Type II Water Spot Removal - Need Assistance :/

If these are Type II then that means they are crater etchings in the paint. The only way to remove them is to abrade the surrounding good paint till it's level with the lowest depths of the etched paint.

I'm not sure how a chemical water spot remover can remove paint? Aircraft quality paint stripper will remove paint but not in the controlled manner you need.


Chemical water spot removers then to be for topical water spots on glass or paint, not etchings or craters in the top clear layer of paint.

Compounding is the normal way you level paint and you tried that and probably did about as well as can be done without risking removing too much paint.

If you try one of the products Ron suggested please take good before and after pictures in case it works.

Also, if the root cause of the source for these water spots has not been dealt with the customer will just have the problem all over again.


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
If these are Type II then that means they are crater etchings in the paint. The only way to remove them is to abrade the surrounding good paint till it's level with the lowest depths of the etched paint.

I'm not sure how a chemical water spot remover can remove paint? Aircraft quality paint stripper will remove paint but not in the controlled manner you need.


Chemical water spot removers then to be for topical water spots on glass or paint, not etchings or craters in the top clear layer of paint.

Compounding is the normal way you level paint and you tried that and probably did about as well as can be done without risking removing too much paint.

If you try one of the products Ron suggested please take good before and after pictures in case it works.

Also, if the root cause of the source for these water spots has not been dealt with the customer will just have the problem all over again.


:)
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As always, good info - Thanks Mike :dblthumb2:
 
Anthony, I had the same issue on a client's car. The water had sat on the paint for several days in the Florida sun. It was reclaimed sprinkler water which made it worse. I was able to remove them with 105 on an orange pad. The car looked great. Guess what? The spots came back. I thought I had them knocked out but they leached back through and reappeared about 9 months later.

So, I had to go the sanding route and the car is now perfect. I know I am not answering your question but sometimes the most aggressive method is all we have left.

Here is a pic of the spots I was dealing with:

IMG_10041.jpg
 
I've seen several cars in my area that have etched in water spots, and they have been impossible to get out. They are so deep you would have to sand them. You can tell they are pitted.
Using M105 and surbuff pads, etc., doesn't work, and I'm not comfortable sanding (and removing that much clearcoat) to get them completely out although I guess that is what would be required.

I almost think we have acid rain around here or something? NEVER get your car wet....lol.
 
Rsurfer said:
That's where a PG comes in handy. Not perfect, but will give you an idea if it's safe. I would never wet sand without a PG.
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Agreed. Even with a paint gauge...you still want to notify the customer of the possibility. Even a PG can't tell you how much clear coat is left. But, I get what you're saying.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Incredible. Especially considering how impermeable clear coat paints are...


Nice addition to the thread Ed...



:xyxthumbs:
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Strangest thing I have ever seen. I thought initially that maybe the polishing oils had masked them but, I have serviced the car several times after the intial removal and the spots were definitely not there. Not being a chemist, I dont know if it's possible for them to migrate back out. It was like a newly cleaned carpet wicking up a stain months later. I wish I had the answer to this mystery.
 
Well thanks for everyone's advice! Looks like I'll just paint correct it minus sanding and hope for the 90% around the vehicle. The owner was very happy with the spot I did but I was not, that is why I came on here looking for the magic solution for the problem lol. I'll try to take pics saturday when I complete his car. Thanks again for all the advice guys :dblthumb2:.
 
bigez said:
I almost think we have acid rain around here or something? NEVER get your car wet....lol.
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Here's something I posted back in 2003...

Mike Phillips said:
Last week, I asked one of the chemists about the Ash residue as far as it relates to automotive finishes. Here is what he said,

The ash we in SoCal are experiencing right now, mostly comes from burnt wood. It's called, Potash, and specifically it is Potassium Carbonate. It has a high alkaline pH level. One of the other chemists told me that he collected some of the Ash and tested its pH and it measured, 11.5

Basically, it is equivalent to putting Drano on your car's finish.

The problem with this ash is, it will react with very little moisture, even relative humidity of 20% will activate it and potentially cause the ash residue to etch into your car's finish. It will have the same effect as Acid Rain etching, except in this case, it will be Alkaline etching.

In order to protect your finish, you must wash the ash off thoroughly, and completely. Any remaining residue that collects in body seams, cracks and crevices, could potentially become a concentrated pocket of high alkaline water, and when it eventually dries, or runs down the side of your car's finish, it could leave behind a chemically etched spot or streak.

That said, I had a lot of ash deposited on the finish on my Blazer after it rained over the weekend because I had the misfortune of parking under a tree and the rain collected the ash on the tree and deposited it onto my truck.

It must have already lost its potency because I haven't noticed any damage to my trucks finish since washing it.
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Just something else to consider if you live in an area prone to forest fires.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Funny you mention the ash issue. My area is currently experiencing a 30,000 acre wildfire. Though defendant on wind, the ash is starting to appear in the area. I can definitely see it on my black Charger so I am sure it's on all my outside living cars. Looks like I need to some washing tonight.

Very informative addition and thanks Mike!
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Well thanks for everyone's advice! Looks like I'll just paint correct it minus sanding and hope for the 90% around the vehicle. The owner was very happy with the spot I did but I was not, that is why I came on here looking for the magic solution for the problem lol. I'll try to take pics saturday when I complete his car. Thanks again for all the advice guys :dblthumb2:.
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Thanks for the reply. It's refreshing to see someone posting that's not deadset on wetsanding a DD customer vehicle. As stated before...one does not need to do all to be all.
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Yes - very amazing! Thanks for the knowledge toss there :dblthumb2:



Yep that scares me - to cut any deeper.... Im a firm believer of safer than sorry :/ The gentleman was more than happy with the 90% or so, but I wanted to see if there was a way to get it perfect without cutting so much. Thanks for the advice man :dblthumb2:
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I'd say 90% is pretty darn good, and explaining in a professional way to a customer, due to them being there for 2 years, they would be happy with the 90% result.
 
That's cause someone told me tonight that they needed me to get some water spots off their car. Looks like ima have to see how bad they are
 
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