best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

[audi49]

I recently got an '06 Audi S4. Paint is in great shape except for the hood, which has some water drop stains and small specks/stains and the roof which has water stains. Specks seem to be in the surface and about pin-head in size. Tried using Clay, Meguiars Swirl Remover with Random Orbital buffer and it did not get rid of these marks. What do folks recommend? I've read about Meguiars 105, but am concerned that it may be too aggressive. How about Ultimate Compound? 205?

While i'm asking, what's recommended for a wax? My color is dolphin grey. Used Meguiars gold class wax, and although it looks OK it doesn't seem have that glossy 'pop' that I would have expected. My priorities would be 1) protection/longevity, 2) gloss, 3) ease-of-application.

Thanks.

[Shawn T.]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

Well, from your description, the wax you would want is NXT 2.0.

As for paint cleaners, I would recommend Ultimate Compound. Plus, do not work with your orbital buffer. It does not have enough power to remove defects. Work with foam applicators and work in small sections. You need to work the Ultimate Compound with some passion.

If you can, invest in the G110v2. It will make this job and every job in the future so much easier with outstanding results. I would go with this kit:http://www.autodetailingsolutions.ne...-pack-kit.html. As for pad choice, 4 yellow and 2 black would be good.

[audi49]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

Maybe I mis-spoke. I do have a Porter-Cable DA polisher. So i should use that with the yellow pads and UC?

[Shawn T.]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

Perfect. Yes, do that.

Usually when people say random orbital, they are refering to the $30 ones at Wal-Mart. When speaking about a PC or a G110v2, they say DA.

[Murr1525]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

You may like to try SwirlX before jumping all the way to UC.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

NXT 2.0 is definitely the wax you want based on the criteria you gave.

As for those tiny pin head sized specs, they could be very fine (and very typical) impact points from simple exposure. Are you only seeing these on the hood, more in the front than closer to the windshield? If so then these are indeed tiny debris impact points and there isn't much you can do about them.

SwirlX is a good starting point, and stepping up to Ultimate Compound is the logical step if SwirlX isn't getting rid of all the defects you want gone (with the exception of those tiny little pits, of course). UC will come close to M105 in most cases, but it's much more user friendly on a D/A than M105.

[audi49]

Re: best polish for getting rid of water marks & other 'spots' & wax question...

The specks are not flaked off paint, if that is what you meant. They're darker in color than the paint, and seem relatively uniform on the hood.

Regarding SwirlX... is it more aggressive than your 'Swirl Remover' product? As i mentioned, i tried Swirl Remover (twice) and that didn't seem to do the trick.

Thanks.