Stubborn water spots/etching

[fromthecoast]

I've got some water spots that I cannot remove although I have been able to dull them down. I've tried Scratch X v1 and 2.0 as well as Swirl X, and UC. Even with two passes of each, certain water spots are still there. Where do I go from here.

EDIT: This was using my new G110v2 with lots of "passion" and the yellow polishing pad.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

Water spots can vary greatly in severity. Some may be removed with a pass or two of ScratchX, and others may be etched down so deep into the paint that there is nothing short of a re-paint that will fix them.

Is there any chance you could provide us with some pictures?

A macro-mode shot would be ideal, but anything is better than nothing.

Here's a How-To for posting pictures.

[fox41]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

Try some vinegar on a damp cloth, should come right off, providing there is not to much wax covering the water spots, then use a wet cloth to get the vinegar off, do gently, should not be a problem.

[fromthecoast]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

I have removed water spots using #151 with the 8207 (yellow pad). It worked really well for me.

[vick]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

I am suffering from the exact same fate! Using a DA, 2.0 cutting pad and UC combo doesn't seem to solve the problem. I am really tempted to use the M105 to try removing these stubborn etching but I am not too sure if it's going to do more harm than good.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Stubborn water spots/etching

Water spots can be tricky little buggers. They literally run the gamut from super easy to remove to virtually impossible. The easy ones tend to be pretty fresh and usually a quick spritz of most any mist & wipe product will do the trick. From there you run up to those that respond well to a vinegar and water wash, or a simple cleaner wax. But sometimes they can be really, really stubborn.

Depending on the concentration and type of minerals in the water, how long they've sat and potentially etched into the paint, and how hard the paint is, water spots can sometimes require very aggressive measures to eradicate. We've seen cases where even repeated passes of M105 on a wool pad via rotary at 1500 rpm didn't fully remove them.

If a W8207/Ultimate Compound won't do the trick after a few passes, then stepping up to either M105 or a W7207 cutting pad would be the next logical choice. Don't immediately jump to both M105/W7207 though - replace ONLY the liquid or the pad, not both for this potential next step. We highly recommend trying M105 first, however, and concentrate your efforts on a very small area of the paint, perhaps just a foot square.

While we don't normally recommend the W7207 cutting pad on the D/A, there are times where it can be beneficial. This may be one of them. But keep in mind that there is a very good chance using this pad may haze the paint. That haze should be quite easy to remove with a follow up pass of UC/W8207 polishing pad. We just want you to be aware of this and not become upset should hazing occur.