Water Mark Removal

[Jccams]

They decided to run the sprinklers at work yesterday in the middle of the day, always during the night previously. My car, even though 3' from the curb, received a car wash from the rear of the doors back. The sprinkler water is from a pond, apparently nasty water. I had raised deposits on the whole back part of the car.

I took it home and washed it, the raised deposits came off but I now have ghost rings all over the back of the car. I tried waxing, didn't help. I'm sick that this happened as the paint was great before this. I would be very appreciative if anyone has ideas that will get my car back to the way it was. I do not have any polishing equipment except my arms.

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[TonyT930]

Try polish first, then wax. I use old school Nufinish in the orange bottle. Its non abrasive and good for clearcoats. Works great.

 

[MAGS1]

Try something like Carpro Spotless. If you have white vinegar at home, make a 50/50 solution with vinegar and water (can make it stronger on the vinegar side if needed) as well. If that doesn’t work, then I’d try polishing. Start with something light first, like a Sonax Perfect Finish and a Rupes yellow waffle pad. Can always go to a heavier cut polish or pad if needed, but start with the least aggressive combo first.

Edit to add: do NOT let the Carpro Spotless or the vinegar mixture dry on the paint. Spray it on, let it dwell for a minute or two (or whatever the Carpro directions say), rinse and wipe. You can repeat a few times with the vinegar mixture and I believe you can with Spotless as well

 

[Jccams]

I did order the carpro spotless and will try it when it gets here. I thought about getting the clay bar out, don't know if that will do anything.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

Try Chemical Guy's water spot remover. Worked for me on water spots on the gloss black grille on my car. Before that I could not get anything to work.

 

[DFB5.0]

I did order the carpro spotless and will try it when it gets here. I thought about getting the clay bar out, don't know if that will do anything.

Don't waste time with a clay bar, the problem here is sub-surface level.

The very first thing to do is use that Carpro Spotless. Sometimes that's all you'll need to do, sometimes you need to progress to polishing.

But THE MOST IMPORTANT FIRST STEP is using that water-spot remover. If skip this and go straight to polishing, the minerals that caused the spots will reactive the next time the panel heats up and cause the spots to reappear. The Spotless will neutralize those minerals and prevent the return. If needed, this is when you would polish to remove the visible damage.

Also, the quicker you address this, the easier it will be to remove. The longer you leave it, the longer those minerals will etch the clearcoat, sometimes right down to the base layer.

 

[Jccams]

I hope to do this Saturday, that would be the 6 day mark. Fingers crossed this fixes it. If I have to polish, can it be done by hand? Recommendations for compound and pad would be appreciated. Polishing is new to me, I only wax.

 

[DFB5.0]

I hope to do this Saturday, that would be the 6 day mark. Fingers crossed this fixes it. If I have to polish, can it be done by hand? Recommendations for compound and pad would be appreciated. Polishing is new to me, I only wax.

6-days is fine, its when someone leaves it for 6-months as a "I'll fix it one day" situation.

Machine polishing is more effective because it also generates heat, which helps recreate the situation from when the etching occurred. However, hand polishing will work as well, just make sure it's a pure polish and not one laced with fillers, waxes and glazes. Look at Sonax Perfect Finish, Rupes DA Fine (yellow), or perhaps even Scholl S20 Black. I'd lean towards the Rupes as it produces a consistent cut.

 

[BrakeFade]

Vinegar and water spray mixture works on light water deposits. I would clean it with ipa, hit it with the vinegar and water. If that doesn’t work a light polishing compound by hand should buff those spots out. I’ve never had poopy fish water on a car, so I’m not sure how “hard” the spots are.

 

[Jccams]

I appreciate the information. Since this is all new to me, is there a specific polish from Sonax I should use, appears to be many. Also can I use a pad designed for a DA by hand? There are also a bunch of these, any further direction would be great.

 

[BrakeFade]

I appreciate the information. Since this is all new to me, is there a specific polish from Sonax I should use, appears to be many. Also can I use a pad designed for a DA by hand? There are also a bunch of these, any further direction would be great.

Microfiber towel and some elbow grease should be all you need. I use good ol’ turtle wax polishing compound.

make sure you follow with a good topper after you’ve completed the polish and spot removal. Any “wax” will work to complete the shine and add protection.

 

[DFB5.0]

I appreciate the information. Since this is all new to me, is there a specific polish from Sonax I should use, appears to be many.

Sonax Perfect Finish is the one you want. I've included the below link, stick with the smaller bottle, Amazon carry it as well.

Sonax Perfect Finish - 250 ml - Detailed Image

Also can I use a pad designed for a DA by hand? There are also a bunch of these, any further direction would be great.

No, not really.

Use a microfiber towel, or ideally, a foam polishing pucks -
DI Accessories Yellow Foam Applicator Pad - Detailed Image

I'd get this as it gives you options -
Applicator Sampler Kit - Detailed Image

 

[Jccams]

Thanks for all the comments and help. I may end up getting a polisher, probably Bauer, not necessarily for this, but for future ambitions of a minor paint correction. Can someone recommend the type of machine I should look for, DA, orbital? Specific Bauer model would be great. Thanks again!

 

[dburgjohn]

I had good luck with a product from Sud Factory. they have products for glass and paint. I used them on wife's MKX and my 34 year old Corvette.

 

[kilobravo]

No experience with a Hobo Freight or Northern Tool polisher but the Bauer products look decent. I typically stay away from electrically-powered tools from HF but for an item that you may use just a handful of times, it might be worth a shot.

Fairly sure DFB will recommend going with Shinemate or Rupes, both of which will be a lot more than the HF/'Northern Tool offerings. In any case, you want to go with a Dual Action unit, not orbital.

Good luck with the water spots and I would bet a fair amount of money that you can remove all of them with Sonax Perfect Finish and elbow grease. Yeah, it will take three times as long as it would with a polisher but it's doable. That said, you'll get a better overall and more even finish with a dedicated DA polisher.

Lastly, if you do opt to polish the back half of the vehicle, just know that when you're done, the rear end will in all probability have visibly more gloss than the front half and you may wind up having to polish the entire car.

It's for this reason that I would recommend getting/borrowing/renting a polisher. If you go that route, as has been mentioned in previous posts, practice on a small section of the vehicle like behind the rear fender well first for practice to get a handle on using a DA polisher and DEFINITELY watch at least a couple videos on polishing with a DA unit first. It is not difficult nor complicated, but there are some cardinal rules that need to be observed.

Best of luck and please do report back your results and if you come up with more questions either before or during your test, don't hesitate to ask.

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