Water spots on Wolfgang Uber ceramic- how to remove?

[DetailDrivenEugene]

I did a paint correction and ceramic coating on an 03 ebony pearl Audi RS6 in December. Client called today stating he had washed the car, gotten sidetracked, and let the water dry on the car.

i went out today to inspect it. WG Detail spritz had no effect. Tried some Fuzion wax, knowing it can be applied over Uber ceramic, still no luck. I did a test spot with WG finishing glaze.......melted the spots with very little effort.

my question is, is this method safe for the coating, or is there something else that would work better? I tried to stick with
the least aggressive approach, and the glaze says it is water based, so hopefully I’m on the right track.

Thanks,
Bobby

[Rsurfer]

Try some white vinegar.

[DetailDrivenEugene]

Try some white vinegar.

Will this effect the coating?

[Rsurfer]

Will this effect the coating?

Do a test spot first.

[FrankS]

How did you apply the WG Finishing Glaze?

[DetailDrivenEugene]

How did you apply the WG Finishing Glaze?

By hand, using a soft microfiber towel. It really didn’t take a lot of pressure or rubbing.

[Rsurfer]

By hand, using a soft microfiber towel. It really didn’t take a lot of pressure or rubbing.

Although it's called a glaze, it's really a finishing polish with fine abrasives which will remove the coating.

[FrankS]

Although it's called a glaze, it's really a finishing polish with fine abrasives which will remove the coating.

As Rsurfer mentioned, it is a finishing polish with fine abrasives.

It's hard to say whether all of the coating was removed. A firm polishing with a polishing machine would mostly likely remove that coating. Some pro-grade coatings need to be sanded off but WG Uber is not one of those.

Since you did it without of lot of pressure, you most likely removed some of the coating, the top portion, but it's hard to say. A lot of variables are involved, such as how thick the coating was applied, etc.

Even if you go the chemical route, like a water spot remover, or vinegar as Rsurfer mentioned, it will affect the coating somewhat. You can inform the customer that the coating should be reapplied to be on the safe side.

I think those are things that need to be mentioned to the customer when applying a coating...that it needs to be maintained properly and it's not a once and done type of thing. I'm guilty of that in the past, and now try to make it clear to the customer the maintenance commitment involved.

[DetailDrivenEugene]

As Rsurfer mentioned, it is a finishing polish with fine abrasives.

It's hard to say whether all of the coating was removed. A firm polishing with a polishing machine would mostly likely remove that coating. Some pro-grade coatings need to be sanded off but WG Uber is not one of those.

Since you did it without of lot of pressure, you most likely removed some of the coating, the top portion, but it's hard to say. A lot of variables are involved, such as how thick the coating was applied, etc.

Even if you go the chemical route, like a water spot remover, or vinegar as Rsurfer mentioned, it will affect the coating somewhat. You can inform the customer that the coating should be reapplied to be on the safe side.

I think those are things that need to be mentioned to the customer when applying a coating...that it needs to be maintained properly and it's not a once and done type of thing. I'm guilty of that in the past, and now try to make it clear to the customer the maintenance commitment involved.

I am always very clear about the aftercare with the customers. This guy knows he dropped the ball. I’m just trying to find the best way to fix it for him. I appreciate all the input.
Others are welcome to chime in as well.

[FrankS]

I am always very clear about the aftercare with the customers. This guy knows he dropped the ball. I’m just trying to find the best way to fix it for him. I appreciate all the input.
Others are welcome to chime in as well.

Good to hear you're clear about the aftercare with your customers, didn't mean to imply that you didn't, just sharing my thoughts.

I would say the least aggressive method to fix the problem would be to use a water spot remover (or vinegar) and see if that works. It may affect some of the hydrophobic properties of the coating but at least it won't be removed.

You can always top it with a wax or sealant afterward to give it added protection.

[DetailDrivenEugene]

I dont have any dedicated water spot removers on hand, other than one that would definitely remove the coating. Any suggestions on that would be much appreciated. I will try the vinegar, and if that does the trick, top with Fuzion. If not, I will see which direction he wants to
Go with it.
Can’t get back at the car till Monday. So I will keep
Checking this thread over the weekend, and update it after I get back to
The car.

I even offered to let this customer come back and wash the car here with me the first time to see exactly how I do it (as I do with
All my clients that opt for ceramic) He declined.

[SWETM]

For the future have a water spot remover in your arsenal. Coatings are very chemical resistant and I don't think that the uber coating is different in that way. What coatings are sensitive to is abrasive and abrading and high ph level alkaline products with ph level above 11-12. So water spot remover from gyeon and carpro is made for deal with it on coatings. Then it's depends on how long the water spots gets baked in the coating. The sooner you better dealed with and they should come off. White vinegar can work also to get them if done in close of time when they got there.

In the situation you are in now test a water spot remover and if that does not gets them I think a polish and reapply a coating is needed. It can be solved with carpro essence plus and their glosspad they recommend to use if you get the water spots off. But it can also work with a more coarse pad if the water spots remains. This does with a more coarse pad that the longevity of it degrades more than it would with the glosspad. Up to a year you can get essence plus to extend the longevity of it. But real world maybe is 6 months and up. Then you have the option to apply a top coating like carpro Gliss or gyeon Booster or gtechnic exo v3. The easiest whould be gyeon Can Coat which has about 6 months longevity and the top coating is up to a year. This is some coating like options to get it sorted out with.

[Ebg18t]

I’ve got 2 cars here coated with the WGUC, I purchased a bottle of McKee’s 37 FAST Water Spot Remover to use to take the water spots off. I asked Nick about it a year ago and that is what he suggested. It removed the spots I have had, but it’s hard to know if your spots are worse. After I washed the car I treated it with M37 Si02. Been holding up well. It’s been almost 2yrs since the WGUC was applied.


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