Water spot removal

[MNstang]

Hey guys. I purchased my car used this last October. It has about 15,000 miles on it. First time I washed it I noticed that there are some water spots on the paint that would not come off. Does anyone have any recommendations for how to get these off? I plan on trying a clay bar but I don't know if this will work. I do have some Chemical guys VSS that I could try as well. I just don't want to do any damage. I appreciate any tips!

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[Geosh]

Start with the clay bar. If that doesn’t help, I’d go with a light polish. That should take care of it unless it’s really etched into the paint and more aggressive polishing might be needed.

 

[SAY WHAT]

Claybar or spot remover from chemical guys or from the guys that make ONR.

 

[SVTchris]

Try a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar. Usually takes care of it.

 

[LOL WUT]

If clay bar doesn’t work, try menzerna 2500 and a medium pad on low speed. Worked like a charm for me.

 

[MNstang]

Try a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar. Usually takes care of it.

Interesting - I'll give it a try if the clay bar doesn't work.

 

[DFB5.0]

A few detailing companies make specific water spot removers, CarPro Spotless for example.

 

[MNstang]

So I was able to get most of the water spots off with multiple passes on the clay mit. There are still some under the rear spoiler (where the trunk lid flattens out) and there are a lot of water spots on the rear glass. I did try vinegar/water as recommended by another member but it did not work. I have some Chemical guys VSS (scratch & swirl + polish) that I was thinking about trying on the paint. I just used it on my 15 F-150 and it looks great. I just don't want to do something that is going to scratch the clearcoat (ie. make things worse). Am I better off trying to buy some water spot remover or trying to polish? Overall it looks pretty good now but if I can remove all of the water spotting before I wax that would be fantastic...

 

[SAY WHAT]

I would do the spot remover, using vss removes clear coat.

 

[bergdon]

+1 on using Carpro Spotless. It works like a charm.

 

[kilobravo]

Robert: I am a CP fan but have never tried Spotless so I'm gonna give it a look see after your remarks.

OP: If you opt to polish the spots out, a Rupes yellow or white pad and Meguiar's M205 will quickly remove them and, add a killer shine. That said, if Spotless does the job, it'll be much quicker that way but, you won't get the polished shine.

 

[MNstang]

Robert: I am a CP fan but have never tried Spotless so I'm gonna give it a look see after your remarks.

OP: If you opt to polish the spots out, a Rupes yellow or white pad and Meguiar's M205 will quickly remove them and, add a killer shine. That said, if Spotless does the job, it'll be much quicker that way but, you won't get the polished shine.

Thank you for the input. I do think the car would benefit from a light polish - I don't want to remove any more clear coat than necessary though. Does anyone know the difference in aggressiveness between chemical guys VSS and meguiars M205? If I do polish I want just enough to take the water spots away but minimal clear coat. I read somewhere that the clear coat on the s550s is fairly soft compared to other vehicles...

 

[kilobravo]

MN: I don't know the difference in aggressiveness of those two but I have spent many hours with 205 and I can tell you that it is not aggressive at all, especially with a white pad. I would estimate that a minimal polish would not remove more than 5-10 microns of clear out of probably 80-100 so there should be plenty remaining for downstream polishing.

I had a '14 500 and her paint acted no different than the '20 I now have nor any other vehicle I have machine polished so I don't put a lot of stock in the soft/hard reports of others.

Hope that helps.

 

[20ducks]

What you most likely are looking for is a diluted form of muriatic acid, Tidy Bowl e.g.

 

[MNstang]

+1 on using Carpro Spotless. It works like a charm.

Do you (or anyone else) know if the carpro spotless would work on the glass too?

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