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Jdanham

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As a newbie here I am struggling a little with the level of tech when you are talking about PAINT. Correct me if I'm wrong but the approach taken to remove water spots/swirls will depend on how the paint and protective coat (if any) used.

Dumb question: How are we supposed to find that information out? My 2011 BMW Z4 spec doesn't go into any more detail than it's color (Havana Metallic), not the information you refer to constantly in the help videos.

So how do I go about finding this important information? I have done NOTHING because I think it's pretty clear you have to know that before you can do anything beyond washing and waxing...

In my case I have stubborn water marks that refuse to go away even after claying. Next step for me is to buy a polisher but again how I approach the problem needs some detail first so to speak
 
Unless you have a paint thickness gauge, you can't know how much paint you have to work with. What you need to remember is what Mike Phillips always says: "Always use the LEAST aggressive method to achieve the results you want."

Simply put, at your level of experience, start with an AIO (All-in-One cleaner-wax) and see if the results achieved are what you want. This is very safe and the likelihood of you hurting your paint with an AIO is almost zero.

If that doesn't work, move up to a light polish such as Meguiars Ultimate Polish and so on.

You can go to U-Tube. There are hundreds of good videos on how to do ... whatever. Look for ones made by Mike Phillips or others from MOL or AutoGeek. Lastly, read the forums, there is such a wealth of information that you'd be hard pressed to not find what you were looking for.
 
Thanks - so you are basically saying that I do not need to know the composition of my paint job but using the techniques described apply the appropriate solution? I have Type I which I used claying that didn't work...
 
Setec Astronomy said:
The composition of your paint? It's a 2011 car, it's a basecoat/clearcoat system in 99% of cases.

The best way to remove above-surface water spots is chemically, you can try white vinegar, or one of the water-spot products, or an acid:

CarPro Spotless Water Spot Remover

Duragloss Water Spot Remover (WSR) #505

Finish Kare SIRR Steel, Iron Rust Remover, auto paint iron remover, ferrous metal remover, paint cleaner, paint decontamination system
Click to expand...


^ what he said :props:

Don't overthink it. It's not that difficult, it's just something you're not used to doing yet.
 
I wouldn't waste too much time chemically going after water spots if the paint has swirls like you mentioned. Most likely, if they are not fresh they are etched to some degree and chemically treating them will yield less than perfect results.

If you don't have a machine polisher, pads, & polishes - I'd suggest you get one if you want to drastically improve the finish of the car. Working by hand is slow & doesn't yield the best results.

If you've owned the car since new and it hasn't been touched with a machine since you've owned it - I wouldn't worry too much about paint thickness. BMW paint is fairly sturdy and your not going to have an issue using a free spindle type polisher. For all intents and purposes, you are not working on the color of your paint - but the clear layer of paint on top of it (clear coat).

So, color only comes into play when it affects how noticeable to the human eye and defects will be. But, the process to remove them is the same regardless of color...But, due to the ability of darker paints (under clear coat) to reveal more defects to the human eye due to how the eye sees defects, the procedure for getting perfect dark paint may require and extra fine polishing step.
 
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