Water spots

  • Sponsors (?)


my 95 had water spots but i could never get them out. you really had to look hard to see them, mostly on the top of the car and decklid, rear bumper. was told it may have been acid rain from a previous city or whoever had it before me didnt know how to wash a car properly or was lazy. i hand rubbed on mine ALOT also had it professionally buffed. those things made it look very very good and unless you were up close, you wouldnt notice the spots. since they were etched in the paint, i could never get them completely out :(

your spots may be completely different tho . . .
 
Go get this from just about any auto parts store. Works wonders on paint. The only stuff I couldn't get out was actual physical damage to my paint from highway miles. Everything else was removed..I mean everything. Water spots, dirt that didn't come up from washing.. everything.

Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Bar Kit.

p84694b.jpg


Comes with 2 bars but only comes with 1 Quik Detailer spray bottle and I'm very liberal with the lube when I clay. And when you're using the clay and detailer make sure you put some ass into it to get as deep as possible. This basically removes all surface contaminants that build up on the clearcoat.
 
The absolute best way is to have a professional buff it out for you. Water spots are residual from calcification and other minerals in water and will stay until the surface is "cut"

Clay bar will definitely help, but buffing it out is your best solution. I used to detail for a living and I have seen too many guys waste their time with home kits for mediocre results.
 
A clay bar or good cleaner wax should be sufficient to get water spots out.

Hard water etching on the other hand, needs to be buffed out. If you take care of the water spots when or right after they happen, they wont advance to this. But if the spots sit, and the water evaporates and the minerals rest on the paint, they etch into the clear coat.
 
Careful about pressing too hard with a claybar. It picks up the contaminants, and until you fold to a clean section, you are basically sliding them across your paint. It's fine when you use very light pressure and plenty of lubrication, but if you press too hard or don't use enough lube and it "catches" on the paint, you can actually cause damage.