Polishing a Ceramic Coated Car- Pearl Nano

[JKL1031]

Hello everyone,

My fairly expensive Pearl Nano coating just got shat on by sprinkler water. Tried vinegar water and chemical guys water spot remover with no luck besides killing the water beading(and possibly the coating) in the test spot. I was told that ceramics can break down and become abrasive if you polish them? looking for advice to do it myself with HF polisher, foam pads, and Wolfgang Swirl Remover or Uber if needed.

I have done 2 cars in the past before, but this time around I no longer had access to a garage and had it professionally done. You wont find much on this proprietary product. Is it any good? Will be reapplying Gtech G2 ceraimic. Only plan to do the vertical surfaces honestly..

Looking for advice! Thanks.

P.S I'm also on watch as it seems some of the spots are curing to a degree. Picture below was under flourescent light. Sunlight doesnt show as bad. will post another picture in this same lighting soon.

[The Guz]

Test spot with a polish and re-coat.

[JKL1031]

True..

[Coatingsarecrack]

Kamikaze and Car pros both make waterspot removers that are suppose to be coating safe. Maybe look into one of those before polishing and re applying


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[Mike Phillips]

[QUOTE=JKL1031;1668200]

Hello everyone,

My fairly expensive Pearl Nano coating just got shat on by sprinkler water.

Tried vinegar water and chemical guys water spot remover with no luck besides killing the water beading(and possibly the coating) in the test spot.

[/quoate]


And here's what I say every time a post like this appears....


What's in the water?

Makes you think huh? What is so corrosive in the water to cause this type of problem. Most people focus on the problem, I focus on the root cause. I hope moving forward you won't have to deal with this sprinkler in this area where you parked your car or you'll simply have the problem again.

I cropped out the meaty part of your picture and uploaded it into your free gallery here on AGO


Look closely at these spots and ask yourself, what is the material or substance on the coating?




I don't think we should be drinking this stuff whatever it is....

I was told that ceramics can break down and become abrasive if you polish them?

I guess that's possible, if it's true we're all screwed every time any of us abrade/polish a ceramic coated car to remove the coating.

I don't think it's a real problem. If it was, then we would probably have the same problem simply abrading/polishing PAINT - as the paint particles coming off the car would then scour the paint.

That said, anytime you're polishing paint it's a good practice to change pads often and/or clean your pads. Here's one of my articles on this topic long before anyone talked about residue control.


From 2010

Why it's important to clean your pads often...


From 2014

Tip: Clean your pads often!

looking for advice to do it myself with HF polisher, foam pads, and Wolfgang Swirl Remover or Uber if needed.

My guess is this is what you're going to have to do. Be sure to mark your backing plate to make sure your pad is rotating. I've only used the HF poliser once and I had a difficult time maintaining pad rotation even on the highest speed setting.

How to Monitor Pad Rotation? Mark Your Buffing Pads


Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation



[QUOTE=JKL1031;1668200]

I have done 2 cars in the past before, but this time around I no longer had access to a garage and had it professionally done. You wont find much on this proprietary product. Is it any good? Will be reapplying Gtech G2 ceraimic. Only plan to do the vertical surfaces honestly..


I've never heard of Pearl Nano myself?

I get asked a LOT about which brand of coating to use, I should write an article on the topic but here's my forever answer.

Choose an established brand you trust.


Every time I turn-around there's a new coating on the market, everyone is trying to cash in on the masses. If you already have a brand of compounds and polishes you like and trust, see of that company also has a ceramic coating.

GTechniq makes great product by the way. I'm a huge fan of the C5 Wheel Armor.

Looking for advice! Thanks.

I tested most of the "liquid" water spot removers on the market a few years ago. One of my observations was the ONLY one where I saw a REAL chemical reaction that is the spots I was testing on to remove, was the Optimum Polymer Technologies MDR or Mineral Deposit Remover


Optimum MDR Mineral Deposit Remover 8 oz


I would trust anything from the laboratory where Dr. David Ghoudussi works. He's the real deal as far as chemists go.


Dr. David Ghodoussi - PhD Organic chemist








If you get some OPT MDR and it doesn't work then the next step would be to polish the paint and re-coat.


And this is why sometimes I more of a fan of a GREAT one-step cleaner/wax.

Why?

If you run into problems like you're experiencing, the fix is complicated. If you run into any problems where all you've used is a one-step cleaner/wax, then the fix is easy, simply re-polish with the one-step cleaner/wax.

[Mike Phillips]

Also....


Using Vinegar to remove water spots ONLY works for one type of water spot and that is dissolved calcium minerals ON the surface of the paint.

I see a LOT of EXPERTS for years on Social Media pony up to the table and share this little tidbit of expert wisdom and in most cases they are simply regurgitating what they read somewhere else and what they read was inaccurate, the cycle continues....


Here's my article on this topic. It's from 2012 so the products pictures may or may not still be around but that's not the focus of the article, the focus of the article is the chemistry involved with vinegar and why it's so limited in removing water spots.


Using Vinegar to remove water spots


Water Spots

[JKL1031]

Thanks Mike, answered all the questions! The coating becoming abrasive was the biggest one. I will look into the Optimum MD4!

[The Guz]

Let us know if MDR works. It works best of the spots are fresh. If the water spot remover you have didn't work then I suspect that MDR won't work. If I recall correctly, MDR will help remove the mineral rings so they don't come back when the spots are polished off. How long have the spots been on the car?

[Thomkirby]

I had a similar problem on my truck and used the 3D Eraser Water Spot Remover 3D Eraser Water Spot Remover and it did the job. Sadly all the spotting came from rain while on a trip. Took a few days to use the product but was easier than doing a polish.

Try watching a video from the Rag Company on the subject. Very good information, especially if you hard water to contend with in your area. In it they use the MDR as Mike Phillips suggests as one option.
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