Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

[rapport25]

Also I have a paint depth gauge. Either way get in touch. I have been detailing cars for 15 yrs.

I wish Megs was as big in the Uk.

[CreamPuff]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

I wouldn't wet sand that either. If it's single stage paint, i'd go with M84 Meguiar's Speed Glaze. It has a ton of oils in it and might help. Not sure if you have any Ultimate Compound in the UK, that might be the next step if M84 doesn't cut it.

BTW...I've used NXT Tech Wax for probably about 7 years now. I used it back when it was just TECH WAX and not TECH WAX 2.0. Never had an issue. I now use Ultimate Paste Wax....it's AWESOME!

[rapport25]

Yes, ultimate compound is available.

[rapport25]

I would be trying ultimate polish first with a da. Yellow megs pad speed 5.

[CreamPuff]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

Ultimate Polish is designed for newer cars with 2-stage base coat + clear coat. It has slight cutting ability. If you just want to try a small amount of cutting, maybe go with Scratch X 2.0

If this is an original paint job, its probably a single stage...which you should use M84 speed glaze or M83 dual action cleaner/polish I think...perhaps someone else can chime in on this as well.. Then throw on some Meguiar's #7 show car glaze for extra shine, then wax.

[rapport25]

Scratch x is more abrasive than ultimate polish. Ultimate polish is very close to swirl x apart from having more oils. Ideal on single stage paint. Or the other Megs products that you mentioned are more suited to single stage :-). As usual trial and error. And see what works best!!.

[Zodiac1]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

Hi all , thanks very much for the recent helpful replies offering advice along with rapport's very generous offer to help foc.
I've held back from getting stuck into the rectification until Tom clarke at meguiars tech team had very kindly sent me out a small sample of ultimate compound which arrived today.
Having raised the issue with meguiars and having it dealt with in a non dismissive manner i thought it only fair to give them first shot to help out.

After a LOT of hand and machine polishing in a small area the utimate compound has lifted out some of the smaller water spots but left the larger ones. Though i did notice a fading of them so there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
I shall speak to Tom tomorrow and see where we go from here.

Will keep you all posted on the out come.

Once again thanks to everyone who has given useful advice or offers of help.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

Based on your pics I'd say you have what Mike Phillips refers to as "Type III water spots", not really etched in water spots. I've personally never had to deal with type III but it is odd that one wax would cause it to happen over another. Curious to hear what Megs says about it.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/33499-3-types-water-spots-type-i-type-ii-type-iii.html

[CreamPuff]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

Scratch x is more abrasive than ultimate polish. Ultimate polish is very close to swirl x apart from having more oils. Ideal on single stage paint. Or the other Megs products that you mentioned are more suited to single stage :-). As usual trial and error. And see what works best!!.

Scratch X is more abrasive because well...it was designed as a consumer product to help remove some scratches. More abrasive depends on how you use the product as well...if you use it by hand, you'll be surprised how much cutting you can get.

Ultimate Polish has very light abrasives in it and is actually designed for cars with modern clear coats. Ultimate Polish, if my 28 year old memory serves me correctly, is a a derivative of M205 Ultra Finishing Polish.

Show Car Glaze #7 is actually a pure polish and is designed for single stage paints.

[rapport25]

Scratch x is more abrasive than ultimate polish. Ultimate polish is very close to swirl x apart from having more oils. Ideal on single stage paint. Or the other Megs products that you mentioned are more suited to single stage :-). As usual trial and error. And see what works best!!.

Scratch X is more abrasive because well...it was designed as a consumer product to help remove some scratches. More abrasive depends on how you use the product as well...if you use it by hand, you'll be surprised how much cutting you can get.

Ultimate Polish has very light abrasives in it and is actually designed for cars with modern clear coats. Ultimate Polish, if my 28 year old memory serves me correctly, is a a derivative of M205 Ultra Finishing Polish.

Show Car Glaze #7 is actually a pure polish and is designed for single stage paints.

Could not agree more,

Rappy.

[rapport25]

Hand and machine polishing? Da or rotary?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

Zodiac, we're really sorry to see this sort of thing happen. We fully understand your initial reaction to put some of the blame (for lack of a better term) on the NXT Tech Wax 2.0 since this happened shortly after using that product for the first time. But it must be said that water spots are not all created equal, nor is the water that creates them. Acid rain, in vary degrees, will tend to come and go to the point were a simple rain shower one day won't cause much of an issue, but sometime in the future the situation can be very different. Unfortunately we can't tell just by looking at the rain as it's coming down whether or not it's acid rain, or what the level of acidity might be.

Everyone wants a wax that beads water like crazy, but in some cases - like acid rain - extreme beading can lead to problems because it causes concentrated beads of water to sit on the paint for long periods of time. Even if it's only extremely hard water (ie, a very high mineral content) problems can arise from letting it sit on the paint, regardless what wax or sealant is there to "protect" the paint. In fact, it's this "protection" that often gets people into trouble since they believe their recently applied wax/sealant should do just that - protect the paint from attack. In fact, since waxes and sealants are sacrificial barriers, the best they can do is buy you some time. How much time depends on just what's in the water, and whether or not that water is subsequently subject to any harsh sunshine that "bakes in" the acid or minerals in the water. The resulting spots can range from extremely mild where a simple quick detailer will remove them, all the way to extremely etched where nothing short of wet sanding and compounding will fix the problem. All the rest fall somewhere inbetween. Lastly, the paint itself plays a role here, depending on how hard or soft it is.

Hopefully you and Rappy can get together in the very near future and arrive at a plan of action to correct this. We suspect Ultimate Compound applied with a proper DA buffer and the right pads, speed, etc will sort the issue fairly easily.

[Damino]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

I have the SAME EXACT problem as you dude!!! I polished my car with a marine wax (Meguiar's) and since then, I have the SAME water spots has you at EVERY rain and it's pissing me off really hard. They won't go away until I use WD-40 or Jig-A-Loo. I really need to find a way to remove them... Hope we can find some help, cause you can't know how much it ***** to have these spots...

[RaskyR1]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

I shared this with a friend that has a loooong history in the automotive industry. His reply is below....

First thing is to use a 30X lighted magnifier and look closely to see if the paint film exhibits "small bubbles", if so it is etching from acids.
If cloudy, no bubbles, it is a light attack by something that was on the surface and the water activated it, or the wax that was on is gone and they are seeing the real paint once the coverup was removed.
Any paint system will absorb water, and it will evaporate out, it's what's in the water or was laying on the surface when the water and a little heat became present and activated, became "reactive" and ate at the resin system.
Grumpy

[davey g-force]

Re: Water spotting after using nxt , now requiring repaint.

...problems can arise from letting it sit on the paint, regardless what wax or sealant is there to "protect" the paint. In fact, it's this "protection" that often gets people into trouble since they believe their recently applied wax/sealant should do just that - protect the paint from attack. In fact, since waxes and sealants are sacrificial barriers, the best they can do is buy you some time. How much time depends on just what's in the water, and whether or not that water is subsequently subject to any harsh sunshine that "bakes in" the acid or minerals in the water...

Well put Michael. And if whatever was in the water has the ability to etch into paint, there is no way anyone could expect a wax/sealant to withstand it.