Water spots on vehicle coated in June 2017

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Luckily it's my own POV, and I'm fairly frustrated. 2013 Honda Fit Sport, (soft clear...) and I did paint correction and a coating with CQUK. I made sure I did it in June because monsoon season was coming in AZ and I wanted the UV protection. The water (rain water) must have so much copper and minerals in it, my CQUK coating has water spots starting to etch.

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The vehicle sits outside (no sprinklers.... this was all caused by rain), so the thought of me polishing and reapplying a coating is fruitless as monsoons will happen every day until about September.

On a test spot I tried:
Pinnacle Black Label Surface Polish - did nothing
Megs #7 - Nothing
CarPro Re-Load - Nothing

The next step up from the products mentioned in my inventory all have some sort of abrasive, which I don't want to remove the coating... The water beading is amazing! And the coating is great at keeping dust and dirt at bay.

Frustrated to say the least in that I thought CQUK would have got me through the season somewhat unscathed. Aside from having to repolish (i.e. Polish, compound, essence, etc...) Anyone have any thoughts or ideas??? I'm open to suggestions.
 
I suggest you watch the YouTube video by THERAGCOMPANY. Look for the one about OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY featuring MDR or mineral deposit remover

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Carpro has a deposit remover as well. Reach out to Corey at Carpro and see what he recommends.

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Do you have access to Optimum MDR or CarPro Spotless. I just used spotless on my brothers car that is coated to remove water spots from sprinklers. Worked out well after a couple applications. The water spots were on the car for a couple weeks.

I've had MDR be 50/50 on removing water spots.
 
Have you tried Essence Plus..will not remove CQuartz UK.
 
Any water spot remover will remove the coating, or at the very least cause the area to fail.
 
Awesome responses! Thank you.
I have to place an order for reload due to a big job coming up.

I will add spotless and essence plus to the order.

Moving to Arizona has brought challenges that I haven't had to deal with before in NH. Thanks!!


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If the water spots have etched into the coating then it looks like the only remedy unfortunately is to repolish and reapply the coating.

Next time try topping the coating with a sealant like Reload and it will act as a sacrificial barrier for the coating.

Either that or dry the car immediately after every rain which kind of defeats the purpose of the coating.

In my experience, coatings are just as susceptible to water spots as clear coats. There may be some that are more chemical resistant.

I've tried some of the best on the market and still susceptible to water spots if minerals are in the water/rain.
 
FrankS said:
If the water spots have etched into the coating then it looks like the only remedy unfortunately is to repolish and reapply the coating.

Next time try topping the coating with a sealant like Reload and it will act as a sacrificial barrier for the coating.

Either that or dry the car immediately after every rain which kind of defeats the purpose of the coating.

In my experience, coatings are just as susceptible to water spots as clear coats. There may be some that are more chemical resistant.

I've tried some of the best on the market and still susceptible to water spots if minerals are in the water/rain.
Click to expand...

But this begs the question ...
 
Probably not, but some LSPs allow the spots to be removed easily. Sonax PNS is probably the best I have tried at preventing water spots from etching. FK1000P is another I always felt worked too.

Coatings are a pain in regards to the water spotting.
 
CarPro Spotless works well if you attack the issue quickly. If they etch into the coating, nope, you'll need to repolish. I had this happen while my car was in for some work and they left it outside in the rain then to bake in the sun. Car went several weeks without a wash too. Had to repolish and recoat.

I've had great success with coatings not spotting using my weekly detail mist of ECH20 and Reload with distilled water. Just enough of a coating of the two to help prevent water spots I suppose.
 
I probably wouldn't have used a product designed for cold harsh climates in Arizona in June for starters. I think Frank's advice is your best shot.
 
Eric@CherryOnTop said:
I probably wouldn't have used a product designed for cold harsh climates in Arizona in June for starters. I think Frank's advice is your best shot.
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When it was applied, it was within the very upper temp range of the product and had lots of cure time. Nearly a month before the first rain. There were at least 4 washes after the installation and one application of reload.

Give CQUK has a higher level of SIO2 I'm thinking that any coating is susceptible to the harsh conditions of monsoons.

Hopefully the etching is in the coating,which means it's doing its job. Don't know if there's a scientific way to prove that tho...




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DBAILEY said:
Probably not, but some LSPs allow the spots to be removed easily. Sonax PNS is probably the best I have tried at preventing water spots from etching. FK1000P is another I always felt worked too.

Coatings are a pain in regards to the water spotting.
Click to expand...

I agree about the PNS. It works wonders at not letting the spots etch the paint. I apply it over the coating on my personal vehicles.
 
idriveblackcars said:
Any water spot remover will remove the coating, or at the very least cause the area to fail.
Click to expand...

Not sure which coating or water spot remover you've used but this is not that case at all. I've removed plenty of water spots from various coated cars with no ill effects.

Now the use of wheel acids has shown to kill the "beading" of some coatings, but to say it's removeing them is a stretch IMO.

OP, I would start with MDR or Spotless before going to any kind of abrasive.

Random side note, I was actually able to remove the spots off my wife's car a couple weeks ago after she was hit by a sprinkler at a local restaurant using just Poorboys Bug Squash, a suggestion I saw on Autopia a few days prior to her car getting hit. The vehicle is coated with OCP+ and just washing wouldn't remove them but surprisingly the Bug Squash worked.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Not sure which coating or water spot remover you've used but this is not that case at all. I've removed plenty of water spots from various coated cars with no ill effects.

Now the use of wheel acids has shown to kill the "beading" of some coatings, but to say it's removeing them is a stretch IMO.

OP, I would start with MDR or Spotless before going to any kind of abrasive.

Random side note, I was actually able to remove the spots off my wife's car a couple weeks ago after she was hit by a sprinkler at a local restaurant using just Poorboys Bug Squash, a suggestion I saw on Autopia a few days prior to her car getting hit. The vehicle is coated with OCP+ and just washing wouldn't remove them but surprisingly the Bug Squash worked.
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Actually I was going off a very thought out test by another forum member.
So yeah it does remove or at least effect a coatings property.

What tests have you done?

lol I'm sure " the Guz" hasn't done any testing either.

I find it funny people right off the bat were suggesting water spot remover, the obvious easy answer without any consideration as to what it will do to the coating.
 
idriveblackcars said:
Actually I was going off a very thought out test by another forum member.
So yeah it does remove or at least effect a coatings property.
Click to expand...

Got a link? I remember Swanic did some tests with wax and sealant. I don't recall seeing one with coatings though. I do recall seeing a YouTube video with various silica sealants and coatings with d108 and I believe d140 that did not affect the coating in the short 5-8 minute video.

I have personally tested hydro2 (different chemistry than U.K.) with repeated applications of megs d140 over time and never seen it kill the beading. This was a wheel specific test to verify if a harsh carwash would compromise the wheel sealant, so it was strictly my observations while working rather than a well thought out study with documentation and controls.
 
idriveblackcars said:
Actually I was going off a very thought out test by another forum member.
So yeah it does remove or at least effect a coatings property.

What tests have you done?

lol I'm sure " the Guz" hasn't done any testing either.

I find it funny people right off the bat were suggesting water spot remover, the obvious easy answer without any consideration as to what it will do to the coating.
Click to expand...

So one suggestion was CarPro Essence Plus:

"CarPro Essence PLUS isn’t a correcting compound or paint polisher; rather it’s a high gloss jewelling coat used to extend the life of your coating. The non-abrasive formula repairs fine scratches and swirls, but does so without removing your previous ceramic coating. Don’t undo hours of hard work in one application!"

Second suggestion is:

Use CarPro Spotless Water Spot Remover to maintain your Cquartz coated vehicle. Even though coatings like Cquartz provide a rock-hard barrier of protection, they can still degrade due to the long-term effects of calcium building up on the surface. Regular application of CarPro Spotless Water Spot Remover will keep your Cquartz coated vehicle looking its best!

Both products are made by CarPro and are designed to work with their coatings. So, I guess I volunteered to be the tester her! :)
I'll start with spotless - see how that works.

The thing is, everyday like clock-work at 4:30pm until about 10pm... we get a good dousing of rain.
 
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