Paint has no give in for rain???
07-23-13, 02:07 PM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Paint has no give in for rain???
i had a water spot issue from winter when i let a dirty car sit under the sun during rainy season for 3-4 weeks..rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, so couldn't get it washed. had a lot of water spots after i washed it, but ok, was a long period of time so was expected. paid a pretty penny to get it polished, even though, not all spots were removed, had to wet sand to get it completely removed.
fast forward to last week. had the car washed on thu, it unexpectedly rained on sat, car was parked in garage on sun, was exposed to sun on mon and today, i busted out the waterless wash and to my dismay, ALL of the waters spots have etched in the paint. i planned on getting the car washed this week, but i would think i would at least have a few days grace period.
wtf?so if you don't immediately wash the car after rain, you are going to get pretty permanent water spots?
fast forward to last week. had the car washed on thu, it unexpectedly rained on sat, car was parked in garage on sun, was exposed to sun on mon and today, i busted out the waterless wash and to my dismay, ALL of the waters spots have etched in the paint. i planned on getting the car washed this week, but i would think i would at least have a few days grace period.
wtf?so if you don't immediately wash the car after rain, you are going to get pretty permanent water spots?
Last edited by modthispny; 07-23-13 at 02:21 PM.
07-23-13, 03:35 PM
#5
try CG waterspot remove... if you have a garage why is the car parked outside. my car is always in the garage. i never leave the car in the driveway. i have OC 2.0 on the car and i use OCW after every wash, so i don't have problems with spots.
07-23-13, 05:24 PM
#6
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
will try cg waterspot remove.
thanks
07-24-13, 06:22 AM
#7
Sounds like you need to do a couple of things... 1) really amp up your protection - seal/wax VERY often (apply spray wax after EVERY wash & continue to apply proper sealant/wax regularly as well), or next time you have the car polished, have the detailer apply a permanent coating such as Opti-Coat2.0. and 2) Wash frequently. Lexus has very soft paint, and on top of that, you have black paint. When black sits in the sun, it heats up significantly more than a lighter colored paint which makes the paint even softer and more vulnerable to damage. Try parking in shade if possible. Without adequate protection, it does not take much time at all for your clear coat to become etched.
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07-24-13, 08:33 AM
#9
Sounds like you need to do a couple of things... 1) really amp up your protection - seal/wax VERY often (apply spray wax after EVERY wash & continue to apply proper sealant/wax regularly as well), or next time you have the car polished, have the detailer apply a permanent coating such as Opti-Coat2.0. and 2) Wash frequently. Lexus has very soft paint, and on top of that, you have black paint. When black sits in the sun, it heats up significantly more than a lighter colored paint which makes the paint even softer and more vulnerable to damage. Try parking in shade if possible. Without adequate protection, it does not take much time at all for your clear coat to become etched.
07-24-13, 11:40 AM
#10
It happened to me too (same paint). I still remember... It rained during the day that day and I felt that I needed to wash the car to wash off what was on it. I washed the car the same night. To my surprise water spots showed up everywhere. I tried a few more washes next few days and one day the car was soaked in heavy rain for hours... The spots were still there. My detailer suggested light polishing but I didn't want because my car had full paint correction before. Then my buddy Syd suggested CGWSR. I was skeptical about it but wanted to try. I was pleasantly surprised... It did the trick. This is a few weeks later but it removed those spots. Definitely give CGWSR a try and I agree the OB needs some source of protection layer, OC 2 would be a good choice. Some also suggested vinegar but I didn't try. Hope you can get those off the pain(t).
07-27-13, 04:13 AM
#11
Lead Lap
i had a water spot issue from winter when i let a dirty car sit under the sun during rainy season for 3-4 weeks..rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, so couldn't get it washed. had a lot of water spots after i washed it, but ok, was a long period of time so was expected. paid a pretty penny to get it polished, even though, not all spots were removed, had to wet sand to get it completely removed.
fast forward to last week. had the car washed on thu, it unexpectedly rained on sat, car was parked in garage on sun, was exposed to sun on mon and today, i busted out the waterless wash and to my dismay, ALL of the waters spots have etched in the paint. i planned on getting the car washed this week, but i would think i would at least have a few days grace period.
wtf?so if you don't immediately wash the car after rain, you are going to get pretty permanent water spots?
fast forward to last week. had the car washed on thu, it unexpectedly rained on sat, car was parked in garage on sun, was exposed to sun on mon and today, i busted out the waterless wash and to my dismay, ALL of the waters spots have etched in the paint. i planned on getting the car washed this week, but i would think i would at least have a few days grace period.
wtf?so if you don't immediately wash the car after rain, you are going to get pretty permanent water spots?
07-27-13, 07:35 PM
#12
buy a beater. I have the same color and at my work place they have freaking sprinklers that go off and the whole parking lot has a damn sprinkler on each spot so you cant even avoid them. So every damn day I have water spots that I have to remove at home. It is getting exhausting, I hate obsidian.
09-26-13, 04:51 AM
#14
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2013 es350 deep sea mica
keep it that way.
09-26-13, 06:32 AM
#15
The battle with water spots is a never ending battle. It takes A LOT of work to properly maintain a defect free car. For many of us who use our Lexus as a daily driver, maintaining a flawless finish is simply not a reasonable task. Daily driven vehicles are subject to many challenges such getting stuck in the rain, and then left to bake in the sun immediately after the rain storm. Depending on the chemical makeup of your rain water (ie the water here in the Midwest is very hard - it contains a lot of minerals) it can take only a matter of minutes for light etching to occur on your paint.
*Note: dark colored vehicles are more at risk because the dark paint creates higher surface temperatures. These higher surface temps actually soften the paint slightly which makes it more vulnerable to damage.
^This is a black toyota... see all of the water spots? This is AFTER the car had been very thoroughly washed and decontaminated. These were all permanently etched water spots caused by water that had splashed along the side of the car during a rain storm and was left to dry and sit for a while.
^Luckily these things can typically be removed with proper machine polishing, but if you let these spots sit for too long, they can even cause clear coat failure.
Protection is key. If your vehicle is not coated with a long-lasting, semi-permanent coating (ie Opti-Coat, 22ple, Cquartz, etc) then you MUST reapply a sealant or wax several times a year. General rule of thumb is to apply a sealant every 4-6 months and if you are using a natural carnauba wax, reapply every 2-8 weeks. If you have a coating on your car (like myself) then you are not completely safe - it just buys you a little more time, but the water spots still need to be removed ASAP. Coatings can still be easily etched by hard water/acid rain.
Aside from ensuring your vehicle is properly protected, you need to wash it regularly. I mean once a week if possible, and at the very least twice a month. Use high quality products (shampoo, wash mitts, microfiber towels - NOT the towels you get at walmart!) and learn the two bucket wash method (3 buckets if you are cleaning your wheels as well - which you should be!). No one is so busy that you can't find an hour of time to wash your car - heck, I usually do mine at night... this works great because the paint is cool, and the water doesn't dry on the surface nearly as fast as it would in the daytime (even if working in shade). Avoid tunnel washes, drive through car washes, touchless washes, whatever you want to call them... the harsh chemicals used to "clean your car" will actually diminish or even remove your sealant or wax, and they don't even get your car all the way clean. Some of these places then have an employee or two waiting at the end to wipe your car down with their old, worn out towels. Well, dirty towels, plus dirt still left on your car means they are scratching your vehicle - no question about it.
For those of you who are paying good money to have a proper professional (like Joe - who I am very familiar with through the detailing world) polish your paint, you need to understand that the defects will return very quickly if you do not learn proper maintenance techniques, and you will be visiting him on a yearly basis for more polishing. I'm sure Joe will tell you the same thing.
I think it is also worth noting that bird bombs and bug guts are even more dangerous than water spots... they need to be removed as soon as you notice them. Both bird droppings and bug splatter contain acid which will literally eat away at your paint.
^Here is an example of clear coat failure caused by a bird bomb that was left on the paint for what I was told was "only about a week or so". This is not repairable via detailing and must be repainted.
Another member just created a thread the other day about the clear coat failure that he found that appears to have been caused by bird bombs.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/aut...-on-paint.html
So remember - proper maintenance and protection are key. "Detailing" is not just something that is done by a professional. Everyone needs to keep their cars clean and protected not just because it looks pretty, but because it will save you thousands of dollars on a new paint job 5 years from now
-Zach
*Note: dark colored vehicles are more at risk because the dark paint creates higher surface temperatures. These higher surface temps actually soften the paint slightly which makes it more vulnerable to damage.
^This is a black toyota... see all of the water spots? This is AFTER the car had been very thoroughly washed and decontaminated. These were all permanently etched water spots caused by water that had splashed along the side of the car during a rain storm and was left to dry and sit for a while.
^Luckily these things can typically be removed with proper machine polishing, but if you let these spots sit for too long, they can even cause clear coat failure.
Protection is key. If your vehicle is not coated with a long-lasting, semi-permanent coating (ie Opti-Coat, 22ple, Cquartz, etc) then you MUST reapply a sealant or wax several times a year. General rule of thumb is to apply a sealant every 4-6 months and if you are using a natural carnauba wax, reapply every 2-8 weeks. If you have a coating on your car (like myself) then you are not completely safe - it just buys you a little more time, but the water spots still need to be removed ASAP. Coatings can still be easily etched by hard water/acid rain.
Aside from ensuring your vehicle is properly protected, you need to wash it regularly. I mean once a week if possible, and at the very least twice a month. Use high quality products (shampoo, wash mitts, microfiber towels - NOT the towels you get at walmart!) and learn the two bucket wash method (3 buckets if you are cleaning your wheels as well - which you should be!). No one is so busy that you can't find an hour of time to wash your car - heck, I usually do mine at night... this works great because the paint is cool, and the water doesn't dry on the surface nearly as fast as it would in the daytime (even if working in shade). Avoid tunnel washes, drive through car washes, touchless washes, whatever you want to call them... the harsh chemicals used to "clean your car" will actually diminish or even remove your sealant or wax, and they don't even get your car all the way clean. Some of these places then have an employee or two waiting at the end to wipe your car down with their old, worn out towels. Well, dirty towels, plus dirt still left on your car means they are scratching your vehicle - no question about it.
For those of you who are paying good money to have a proper professional (like Joe - who I am very familiar with through the detailing world) polish your paint, you need to understand that the defects will return very quickly if you do not learn proper maintenance techniques, and you will be visiting him on a yearly basis for more polishing. I'm sure Joe will tell you the same thing.
I think it is also worth noting that bird bombs and bug guts are even more dangerous than water spots... they need to be removed as soon as you notice them. Both bird droppings and bug splatter contain acid which will literally eat away at your paint.
^Here is an example of clear coat failure caused by a bird bomb that was left on the paint for what I was told was "only about a week or so". This is not repairable via detailing and must be repainted.
Another member just created a thread the other day about the clear coat failure that he found that appears to have been caused by bird bombs.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/aut...-on-paint.html
So remember - proper maintenance and protection are key. "Detailing" is not just something that is done by a professional. Everyone needs to keep their cars clean and protected not just because it looks pretty, but because it will save you thousands of dollars on a new paint job 5 years from now
-Zach