Hard Water Spots from Sprinkler

[redlude]

Ok, I'm mad. My red paint is decorated by hard water spots from a sprinkler. I've been having a bad day since this morning as I've had to leave my car parked out in the sun all day while at work.

My question is, what's my plan of action? I don't have a chance to wash/detail my car until this weekend. Right now I have in my arsenal clay bar, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, and even some white vinegar.

Will that be enough to dislodge/remove the water spots? I wiped the glass down with some glass cleaner when I arrived home tonight and I still saw some "shadows" from the water spots left behind.

I'm really miffed right now. Just have to vent somewhere.

[sneek]

try a test spot for DC1 it should do the trick

good luck

[Michael Stoops]

We have crazy hard water here in Orange, CA and from time to time one of the cars gets hit by the sprinklers. I've found that a quick bath with white vinegar mixed with the water, no soap, got rid of them right away. I put maybe 1/2 a cup of white vinegar in with a couple gallons of water.

I don't know if this strips the wax as well, so as a precaution I always wax the affected areas afterward.

[redlude]

Well I stopped by Wal-Mart this evening and picked up a bottle of distilled white vinegar, an empty sprayer bottle, some QD, and a tube of ScratchX (was thinking of buying 3m rubbing compound but opted for the Meg's product instead).

This weekend I plan on doing the following:

1) Wash the car down
2) Spray vinegar all over the car and let it sit for a few minutes
3) Wash the car again, then dry
4) Clay the car
5) Apply ScratchX by hand all over the car
6) Apply DC step 1 all over the car by hand
7) Apply #7 by hand
8) Apply #26 by hand
9) Tress trim and tires

As far as applying the paint cleaners by hand, I plan on using the Lake Country Pad and Handle kit as it makes the job MUCH easier compared to using a simple applicator pad.

If this doesn't take out most of the defects, then I'm gonna have to upgrade to a PC and products like DACP or SSR 2.5.

Wish me luck.

[the3dwizard]

If you are going to do ScratchX then not sure there is a reason to do the DC1 step. I would take a sample areas and try each product and see which one removes the defects you are trying to remove and then use that one.

If you do all of this by hand then once you are done you will want a g100. I know i did. Now that I have one I would not do it any other way.

Cheers!

[redlude]

You actually have a point. My only reason to use DC1 after ScratchX is to clean whatever residue is left on the surface from using scratchX. But what I might do is just skip to #7 as that product does have some slight cleaning ability and can remove any remaining residue.

[RamAirV1]

#7 will not remove the water spots. A G-100 with DACP is your best bet. It will take forever to remove the spots by hand with Scratch X or any other product.

You will find that hard water spots are one of the hardest things to remove from automotive paint.

They should run the sprinklers at night so it won't ruin the paint on so many cars.



RamAirV1

[redlude]

I don't think I've ever said that #7 will remove the water spots as it is a pure polish. I just said #7 had some cleaning ability to remove any left over residue from ScratchX.

I've applied ScratchX to my entire car before. It is a lot of work but something I can manage nonetheless.

I don't expect miraculous results. And since I don't have a G100 to do the job at this moment, let alone the pads and products, doing the job by hand will have to suffice.

[F-150]

Originally posted by redlude
Well I stopped by Wal-Mart this evening and picked up a bottle of distilled white vinegar, an empty sprayer bottle, some QD, and a tube of ScratchX (was thinking of buying 3m rubbing compound but opted for the Meg's product instead).

This weekend I plan on doing the following:

1) Wash the car down
2) Spray vinegar all over the car and let it sit for a few minutes
3) Wash the car again, then dry
4) Clay the car
5) Apply ScratchX by hand all over the car
6) Apply DC step 1 all over the car by hand
7) Apply #7 by hand
8) Apply #26 by hand
9) Tress trim and tires

As far as applying the paint cleaners by hand, I plan on using the Lake Country Pad and Handle kit as it makes the job MUCH easier compared to using a simple applicator pad.

If this doesn't take out most of the defects, then I'm gonna have to upgrade to a PC and products like DACP or SSR 2.5.

Wish me luck.

Last Touch got hard water spots off my truck but they only sat there for an hour before I removed them. And they weren't all over my truck. When I removed hard water spots from my dad's black lexus I used the paint cleaner and it worked miracles very fast and easy to use.

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by redlude
I don't think I've ever said that #7 will remove the water spots as it is a pure polish. I just said #7 had some cleaning ability to remove any left over residue from ScratchX.

I've applied ScratchX to my entire car before. It is a lot of work but something I can manage nonetheless.

I don't expect miraculous results. And since I don't have a G100 to do the job at this moment, let alone the pads and products, doing the job by hand will have to suffice.

Sorry to hear about the water spots...

Just to chime in...Meg's #7 does not have any ingredient with the intended purpose of cleaning the paint. Any *cleaning* will occur from the medium (foam pad etc) that was used for its application. To remove remaining residue, I would suggest #34 Final Inspection though light rubbing with a pad and #7 (used more as a lubricant in this case) may do the trick.

Since the water spots are fairly fresh, try using the DC#1. Another option, if you can find any left over Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner or the old Body Scrub cleaner, both of these worked well for removing above surface water spots, IMO.

If the water has etched the paint, depending on the hardness of the paint, that will determine how aggressive of product will be needed. For example, you might be just fine use ColorX or ScratchX. If not, then you may need to move up to the G100 and #80 or #83.

Either way, give the above a try and let us know how it turns out!

Tim

[redlude]

Thanks. I'll try to get some pics of the damage and results.

[redlude]

Here's some pics of the damage (I took these pics using the lowest resolution setting on my camera to reduce file size):







Here's some of the products I plan on using:

[redlude]

Just a little update. The acid bath worked. All the spots are gone. After the wash I followed up by claying the car.

I decided to skip scratchX and DCS 1 and went straight to #7. I'm not a huge fan of either to begin with. ScratchX leaves an almost permanent residue that is a PITA to remove, and DCS 1 seems a little too smeary.

I know, I know, it would be easier if I had a PC.

[sneek]

any after pics for us???

[redlude]

I'll try to snap some after I'm done detailing. I think I'll go ahead with a coat of #16 tomorrow morning and call it a day.

Detailing by hand is just too arduous.