Water spots after a sand/buff/wax

[swamper8]

The other day I just finished wet sanding / buffing / waxing my trunk lid. It rained last night and this morning I noticed there were water spots all over the trunk. I wiped them with a microfiber towel and some came off. I sprayed with quick detailer and some more came off. But at least half of them stayed in place no matter how hard I rubbed with the towel. After the sand/buff I used two applications of Meg's NXT Gen paste wax. I let the first coat dry, then wiped off with a micro, then repeated.

So why do i have these spots? And how can I get them off? I don't want to have to buff the car every time it rains

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Water spots after a sand/buff/wax

First off, although waxing will usually help to reduce water spotting, on a horizontal surface the water can not be sheeted away and will settle and etch into the micro layer of wax on the vehicle.

Any time a vehicle is rained on, or nailed by sprinklers and left to dry in the sun, regardless of how many layers of wax were applied there is a significant chance it will suffer from water spots.

Before you go as far as polishing the section I would first suggest attempting to treat the area with a cleaner wax like ColorX or A12 Cleaner Wax. Cleaner waxes contain mild abrasives and chemical cleaners that often will remove fresh water spots.

If they are Type II deep etched water spots they might be removable with further polishing, or they may be too deep to safely remove 100%. It's impossible to say without first testing out some of the least aggressive methods and seeing what you have to work with.

[swamper8]

Re: Water spots after a sand/buff/wax

OK thank you. I will try treating them with the products you suggested. I hope they aren't type II as the surface was only subject to one short rain storm. But is this what I have to look forward to everytime it rains? Water spots on the roof/hood/trunk? This didn't happen prior to me wetsanding/buffing/waxing. That's why I'm concerned.