Water Spots on Paint

I have water spots on top of my car.

Not many are super visible but at an angle, you can really see them.

Washing doesn't remove them, of course.

One dealership here wants $$ from me to remove them with Acid. <---??!!!

Another here says to use Mother's brand polish with carnuba wax in it,a nd rub it on, let it sit three minutes then rub it off with a baby was cloth.


There are websites saying to use a 50/50 solution of distilled vinegar and water to remove them.

Just want to get any ideas.

I like the polish one the best. What do you guys/gals think?

 

Hm.... either the spots are because of calcium carbonate from tap water, or they are from somthing in the rain. A weak acid (like vinegar) would dissolve calcium carbonate, so that would work.

The advantage of going with hte dealership is that the acid they use will be exactly the right pH to remove the deposits and not touch the paintwork/laquer.

Not sure if polish would do anything, but worth a try

 

Mothers is considered one of the best waxes, HOWEVER, I would not use it on anything but painted metal. I had a nice new motorcycle and waxed the plastic fenders with it and it ruined the finish permanently. I personally will never use their products again after that, it was a new bike. The metal tank came out fine.

You may be able to remove the spots with a mild solution, but what will keep it from coming back? A good wax will help. Turtle wax has been around since I was a child and has never let me down. That is my experience. If you do decide on the mothers, try a little spot first, in a out of site area, especially if you have non metal spots to wax. So do both (vinegar diluted) for best results. The wax by itself should be able to get it.

If you really want a nice shine, a product called Liquid Ebony and a foam pad and lots of rubbing will give a mirror finish. Takes out all the swirls etc. You would have to go to an autobody paint supply store to get it.

Harbor Frieght has polishers fairly cheap if you want to save your arms

 

I'm gonna try something from meguair.

The funny thing is, these spots came from that using that Mr. Clean spotless dry wash system...

 

Meguairs makes a very good wax cleaner
rub it on wait a bit and polish it off
this works for small areas and you didnt mention how big the spots were
try it it might work

 

are the spots under pre existing wax?

 

Mothers and Maguire are good products, but you have to be carefull on what and how you use. They both offer a multi stage products. Read their instructions - they recommend something like the car wash, cleaner, polish, wax and then detailer. Each are separate products.

 

I don't know.

 

Not very big at all, very small!

In fact, looking at it in daylight from overhead, I only see a couple.

However, from an angle, you can see a lot more.

They are really small spots but there are a lot of them when you look at it from an angle.

 

no matter what you use
if the spots are under wax you would just be cleaning the surface over the spot
you may have to remove the wax, clean it and rewax( thats were the big charge comes from)

 

Well, I know that

Can you have water spots that stick ON wax?

I would think not.