Water Spots Appear :(

[kev4bama]

Hey Guys!,

Been awhile since I have gotten to post. I noticed today some water spots on different spots on my hood. It starting to become quite warm here in Alabama so any water that touches the hood and then sees the sun gets baked on. Most of you probably remember I have an 05 Focus ZX4 ST. I tried some 80 by hand with not much luck on a few isolated spots. I am going to try an attack it with my G-100 on a 5.0 setting with the 80 first. If that fails I will move to the 83 still at the 5.0 setting and then follow with the 80. Does this seem like a good plan of attack? I think the water down here has alot of lime in it and when I came out of the Walmart the other day much to my pleasure the sprinklers had come on and you guessed it all over my car with the temp about 86 and the sun baking on it. If this is how these got on my car which I am assuming it is should I be able to remove them with my G-100 as I have described?

Thanks For your help in Advance!

Kevin

[the other pc]

Can you tell if the spots are mineral deposits sitting on the paint, stains in the paint or etching that has disrupted the surface of the paint?

Mineral deposits are very hard and may respond better to clay than polishes but dissolving them is best on most surfaces. For paint the trick is to use an acid solution that is strong enough to dissolve the minerals but gentle enough for paint. Distilled white vinegar is often recommended. Meguiar’s Marine Line has a product called M-47 Hard Water Spot Remover, sounds like just the ticket. You should be able to find it in boating stores.

If it’s staining or etching it should polish out like any “below surface� defect if it’s not too deep but if it goes really far down it may be best left alone.


PC.

[stinger66]

Water spots

I had the same thing happen to our honda civic (maroon color) & had to use #83 with the g-100 & a polishing pad to remove them. It worked very well. Followed that with two coats of NXT.

What a shine afterwards!!

[Mike Phillips]

Here's an article from the Type 1 & Type 2 Water Spots


There are two kinds of water spots,

1) Above Surface Mineral Deposits
2) Below Surface Water Spot Etchings


Type I Water Spots

Type I Water Spots are what Meguiar's refers to as Above Surface Bonded Contaminants. A Type I water spot is some type of deposit, often times a mineral deposit that was in the water source, sitting on top of the surface.

If you have Type I water spots, you can use either a clay bar or a paint cleaner like ScratchX by hand. Clay bars are for removing above surface defects and will typically do a good job of remove Type I water spots/deposits from off the surface. Sometimes you may have to follow the claying process with a paint cleaner like ScratchX to completely remove all traces of where the mineral deposits attached to the finish.

Type I Water Spots






Type II Water Spots - Deposits on the surface
Type II Water Spots are what Meguiar's refers to as Below Surface Defects. A Type II Water Spot is actually an etching in the surface where whatever was in the water was strong enough in it's chemical composition to actually eat or dissolve the paint and thus etch into the paint.

If you Type II Water Spots, you can use a paint cleaner by hand such as ScratchX, or a machine applied product such as a compound, paint cleaner, or cleaner/polish to machine clean the finish, removing a small amount of paint in an effort to level, or smooth out the finish. The goal is to remove just enough paint to level the surface with the lowest depths of the defect.

Just to be clear, removing Type II Water Spots means removing paint. As such, you are limited as to how much paint you can remove. In some cases you may want to check with a seasoned professional for their advise before attempting to remove below surface defects like Type II Water Spots.


Type II Water Spots - Etchings below the surface


Close-up of same photo above


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Remember to always use the least aggressive product to get the job done.