Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
Imprint Rings - A specific type of water spot on car paint by Mike Phillips
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 IN the water a repeated opportunity to etch into the paint.
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.
After wiping the paint clean, there are water spot imprints remaining in the paint.
CLOSE-UP Shots of Imprint Rings
Note: These rings are actually etchings in the top layer of paint.
Because an Imprint Ring Water Spot is an actual ETCHING in the paint, you cannot simply wipe the imprint rings off nor can you use health risk hazard techniques like wiping the paint with hydrofluoric acid to remove them.
The correct way to remove them and the only way to remove them 100% is to abrade the surface with a high quality polish that uses top shelf abrasive technology. If the etchings are really deep then you may need to use compound which is more aggressive than a polish.
Order of aggressiveness as listed on page 92 of The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine
Aggressive compound
Medium cut polish
Fine cut polish
Ultra fine cut polish
Of course, always test the least aggressive product to get the job done so you leave the most paint on the car.
Common sense car detailing
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 IN the water a repeated opportunity to etch into the paint.
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.
After wiping the paint clean, there are water spot imprints remaining in the paint.
CLOSE-UP Shots of Imprint Rings
Note: These rings are actually etchings in the top layer of paint.
Because an Imprint Ring Water Spot is an actual ETCHING in the paint, you cannot simply wipe the imprint rings off nor can you use health risk hazard techniques like wiping the paint with hydrofluoric acid to remove them.
The correct way to remove them and the only way to remove them 100% is to abrade the surface with a high quality polish that uses top shelf abrasive technology. If the etchings are really deep then you may need to use compound which is more aggressive than a polish.
Order of aggressiveness as listed on page 92 of The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine
Aggressive compound
Medium cut polish
Fine cut polish
Ultra fine cut polish
Of course, always test the least aggressive product to get the job done so you leave the most paint on the car.
Common sense car detailing
