Water Spots

Hey all - quick question: remove the water spots before paint correction or just buff them off and save yourself the extra step?

Decontaminate the paint and polish them off.
Polishing is about the only way to get them gone.

Since I buy used, I don't go gonzo trying to get every crater there is vanquished.
Good luck, stay calm.

I don't understand. Wouldn't you be polishing as the part of the first stages of a full paint correction anyway? What step are you skipping?

It depends.Black car with bad water spotting and you want perfection out of it? Definitely start with a chemical remover to get it under control.

A light colored car with minimal spotting? You could move to compound after clay and iron remover. Just be sure you clean/change pads often enough.

Anything on the paint is going into the pad and will get dragged around onto the paint. So it’s up to you if you want to take the time to remove it from the pad, or want to decon before, so it’s not there to begin with.

Well I washed my G80 (BSM) this weekend and it waa full of water spots. I had remover in the arsenal so I used it on the hood. Took them right off. My question is do I do that before paint correction? I clayed the paint which I definitely would do before putting a machine on it. Do the spots leave enough mineral deposits to be worried about getting in the polish causing micro scratches?

JerseyM3 wrote

Well I washed my G80 (BSM) this weekend and it was full of water spots. I had remover in the arsenal so I used it on the hood. Took them right off.

What spot remover did you have luck with? Thanks!

John in VA wrote

What spot remover did you have luck with? Thanks!

Chemical Guys. Its a gel. Worked great. The hood (or bonnet for those English blokes) was horrible. Between the clay and spot remover the hood looks brand new.

JerseyM3 wrote

Well I washed my G80 (BSM) this weekend and it waa full of water spots. I had remover in the arsenal so I used it on the hood. Took them right off. My question is do I do that before paint correction? I clayed the paint which I definitely would do before putting a machine on it. Do the spots leave enough mineral deposits to be worried about getting in the polish causing micro scratches?

Typically, no. If you clean or change the pad, it’ll be fine. But on a black car, it’s possible with bad water spots. It would most likely show up as hologram artifacts that you’d need another step to remove.

The reality is, it’s solid mineral deposits and black is very unforgiving. But there’s a lot of variability based on the level of water spotting, what you’d consider acceptable for paint imperfection, and what your correction process looks like. It’s not a “yes” or “no” answer.

Some people want perfect paint. The closer you get to perfect, the more noticeable small defects are. Personally, I stick to like 80% of the way to “perfect” which is more than enough for a great looking car. The last 20% or 10% is a lot of work. Haha.

Anyways. If the chemical remover got them, that’s the way to go. Just be sure to rinse it well as it’s acidic.

fiveightandten wrote

Typically, no. If you clean or change the pad, it’ll be fine. But on a black car, it’s possible with bad water spots. It would most likely show up as hologram artifacts that you’d need another step to remove.

The reality is, it’s solid mineral deposits and black is very unforgiving. But there’s a lot of variability based on the level of water spotting, what you’d consider acceptable for paint imperfection, and what your correction process looks like. It’s not a “yes” or “no” answer.

Some people want perfect paint. The closer you get to perfect, the more noticeable small defects are. Personally, I stick to like 80% of the way to “perfect” which is more than enough for a great looking car. The last 20% or 10% is a lot of work. Haha.

Anyways. If the chemical remover got them, that’s the way to go. Just be sure to rinse it well as it’s acidic.

Im an 80% or so kinda guy. My cars live outside and i am on the coast so theres all sorts of weather here. But that said I think ill just remove the water spots with the gel I was using since it was pretty easy to do. I cleaned it off with another pass of the soapy mitt. Just now need to do the rest.
Btw, I used a clay towel and I am amazed at how well it worked. Definitely worth it. You actually feel the paint get smoother as you gently wipe it with the towel. Just make sure you lube the crap out of it. I used iron remover while the paint was wet.

Try mineral deposit remover (from opt) aka mdr, works good. But for sure want to try to decontaminate as much as possible prior to a coating as others have said.

stututum2 wrote

Try mineral deposit remover (from opt) aka mdr, works good. But for sure want to try to decontaminate as much as possible prior to a coating as others have said.

Thanks. The CG spot remover gel worked great. I just needed to use a good amount. I will try it on a wet surface the next time. Probably will disperse it better.

It's probably worth mentioning DO NOT use anything acidic on your wheels if you have CCBs unless you remove the wheels to clean them. Acidic compounds like spot removers and wheel cleaners will damage the rotors and speed delamination.