G35 with TERRIBLE water etching. Advice?

[ZXERT]

2004 G35 coupe 6mt(various mods) TWILIGHT BLUE(very dark blue with metallic flakes)

I've been getting back into caring about my car after a period of having very low funds. I've always washed and dried often and safely.(dual wash mitts, two buckets of water, dry with mf towels, zaino products)

But two nights in a row I had the sprinklers spray my car and didn't do anything to remove the dried spots. The water here must be HARD because it left some terrible etching all over 3/4 of the car.

Heres what I've tried:

Wash Zaino Z-7
Clay w/ Zaino Z-18
Wax Megs Carnauba Wax

When that didn't work I heard about trying vinegar to remove the spots. I used a spray bottle with some dawn and cleared a test area. Then I soaked a rag in vinegar and layed it out on the test area for 30 minutes. I came back to the paint looking exactly the same way it did before I washed it. Crap.

So my question is that I most likely will be buying a PC. But I don't want to over spend on stuff I don't need. I just want the bare essentials to do the job and in December I will order some products and start to detail.

Can you recommend any products or methods(with the pc) specific to my g35s paint system and its issues?

Thanks for your help guys.

[robb01]

Youll probably have to use a polish

[Smokin]

Poli-seal may work.Depending on how severe the etching is.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

sell it .. (just a joke)

vinegar ---- polishing --- wetsanding

normally these are the steps to try and remove waterspots and like the etching from minerals in it.

[Emile]

Hey dude I have a G35 Coupe (Black) also so I know how sensitive the paint can be. Why not just purchase a few products and try to buff the water spots out by hand before diving in for a Porter Cable?

P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion seems like a nice thing to try.

[builthatch]

water spots. my wife's Si is very sensitive to anything on its soft and weak clear w/o protection. it needed to be compounded with more than what a DA can do to eliminate the problems it had, but it was left alone for quite some time because i didn't know how long she'd keep this one. After it seemed like she'd keep it, when i went to clean it up i was so surprised at how much damage it had amassed in what was really not that much time.

if i were you, i'd clay it and see what happens. seems like they are so recent i can't believe two days would terribly etch it, but i may be wrong. if that doesn't work, well, either way, to get it back to what it should be (a fresh, clean pallet) you might want to try optimum compound with atleast an orange pad, and then finish with a lighter pad and optimum polish so you can top as wanted or as someone said, poli-seal to totally finish it up.

[ronin]

Originally Posted by builthatch

water spots. my wife's Si is very sensitive to anything on its soft and weak clear w/o protection. it needed to be compounded with more than what a DA can do to eliminate the problems it had, but it was left alone for quite some time because i didn't know how long she'd keep this one. After it seemed like she'd keep it, when i went to clean it up i was so surprised at how much damage it had amassed in what was really not that much time.

if i were you, i'd clay it and see what happens. seems like they are so recent i can't believe two days would terribly etch it, but i may be wrong. if that doesn't work, well, either way, to get it back to what it should be (a fresh, clean pallet) you might want to try optimum compound with atleast an orange pad, and then finish with a lighter pad and optimum polish so you can top as wanted or as someone said, poli-seal to totally finish it up.

So Builthatch what needed to be done with the SI? I am in a similar situation and having been stood up by two mobile detailers. I was considering giving it a go myself with my Porter Cable 7424. Using the Meguiars #80, #105, Polishing pad, and the w7207 cutting pad made for DA polishers.

I also own a SI.

[ZXERT]

I'm pretty set on buying a PC honestly. Theres too big of a need for it. In my family and friends alone there are atleast 12 cars that need actual buffing.

I'm looking at buying a pc now and next month buying a kit for it.

[builthatch]

Originally Posted by ZXERT

I'm pretty set on buying a PC honestly. Theres too big of a need for it. In my family and friends alone there are atleast 12 cars that need actual buffing.

I'm looking at buying a pc now and next month buying a kit for it.

yeah, i dont see a reason anyone on this forum should not have atleast a PC, and, like you said- you'll DEF get your money out of it.

R0nin...i actually was able to get good results with an orange pad and optimum compound, but dude, it took FOREVER!!!!! yeah, maybe a more aggro yellow or wool pad would have helped some, but not enough to keep me sitting there with the DA, i could not take it, the damage was just so massive and all over the place. and i was spending literally hours with very slow results. I decided to take it in to hit it with a high speed, wool pad and Ardex cut white. took minutes. keep in mind i let this thing get real bad, so you might have better results with a DA, but man, this one was bad! just be careful because the honda clear is SO thin, as are most modern cars, but it's uber soft.

[cdeftekar]

I just worked on this 2008 G35 over the weekend. It has not been cared for at all since it was bought about 6 months ago. I doubt it's ever had any wax on it.

Anyway, I came across these spots and was unable to remove them.
I tried Wolfgang TSR with an orange then yellow pad (5.5"), and the M105 with a yellow pad. No luck.

Any advise? The rest of the swirls and scratches came out for the most part, but these spots (on all the horizontal surfaces) would not come out. Bird bombs and or water etching?