MAN...i got water spot all over my car....I've tried wet towel, wax and polish and still can't get rid of them.....anyone knows what I should do?

 

First, try washing your car with car wash liquid.

If they don't wash off, then you'll have to try something a little more aggressive. You can try something non-abrasive like Zymol HD-Cleanse but you're probably going to have to use something slightly abrasive like Meguiar's Swirl Remover Number 9. That will probably do it.

If they STILL don't come off, they may actually be etched into your paint by the sun shining on water beads after it rains. In that case, you may need to use something even stronger, like a fine rubbing compound.

Understand the whole idea - go step by step, starting with the mildest, and using something stronger only if the previous step doesn't work.

Good luck.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 7:12 PM 11/19/2001]

 

1. Wash car, leave car wet.
2. Put distilled vinegar in your wash bucket without any water
3. Soak a clean towl in vinegar.
4. Ring out excess vinegar and wipe one panel at a time.
5. Let panel soak for 10-15 seconds and rinse off.
5. Repeat until all panels have been treated.
6. With remaining vinegar add water and car wash soap.
7. Rewash car with vineger, car soap and water mixture.
8. Dry car and wax.

It is very important to wax your car, because the vinegar strips off the wax.

CB

 

P.S. What kind of polish did you use, that didn't take them off?

 

Use a claybar.

 

well....i washed and waxed my car just two days ago....and this morning i saw water spot all over my car....i didn't care at first, cause i didn't have time to take care of it. I try to wip it off later in the afternoon...i use wet towel first (usually that takes care of it)...but it didn't work, so i trying waxing it off, and that didn't work, so i used a lil thick wax and buffer....and that still didn't work. I guess i should use rubbing compound.

 

Water spots are such a pain in the ***. Especially for a black car. Spots on a black car are way more noticeable.

Avoid it all together by washing the car in cooler weather. So that you have time to dry all areas.

Wash the car again if there are water spots. I don't like the idea of vinegar to the car, I don't even like vinegar on my salad!

 

Try the vinegar, and/or the clay, and/or the swirl remover, before you try the rubbing compound. No, don't mix them together! Just try one or more separately.

Only use the compound if these other things don't remove the spots.

 

Vinegar? Never heard of that how (chemically) does it work? Any ideas?

 

i'll do that...thx

 

Vinegar is acidic (it's called acetic acid, as I recall). The water spots are salts (alkaline). So combined, the acid neutralizes the salts and makes them soluble in water.

That's my guess based on chemistry classes from the Dark Ages long ago.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 8:30 PM 11/19/2001]

 

Try this site: www.griotsgarage.com

[edit to fix the link]

Their stuff is kind of expensive, but they work really well.

They suggest using paint cleaning clay.

I can recommend the car wash too. Stuff takes cooked on bugs right off with almost not effort.

Hope you can get those spots off soon. Good Luck!

Matt


[Modified by CW_97_ITR_071, 6:02 AM 11/20/2001]

 

Don't use clay! Clay and polishing compound are way overused. These are for severe cases only.

Try vinegar, and if that doesn't do it, use a good glaze like 3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiar's Showcar Glaze. Follow it up with a good wax, and you won't see the spots anymore.

Warren

 

Well... you should always try the least aggressive materials first, so from that standpoint this advice makes sense.

However, keep in mind that show car glazes don't do anything for spots on the finish. They are designed for car shows (like the name says) and what they do is fill in swirl marks and very fine lines on a temporary basis. Their benefits will be gone the next time you wash the car, since they wash off. So I doubt you'll find that either of these products will remove the spots - but heck, if you want to try them, feel free, they can't hurt.

Assuming they don't work, though, you're better off using one of the products which actually remove impurities and smooth out any imperfections in the finish, such as Zymol HD-Cleanse or 3M Perfect-It Hand Glaze (different from the show car glaze) and/or a good clay product.

Also - if the spots don't come out with a given product, don't just wax over them - they will come back. Instead, use something a bit stronger, and get rid of them before you apply any wax.

 

I have had that before, 3M scratch remover worked for me. I think Yoshi said that Zaino worked the best though. I'd grab some of that.

 

Thing is though that both 3M Imperial Hand Glaze and Meguiar's Showcar Glaze both contain petroleum distillates, and they tend to help strip things off the car, like wax, caked on dirt, and other junk. I've removed offspray with them, and had better results than the sides that we used clay on.

Clay will always scratch. Doesn't matter how many different pieces you use, doesn't matter how much lube you use. Granted the scratches are very minor, but still, I use it only as a last resort.

Warren

 

use turtle wax, add a few drops of waters on the wax pad and rub it really hard!!

it works everything

 

I'm going to tell my GF to try that...

 

thx guys