Any "easy" way to remove the etched water spots on clearcoat? I'm getting sick of getting my car all nice and pretty, only to look at the hood and roof from a different angle and seeing spots! Last night, I used Scratch X on the hood (all applied with an orbital buffer) and followed it with the complete Meguiars 3-step but those dang spots remain. I've been looking at a couple OTC products but don't want anything too harsh. Any detailing pros out there?
Water etching on paint
- Thread starter wantin150
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Sorry to say that the only way to remove etched water spots in your clearcoat is to buff some clear off. You can hide them a little bit with polishes and wax, but you'll need to buff them out. I used Griot's garage machine polish #3 (#2 and #1 are harsher) with a PC random orbitor and the spots were removed. NOt as aggressive as you may think but surely not something you want to do all the time or else you'll eventually go thru all the clear coat. I'm sure others will chime in with some other ways that may work too.
I've used a liquid clay bar (not as effective I know) which resulted in a nice smooth finish. I haven't had the time to do a real claying yet. I kind of figured that if the Scratch X (fine product by the way) didn't fix the problem, clay wouldn't either. Maybe I'm mistaken here.
Depending on how badly etched the paint is, you may be able to remove it by washing the car with vinegar solution. It worked for me, but then again, the spots were only about a week old. If they sit there untreated for much longer, vinegar may not be powerful enough to get rid of them.
It all comes down to how long the spots sat on the paint, what was in the water, and how soft/hard the paint is.
I've had personal experience on both ends of the spectrum: a quick wash with a 50/50 water/distilled white vinegar wash took 'em right off one car but on another even three passes with a high speed rotary and a fairly aggressive compound on a wool pad couldn't get rid of all of them.
A clay bar won't do anything if the paint is actually etched as clay will only remove bonded surface contaminants. Stubborn deposits can be removed with clay, but true etching is below the surface of the clear - that is, some of the clear is literally gone and the only way to "remove" the spot is to actually remove some of the surrounding clear. Sounds bad, I know, but facts is facts. And the fact is, sometimes the damage is bad enough that without really drastic measures (wetsanding and compounding) you can only minimize the appearance.
I've had personal experience on both ends of the spectrum: a quick wash with a 50/50 water/distilled white vinegar wash took 'em right off one car but on another even three passes with a high speed rotary and a fairly aggressive compound on a wool pad couldn't get rid of all of them.
A clay bar won't do anything if the paint is actually etched as clay will only remove bonded surface contaminants. Stubborn deposits can be removed with clay, but true etching is below the surface of the clear - that is, some of the clear is literally gone and the only way to "remove" the spot is to actually remove some of the surrounding clear. Sounds bad, I know, but facts is facts. And the fact is, sometimes the damage is bad enough that without really drastic measures (wetsanding and compounding) you can only minimize the appearance.
Thanks to all. If it comes right down to it, I'll leave it alone after trying the vinegar/water mix.
As Mike said, it depends on how long the water spot was allowed to etch into your paint. In a situation involving long periods of neglect, it will permanently etch your clearcoat.
At this point, controlled application of a rubbing compound will be required.
At this point, controlled application of a rubbing compound will be required.
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