX92

Thankd bro.

I Love My 4 door

clar bar will not remove water spots. Water spots occur from the iron in the water staining the clear coat. Soap and clay bar will not do the trick. Get the car nice and wet, then panel by panel spray some wire wheel cleaner found here :http://www.granitize.com/index.php?pageId=324 and make sure you use a wool sponge. Make sure to spread the wire wheel cleaner over every panel and rinse as you go. Dry with a wiper blade, put a good wax on it.. DONE. Good luck

ITRbroham

Hey, is that stuff safe for clear coat?

RoadRage212

Your first sentence is true. The rest, not so much.

Water spots are mineral deposits built up in the clear. Iorn IS one of them, but calcium and lime are bigger factors. Clay bar WON'T remove a single one of these spots, but they WILL remove other contaminants in the clear that are necessary to remove prior to any work needing to be done to a clear coat.

Using wire wheel cleaner made for chrome is NOT a good idea for clear coats. Those acids will most certainly etch the clear. There are waaaaaay too many SAFE alternatives to go a route that extreme. IornX is is a clear coat safe chemical that removes deposits that even clay won't, but I highly doubt it will remove all the spotting, if any.

If you aren't familiar with machine polishing, there are some polishes available by hand that should do the trick if the spots aren't too severe. Start by claying the vehicle to remove things you won't want to polish INTO the paint, follow by IornX to continue the decontamination process, and see if that solves the problem. If necessary, from there you can experiment with some hand polishes using test areas and find out what will work for you.

Water spots aren't a hard problem to solve but with the misinformation in this thread, I understand how it can be a confusing project to tackle. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or PM me, you can also join a nice detail forum at www.autogeekonline.com. They're noob friendly and will give you some nice, CORRECT information to use. Both myself and Builthatch are members.

builthatch

that's an old school trick...diluted wheel acid. actually still works pretty well for windows but it's just a PITA to keep it from etching stuff. as RR said, there is no reason to do it at this stage because there are so many alternatives.

regardless, the key once you remove them is putting something on the clear that is a sacrificial barrier or even better, isn't affected by these sorts of deposits (opti-coat)

aussiechic2oo6

... And don't ever wash your car with dishwashing liquid... dumb mistake on my behalf! It left spots all over the paint, that I couldn't get off...

Lude-Conduct

I have some pretty bad water spots on my new car. Whats the best way to remove. I'm down to drop cash if need be. I didn't know water spots were semi permanent. It got blasted for about a month by the sprinklers...

LadyCamouflage

I don't have this issue. I always dry my car off. I won't if I drove in the rain, or she got wet from the sprinklers. But usually drying off (especially after washing) eliminates this issue. My brother has a gunmetal gray Accord. He dries it off too, and there are no water spots. But also I know the chlorine and such in people's tap water varies from county to county or state to state.

92cxhatch169

do you know anyone that details cars? if so tell them to get in touch with their local detail supplier and they sell a special cleaner that will remove the water spots.

molliwopped

Wait so do you have to remove the wax from your car to claybar it?