Water spot removal.

[Toymachine2009]

Well I know water spots get easily baked into paint by sprinklers or rain and what not and if left there are very stubborn to get out. I know of one way to get them out and thats polish. what I was wondering is there a product that can get them out without polishing. Say the car didnt have swirls or scratches just water spots is it still necessary to polish or is there a product for water spots..

[Dubbin1]

Well I know water spots get easily baked into paint by sprinklers or rain and what not and if left there are very stubborn to get out. I know of one way to get them out and thats polish. what I was wondering is there a product that can get them out without polishing. Say the car didnt have swirls or scratches just water spots is it still necessary to polish or is there a product for water spots..

You can try vinegar but it depends on if its etched into the paint or not.

[Toymachine2009]

You can try vinegar but it depends on if its etched into the paint or not.

Then I assume thats the only route to take out spots is polishing if its etched.

[Shane731]

Well, there is this: Duragloss Water Spot Remover (WSR) #505, but I think it will only remove mineral deposits/Type I water spots, not water spots that have actually etched into the paint and/or glass. For those you would have to polish.

[Kurt_s]

CG used to make a water spot remover as well.
I think I read that Xymol HD cleanse removes some water spots and you might find some paint cleaners may remove type I.
Someone mentioned getting some water spots with KAIO in a recent thread.

White vinegar is pretty cheap and readily found in the kitchen, so you can always start there.

I ended up using Megs Ultimate Compound with an orange CCS pad, aftering trying WG TSR and Opt Compound II on etched water spots.

[Mike Phillips]

Well I know water spots get easily baked into paint by sprinklers or rain and what not and if left there are very stubborn to get out.

Correct, actually the combination of water, whatever substances are in the water or on the surface that mixes with the water, and the sun/heat will cause corrosion and the combination of all these things will eat into and etch the paint leaving a below surface crater like this,

Photo Courtesy of MeguiarsOnline.com


Here's a close-up of the same photo, if you look closely you can see the edges are angled downward as this is an actual etching "into" the clear paint.

This may or may not be what you have but this is called a Type II Water Spot and it's the worst kind.


Water Spots - Type I, Type II, Type III
Water Spots are more complex than most people assume because there are different types of water spots. Some water spots are merely mineral deposits on the surface left behind after water with minerals has evaporated off the surface. These deposits can often be washed off the paint using a quality car wash soap. Sometimes these deposits can also leave an imprint in the paint in the perimeter of the spot and in these cases the imprint must be removed using a compound or paint cleaner as it's a defect in the paint, not simply a deposit on the paint. Some sources of water, be it rain with air-borne pollution mixed-in, or sprinkler water from a city water supply or well water, can have corrosive enough elements in it that it will actually eat into or etch the paint leaving a depression or crater in the paint where the water dwelled or dried. This is a Type II water spot and it can only be removed by leveling the surrounding paint by hand or machine with some type of abrasive compound or paint cleaner. Type III Water Spots are primarily a stain in the paint which looks like fading where water pooled and then dwelled for some measure of time. This primarily happens to single stage paints which tend to be more porous and thus will absorb water into itself. If Type III Water Spots are limited to only the upper surface of the paint then they can be removed by abrading the paint by hand or machine with a compound or polish.

Before attempting to remove water spots it is important to first diagnose which type of water spot is affecting your car's paint.

Type I Water Spots
Type I Water Spots are primarily a mineral or dirt deposit laying on the surface of paint. Type I Water Spots can be the results of minerals suspended in city water or well water that are left behind after the water evaporates off the finish. This can happen by washing a car but not drying the water off the paint or if a sprinkler goes off next to the car covering the car with water drop that are not dried off the paint. Type I Water Spots can also be dirt or pollution particles left behind after water from rain or inclement weather evaporates of the finish. Type I Water Spots can also be Type II Water Spots in that the water can leave both a deposit on the surface and an etching in the finish.


Type II Water Spots
Type II Water Spots are actual etchings or craters in the paint because something corrosive in a water source has landed on the paint and was not removed before a portion of the paint was eaten or dissolved by the corrosive substance.

Type III Water Spots
Type III Water Spots are spots that look faded or dull and are found primarily found on single stage paints after a water source lands on and then pools on the paint and is usually left to dwell on the surface for some measure of time before it evaporates or is wiped-off the surface.

How to remove water spots by hand

I know of one way to get them out and thats polish. what I was wondering is there a product that can get them out without polishing. Say the car didn't have swirls or scratches just water spots is it still necessary to polish or is there a product for water spots..

If the water spots are Type I water spots, that is they are a topical deposit, like a mineral deposit, there are products that can break the bond between the particulates and the paint so that the particulates that make up the spot can be wiped off.

Vinegar is commonly tried and sometimes it works.

From memory, and I could be wrong, but I've known guys that have used HF or Hydrofluoric Acid, which is commonly used as a "Chrome Wheel Cleaner", to remove topical water spots off paint by simply wiping the paint, but Hydrofluoric Acid is very dangerous to use and you don't want to get it on your skin or inhale it into your lungs.


In the link I included above, there's some suggestions on how to remove water spots safely, take a look at the article and when you get ready to try to remove the water spots start out by doing some testing or what we call a Test Spot. See if your choice of products and process will remove the water spots in one area and if you're successful then simply duplicate the procedure over the rest of the car.

The key thing is to try to find out how the water spots were caused and then try to find a way to avoid the problem moving into the future.

I helped a guy online once with a similar problem because where he parked his car in a parking garage there was a sprinkler system that was scheduled to run every morning.

The point being that it wouldn't do any good to remove the water spots and then continue to park next to the sprinkler.

[Toymachine2009]

Cool, very informative post on water spots..