Water Spots

ChrisSlicks

For a minute I thought this thread was titled "Water Sports" must be my dirty mind playing tricks on me.

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled programming ...

antennahead

LOL, you have been hanging out with Frost and me too long

That sounds like one of our jokes!

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Time is a companion, who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment............ because it will never come again

antennahead

Depending on the make up of the water in your area, you might need a light polish to remove them. I had a sprinkler I didn't even know was there, hidden in the bushes at a resort hotel years ago spray my car, then baked it dry in the sun...... etched the clear coat. If your clear coat is etched, you may need a light polish. Ideally, an orbital buffer like the Porter Cable and the right pad and polish would do it. I just did my semi annual polish and wax to remove the acid rain etchings off the hood. The Z is garaged, but during the day I am parked outside at work..... impossible to avoid it on a DD.

John

__________________
Time is a companion, who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment............ because it will never come again

kdo2milger

you can also use this one, its basically for newer cars but has the same effect as 652...

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antennahead

I am going to have to check this stuff out

__________________
Time is a companion, who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment............ because it will never come again

dudafunk

Any consensus over here? I discovered I have the same problem from my sprinklers - I have no option but to park there. So after I get rid of this "somehow", then I need to make sure there;s a regular coat of wax which will make iteasy to remove the spots in the future right?

Again, the thing is, the sprinklers are going to mess it up every night.

kenchan

yah, good coat of polymer sealant will help get the stains off easier next time you wash.

for you, you may want to keep applying spray as your dry type waxes/sealants after each wash such as Prima Hydro. you can get it from amazon.

dudafunk

But what should I use to remove them... I see people talk about two separate methods and not a lot of threads discussing this.. is this like a generic well accepted standard?

Damn I wish I had a garage now, I didn't realize this would be such an issue, I don't see the spots on my house mate's cars, the paint on the Z must be inferior..

kenchan

you want to start with the least abrasive option which is clay, but use the Griot's yellow clay (aka mud). ive tried Meguiar's soft blue clay and it scratched the nissan paint. no issue for me cause i have a random orbital and different polishes in my detailing cart,

if that doesn't work you can try mild polishes such as ScratchX on a foam pad. you'll need to put some elbow grease into it unless you have a random orbital. if that doesn't work ideally you want to try a firmer pad before switching polishes, but you can go to a slightly more coarse polish such as Griot's Polish3 or Prima Swirl using the same pad.

work the product in a circular motion until it is dry to the touch. there are diminishing abrasives in there so you need to make sure you work it in until all the abrasives are ground up nicely. wipe off with some quick detailer spray, inspect, redo as needed.

wax afterwards cause clay and polishes will remove wax/sealants.

dudafunk

Hey kenchan, honestly thats going a little over my head. Can I just try vinegar and water?
Someone told me to try (guy from Autozone) dishwasher soap and water, and I tried that on a little corner, it seemed to work but I had to wipe REAL HARD for them to go.

kenchan

dont wipe anything REAL HARD on the nissan paint cause you will end up with damage to the paint. especially if you are wiping back and forth it will generate heat and cause permanent damage depending how deep the damage is.

vinegar and water does work. you will have to douce a towel and keep it on the paint for good 5min. keep spraying water over the towel so the vinegar does not evaporate....but it's A LOT of waiting... and it stinks.

dudafunk

Wouldn't the stink go away if I put regular car wash soap on it after? I guess it is supposed to have a nicer smell?

Or should I just go to a detailer - I'm just worried because they may not know that the paint on the 370z is much sensitive than other cars they're used to working on..

kenchan

yah, washing off the vinegar will definitely help. it gets into the seams and into the doors and channels so this is why the smell remains. since you dd your car im sure it will go away faster though.

try that first and if it still doesnt come off consult a local detailer.