Wolfgang paint sealant why have you forsaken me?

[madbomber08]

Wow, guys, thanks for all the responses I really appreciate the feedback. To answer a few questions, no, I have not washed it yet but just licking my finger and trying to scrub through the spots does not remove them. Yes, during the rainstorm storm it was parked under a tree because I thought it'd hail, although it never did. I'll wash it tomorrow or the next day and report back with some pics. I have my doubts whether they'll completely come out just by washing.

To put this into perspective, this is a 1997 Toyota 4runner and the paint was beginning to fade on the roof. So I bought the three products and borrowed my friends 10" buffer (it was a monster and pain to work with) but I wanted to try and get the oxidized spot on the roof shined up a bit. But mainly I wanted the sealant to protect the roof from future damage.

If washing it doesn't work, I will most likely start the process over and do it right this time with the Porter Cable 7424XP. I didn't want to spend that much for a 15 year old vehicle but desperate times....

[madbomber08]

Just to clarify, does anyone think this product is just crap? I'm hoping it's just user error on my part.

In order I washed, clayed, Swirl remover, sealant.

[bl3ujay07]

Just to clarify, does anyone think this product is just crap? I'm hoping it's just user error on my part.

Applied one layer of WGDGPS on a white 08 crv couple months back now. Still holding on pretty strong although i do wash it frequently and always use a spray wax. Loving the WGDGPS so far!

[magna_power]

I'm now to this but I do understand the science side pretty well. Nothing stops rain spots. After it stops raining there will be water drops on you car, nicely beaded if you've waxed it. When the water evaporates it leaves behind any minerals that are in the water. A good sealant will stop these minerals from eating into your paint, making them easier to remove (ie, wash your car). Hope this helps.

[Jaretr1]

Ok, the problem might be a few issues. If you were using a 10" buffer, you probably werent really getting the abrasives in the polish to break down and effectively do what it needed to do. Therefore, my guess is the paint is still in far from perfect condition. Those giant polishers are more for spreading wax than any effective correction work.

Secondly you parked under a tree. So as it was raining, the rain was washing all the stuff that the tree has been collecting off and onto whatever was underneath it (your car).

If you are trying just to get some of the oxidized paint off and get it somewhat shinyer, you might want to just try a cleaner wax. One step, ok results, and you are done.

When it rains, and my car is not underneath anything, it does dry relatively clean. There will always be some water spots, but they usually come right off (regardless of whats on top of my paint). WGDGPS I do believe has a longer curing time than most sealants, so its also possible it had not completely cured in 12 hours, especially in high humidity.

More often than not, its more about the process than the products themselves, and perhaps you arent using the right products and process to achieve the results you are hoping for.

[Vegas Transplant]

Just to clarify,(1) does anyone think this product is just crap? I'm hoping it's (2) just user error on my part.

In order I washed, clayed, Swirl remover, sealant.

Neither of the two, IMHO hand.
However, the sooner they are removed, the lesser the damage, if any.

[Gav'sPurpleZ]

i use wg sealant on my camaro...it sits in the garage....last wash of last season was in lat october or early november...2 bucket wash with griots car wash, 2 bucket method, dried with leaf blower and wiped dry with griots speed shine. sat in the garage without a cover....lots of dust and film....i got the rear bumper wet last week while washing my truck and did not have anything close to the water spots you did.

washed the camaro this passed weekend with the same method as above....not water spots.

not sure what gives.

[madbomber08]

Ok, the problem might be a few issues. If you were using a 10" buffer, you probably werent really getting the abrasives in the polish to break down and effectively do what it needed to do. Therefore, my guess is the paint is still in far from perfect condition. Those giant polishers are more for spreading wax than any effective correction work.

Secondly you parked under a tree. So as it was raining, the rain was washing all the stuff that the tree has been collecting off and onto whatever was underneath it (your car).

If you are trying just to get some of the oxidized paint off and get it somewhat shinyer, you might want to just try a cleaner wax. One step, ok results, and you are done.

When it rains, and my car is not underneath anything, it does dry relatively clean. There will always be some water spots, but they usually come right off (regardless of whats on top of my paint). WGDGPS I do believe has a longer curing time than most sealants, so its also possible it had not completely cured in 12 hours, especially in high humidity.

More often than not, its more about the process than the products themselves, and perhaps you arent using the right products and process to achieve the results you are hoping for.


It was a 10" buffer but it was an orbital/oscillating buffer. My friend's dad bought it for his boat :bash:. I used a foam bonnet to distribute the swirl remover. As for the oxidized paint, it not necessarily oxidized, the clear coat is just gone and the paint is starting to fade. I'm pretty sure that the paint is already damaged permanently and just want to stop it from getting worse(although I'm no expert, obviously - lol). It lived in Arizona and Colorado for 10 years of its life so the paint is not the best.

One thing I did not mention is I used a microfiber applicating pad to distribute the sealant. Autogeek said to use a foam applicator, but I didn't order one online and I could find a single thing like it in any auto parts store. I was half tempted to use a sponge but I didn't.

[SRTSean]

I'm now to this but I do understand the science side pretty well. Nothing stops rain spots. After it stops raining there will be water drops on you car, nicely beaded if you've waxed it. When the water evaporates it leaves behind any minerals that are in the water. A good sealant will stop these minerals from eating into your paint, making them easier to remove (ie, wash your car). Hope this helps.

Agree 100%. The sealant has nothing to do with there being water spots. Water spots will always form when water droplets form on paint, collect dust/dirt/etc, and then dry.

[bl3ujay07]

As for the oxidized paint, it not necessarily oxidized, the clear coat is just gone and the paint is starting to fade. I'm pretty sure that the paint is already damaged permanently and just want to stop it from getting worse(although I'm no expert, obviously - lol). It lived in Arizona and Colorado for 10 years of its life so the paint is not the best.

That there, is the problem. Sealant is not an alternative to a clear coat. No clear coat, wax and sealants wont bond to just paint.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[magna_power]

At risk of sounding very stupid here, isn't clear coat "just paint"? Just without the colour....

[flyinion]

2 problems going on here. First, if the clear coat is shot, then yeah nothing short of a re-paint is really going to help it. Second is that the 10" buffer is just a wax spreader. It's just not capable of actually polishing the surface and getting it ready for sealant. This explains why your roof shot that you said you used the swirl remover on still looks completely swirled. If your clear coat is NOT shot and is instead just oxidized (i.e. you haven't had it peel off), then you should look into getting a true DA polisher like the Porter Cable, Meguiars, or Griot's, and some foam cutting/polishing/finishing pads.

[madbomber08]

2 problems going on here. First, if the clear coat is shot, then yeah nothing short of a re-paint is really going to help it. Second is that the 10" buffer is just a wax spreader. It's just not capable of actually polishing the surface and getting it ready for sealant. This explains why your roof shot that you said you used the swirl remover on still looks completely swirled. If your clear coat is NOT shot and is instead just oxidized (i.e. you haven't had it peel off), then you should look into getting a true DA polisher like the Porter Cable, Meguiars, or Griot's, and some foam cutting/polishing/finishing pads.

I'm thorougly confused. To be quite honest I don't know whether it's oxidized or the clear coat is fading away on the roof, it has never peeled off. And that still doesn't explain the water spots on the hood, the hood paint is less then a year old.

[flyinion]

I'm thorougly confused. To be quite honest I don't know whether it's oxidized or the clear coat is fading away on the roof, it has never peeled off. And that still doesn't explain the water spots on the hood, the hood paint is less then a year old.

If it hasn't peeled off, then you still have clearcoat, though the color underneath might be a bit faded from UV or just look like it from oxidation. As far as water spots on the hood with new paint, again it could be the paint isn't prepped because of the buffer issue, or (and this is just an enthusiast's guess from what I've read from the pro's around here) maybe the paint job was poor? Anyway, here's a couple examples of what a proper DA polisher can do with just one round of wolfgang swirl remover on an orange cutting pad. It's the hood of my Dad's 2004 F150 that I polished last year. Note how oxidized it was and then the black is brought out and the reflection of the light looks sharper. The water spots in this case were etched into the hood though. The second pic is another angle that shows the oxidized vs. polished better.

http://www.metallic-raven.com/f150oxidized.jpg
http://www.metallic-raven.com/f150oxidized2.jpg

[TornadoRed]

I still say those water spots were there before the WGDGPS was applied. They are not the size and shape of spots on a new LSP. And since we now know that a wax spreader was used instead if a proper machine, existing spots would not have been removed.
I think one way to test would be to get the car wet again. If the water beads differently than the spots, the spots were not just created but have been there the whole time. Also just because the paint on the hood is only a year old doesn't mean it can't have spots.