Need Help: Water Spots?

D

dagwag77

New member
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Hi Everyone, I need some help identifying/removing the spots on the paint in the photo below. I thought they are water spots but they aren't coming out after claying and polishing with CG V38 or V36. The car is coated with opticoat pro. Any ideas on what it can be? They are all over the hood and are really stubborn. Sorry the photos suck, but they are really hard to capture with the camera.



 
Those look like Type II water spots which would be a below surface defect.

Since they are not coming off with polishing then the are going to need compounded. You might need to reapply the coating after you fix the etchings.
 
Thanks guys, I'll go more aggressive. Thinking about stepping up to Chemical Guys V34, then V32 unless you recommend otherwise.
 
Year, make, and model of car would go a long way in helping to recommend products. :-)

Did the car get wet during the curing time for the opticoat?
 
From what i have read and personal experience paint coatings DO NOT like water spots. I went to the lake and when i got back i sprayed off all the dirt on my truck. When i was about half way done i got a phone call so i was away from my truck for about 20 min. I figured there would be water spots so id just wash it with soap after i got off the phone. Well i washed the truck and the water spots had eaten away at the paint coating. Looks exactly like your pictures now. They arent that noticeable so i havent done anything about it yet. But CarPro Spotless is made for this exact reason.
 
Just02896 said:
Year, make, and model of car would go a long way in helping to recommend products. :-)

Did the car get wet during the curing time for the opticoat?
Click to expand...

2014 Lexus GS350, nebula grey. It didn't get wet during curing.

brondondolon said:
From what i have read and personal experience paint coatings DO NOT like water spots. I went to the lake and when i got back i sprayed off all the dirt on my truck. When i was about half way done i got a phone call so i was away from my truck for about 20 min. I figured there would be water spots so id just wash it with soap after i got off the phone. Well i washed the truck and the water spots had eaten away at the paint coating. Looks exactly like your pictures now. They arent that noticeable so i havent done anything about it yet. But CarPro Spotless is made for this exact reason.
Click to expand...

I'll give spotless a try before I go more aggressive. I'm thinking about also getting a CR Spotless system.

Thanks for the replies!
 
dagwag77 said:
2014 Lexus GS350, nebula grey. It didn't get wet during curing.



I'll give spotless a try before I go more aggressive. I'm thinking about also getting a CR Spotless system.

Thanks for the replies!
Click to expand...

I'm going to assume that the water spots are in the coating and not in the clear coat itself since you attempts to polish them has failed. Lexus paint is on the soft side and opti is very hard. You will need to step up to a more aggressive polish to remove waterspots from opti. Definitely give Carpro water spot remover a try first! It would be a shame to have to compromise your coating! :-)
 
That was my experience with coatings as well. They water spot badly and the vehicle I was working on I needed to use Megs 105 to remove them (probably removed the coating as well).

Maybe the Carpro or Meguiars or Duragloss water spot remover will work for you and save your coating.
 
Chemical Guys Waterspotremover did the job for me!


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Tapatalk
 
Those are called

IMPRINT RINGS


3 - Types of Water Spots - Type I, Type II and Type III



Imprint Rings
These water spots look like they're established water spots, that is, every time it rains, or a sprinkler goes off, the water pools in the same place giving any corrosive substances repeated opportunity to etch into the paint.

SprinklerSpotsS003.jpg


SprinklerSpotsS004.jpg



Visually, I can tell the paint is likely etched in this instance but I won't know till I get the surface clean. The first step is to wash or wipe the finish, in this instance I'm going to repeat wiping process I used on the Mercedes-Benz with a spray detailer.

SprinklerSpotsS007.jpg


SprinklerSpotsS008.jpg



After wiping the paint clean, there are water spot imprints remaining in the paint.

WaterSpotImprints01.jpg


WaterSpotImprints02.jpg


WaterSpotImprints03.jpg




As you can see... they won't wipe off with any type of topical solution the ONLY way to remove them is by machine polishing.

Tip: Use good abrasive technology....


:)
 
Thanks everyone for all the help, much appreciated. I'll try least aggressive (carpro spotless) and work up to compounding and post back. Sounds like I have a project for this weekend! I'm surprised that the water spots are wreaking such havoc in the coating.
 
Ok everyone, I've got an update :). Spent the last 5 hours in the garage, washed with foam blaster & CG citrus wash, and Ammo brute wheel soap for the wheels, clayed with CG OG yellow clay, and then tried some Auto Finesse Rejuvenate on a test spot. AF Rejuvenate took out all the water spots without much of any pressure using a yellow foam applicator. Was so impressed with the finish it left. I went back, tried a part of the hood by hand, and was equally as impressed. I even used some CarPro eraser to check the test spots. Once I was satisfied it was actually removing the water spot blemishes, I took out a finishing pad and did the rest of the car with my Rupes 21, looks great, and ready for some wax. Thanks everyone for the advice, and I'm really glad I didn't have to pull out the compound!

autogeek_2269_1489842
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top