sprinkler or hard water on my paint..

darthanakin23

Anyway I can get water spots off my car? Its a black nismo and seems like the water came from running over puddles, etc...I rub but doesn't come off

Seether13

I normally get it off with normal car soap like Meguiars

jaedub

when your car has been expose to harsh sunlight and water gets on your car, its very difficult to remove but its not perminate. Wiping with a wet cloth wont do no good. Cool your car first then work your way with wax/wax spray. It should come off but still might take awhile.

rj45

Removing hard-water spots can be difficult, especially if they dried on a hot surface. A chemical based paint cleaner may not remove the spots, but it's best to try the least aggressive option first. If the paint cleaner doesn't work, you'll need an abrasive polish. I use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, it's a good OTC polish. It can be used safely by hand or machine. You could also try clay, but I doubt it'll remove the spots.

Just make sure you work on a cool surface and keep the polish wet to increase its work time...a little spritz of water is plenty (I use distilled water in a spray bottle). You may need a few applications. Hopefully, the spots will come out or at least be reduced significantly. Then, follow-up with your favorite wax or sealant.

Good luck!

Sandra Dee

you have to use a slightly acidic based cleaner. The minerals in the water have etched into the clear coat. Make sure you wear gloves when you use it. You can ggogle "Majestic SOlutions" and they carry a cleaner for hard water spots that works well. Believe me-I am on well water and learned this the hard way.

kenchan

Claybar is your friend. Use Griot's yellow super soft clay though.

Seether13

ok, seems like the hard water there is a bit rougher than what we are used to here

kenchan

this with disposable gloves (you'll want to use it). unlike the soft blue from meguair's this yellow clay is even softer (SUPER soft) so even on your black it shouldn't damage the finish. i use it all the time on my hobby cars.



Paint Cleaning Clay - Griot's Garage
with any off-the-shelf quick detailer spray or soapy water, or Griot's SpeedShine if you want.

fuct

clay wont take em off.

kenchan

and you are who?

clay will take contaminants off including water spots. if its etched into the paint then polish will work if it only penetrated the clear.

40FlatDeck

He is right, it won't....

Use a half and half mixture of vinegar and water, then follow it with your choice of wax.

kenchan

then that stain was sitting too long. ive removed water stains from our office doing these sprinkler tests in the spring and evacuating the water in the pipes before winter and each time the stains came off off my car. these are stains that would not come off with a regular car wash.

the vinegar and water trick does work, but you need to use at towel, soak it with vinegar and keep spraying solution over it (not to evaporate) and it's takes a long time for the solution to dissolve the stain. if you want to sit there and wait, good for you.

ive been detailing cars for a while and if the clay does not work, i take my mild polishes and random orbital and remove it that way. just faster and more convenient.

WarmAndSCSI

Lots of conflicting information in this thread, so I'll summarize...

If they are light water spots from puddles and the like, they can be removed with a good wash and quick detail. Use a good quality, sudsy soap and a quality microfiber sponge, followed by a good quick detailer spray with a microfiber polishing cloth. That should get rid of those kind of spots.

For bad hard water spots (sprinklers) where the paint has not been exposed to the sun for too long - where the water spots are just stubborn, crusty surface deposits - use a mixture of distilled vinegar and water on a sponge, or straight distilled vinegar after quickly washing the car. Wash as normal after that. Clay-baring will also remove these kind of water spots, but really isn't necessary.

For really bad water spots where there are still halos left after trying a basic wash, it will take some serious effort. These kind of spots only form if you allow hard water spots to evaporate on your car in the hot sun, and then leave the car exposed to sunlight for an extended period of time with the hard water spots still present - the clearcoat becomes physically etched by the sun exposure/baking action. You'll need to do a proper wash, clay bar, and then follow up with a medium-cut or stronger compound applied by hand or DA polisher. You can try a test area with a lighter compound or a non-abrasive paint cleaner, but I can almost guarantee it will not take the water spot halos out.

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kenchan

you're like a magazine spec racer compiling wat people said. jk

WarmAndSCSI

lol!

I saw good advice in the thread, just a bit confusing. I threw in my own personal $0.02 since I've had the bane of removing stupid water spots from the nicer cars sitting in the driveway after having had a garage full of broken cars and junk up until recently... In fact, I need to hit the Z with a more abrasive compound to get rid of some minor waterspot haloing that is still there.

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