Advice needed - What to use to remove water spots on OB paint
04-26-13, 07:07 AM
#1
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Advice needed - What to use to remove water spots on OB paint
Hello experts,
What do you use to remove these spots? As I walked towards my car last night, I saw the whole car covered with rain spots. I wasn't aware of raining yesterday. Maybe it was just sprinkling. Anyways, it must have happened during day because I had to use wiper fluid several times to be able to wipe the windshield clear. I never saw anything like this so far. My gut feeling told me that I needed to wash it off. And I managed to wash the car. I was able to clean off most spots from the body and back but the ones on the hoods were still there. I guess the engine heat made it worse. They are all over the hood and can be seen when you are within 3-4 foot distance. I attempted to clean it off with soap and MF this morning but it didn't get much better. One thing I have in mind to try out is clay but I don't know if it will do it or it would cause any harm.
Many thanks in advance!
What do you use to remove these spots? As I walked towards my car last night, I saw the whole car covered with rain spots. I wasn't aware of raining yesterday. Maybe it was just sprinkling. Anyways, it must have happened during day because I had to use wiper fluid several times to be able to wipe the windshield clear. I never saw anything like this so far. My gut feeling told me that I needed to wash it off. And I managed to wash the car. I was able to clean off most spots from the body and back but the ones on the hoods were still there. I guess the engine heat made it worse. They are all over the hood and can be seen when you are within 3-4 foot distance. I attempted to clean it off with soap and MF this morning but it didn't get much better. One thing I have in mind to try out is clay but I don't know if it will do it or it would cause any harm.
Many thanks in advance!
04-26-13, 08:59 AM
#2
Clay may help, assuming what you are seeing is simply mineral deposits that have bonded to the paint.
More likely though is that they water spots have etched into the clear coat and will need to be removed with polishing. OB is soft paint and can easily be etched. Are you familiar with machine polishing?
Hopefully yours are not this bad, but you can see the vast improvement that can be achieved with machine polishing. On the "corrected" side, you can still see some remnants of etched spots that I did not feel comfortable removing because this paint was extremely thin (and a DD that sits outside 24/7)...
More likely though is that they water spots have etched into the clear coat and will need to be removed with polishing. OB is soft paint and can easily be etched. Are you familiar with machine polishing?
Hopefully yours are not this bad, but you can see the vast improvement that can be achieved with machine polishing. On the "corrected" side, you can still see some remnants of etched spots that I did not feel comfortable removing because this paint was extremely thin (and a DD that sits outside 24/7)...
04-26-13, 09:08 AM
#3
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Thread Starter
Thank you for the feedback and advice. I didn't have my camera with me but after the wash and cleaning it looks like your corrected image. Originally it looked similar to your other picture. I suspect that if I leave the car in the sun more it would make it worse. That was why I decided to wash last night even it was late (
). I'll try to claybar to see if it helps. I have 22PLE coating so I hope that gives me more room before I hit the pain(t). Thanks.
). I'll try to claybar to see if it helps. I have 22PLE coating so I hope that gives me more room before I hit the pain(t). Thanks.
04-26-13, 10:49 AM
#4
The 22ple coating is maybe 1-2 microns thick (typically), so if you need to do any polishing, it will most likely remove the coating. If you see etchings like what are remaining on my 50/50 shot then you will need to polish. My car is coated with 22ple as well, and I have never had an issue with water spots... even if I leave the car dirty for a few days after being rained on.
The corrected side of that 50/50 shot was compounded with a yellow foam cutting pad and M105 (a very aggressive combo) which I measured to remove about 5-6 microns of material. The non-corrected side was after the car had already been washed and clayed, so all of those spots were etched into the paint... some more severe than others, obviously.
The corrected side of that 50/50 shot was compounded with a yellow foam cutting pad and M105 (a very aggressive combo) which I measured to remove about 5-6 microns of material. The non-corrected side was after the car had already been washed and clayed, so all of those spots were etched into the paint... some more severe than others, obviously.
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