MEGUIRES COMPOUND VS 303 COMPOUND VS CHEM GUYS WATER SPOT REMOVER

[ctfshjohn7]

MEGUIRES COMPOUND VS 303 COMPOUND VS CHEM GUYS WATER SPOT REMOVER


i have some water spots ( etching ) i notice once i park it in a garage with over head lighting.

i believe i may have sealed them in with the last wax / graphene.

i need to remove the layer of protectant i believe before i use the chemical guys water spot remover.

so i have questions

1. which compound is lighter in abrasion of the 2 i have ?

2. hoping this process with a compound will remove the spots , and i wont need the chem guys water spot remover ,
is this wishful thinking ??
any advice or thoughts??

3. have you used the chem guys water spot remover ?
i have water spot etching on the silver plastic trim as well, and am reluctant to use anything on those areas , other than polish / wax and that doesn't seem to be removing the etching spots.
also skeptical about using it due to people telling me subaru has " soft paint ".

2019 subaru- crimson red pearl paint btw.
just purchased a year ago and don't believe prior owner was critical of the vehicle surfaces like i am.

thank you in advance for any help on the situation, it is appreciated.

[Mike Phillips]

Just to update...


Hi ctfshjohn7,

It's Monday morning, I'm going through new pending accounts to approve real human being and remove spammers.

There's also a place in the Admin Panel to review "Moderated" threads and posts. For some reason, your thread, (this thread I'm typing in), was flagged. I don't see anything in your post that would cause it to be flagged so apologies for the "Ghost in the Machine".

I've approved this thread so now the rest of the forum members can see it and reply to it.


Also - since this is your first post...

Welcome to AutogeekOnline!

[ctfshjohn7]

thanks
i had another first post about the #s on the bad batch of graphene, and video about it to alert other users.
so technically this should be my second post. but no one is keeping score here .
your help is appreciated , again thank you

[Mike Phillips]

1. which compound is lighter in abrasion of the 2 i have ?

I've used both of these compounds and from expereince I would say the Meguiar's compound is the less aggressive or less abrasive choice. It's not actually about how aggressive the two products are because they're probably close to the same, but assuming you're talking about Meguiar's ULTIMATE Compound, (you were not specific and I HATE to assume but what can a guy do?), but if you are talking about the Megs Ultimate or even any of the other modern compounds they all use SMAT and SMAT is simply a very safe form of abrasive technology. I have know idea what 303 uses in their compounds and polishes but I've used them and they are good too.

2. hoping this process with a compound will remove the spots , and i wont need the chem guys water spot remover ,
is this wishful thinking ??
any advice or thoughts??

There's 4 types of water spots. Any type of water spot that has physically ETCED the paint will require abrading of the surface. I see all kinds of experts tell others that etchings in car paint can be removed with liquid water spot removers but this just tells me their knowledge and experience level.

So "yes" if the compound removes or levels the paint so the spots, etchings or IMPRINT RINGS visually disappear, then you won't need the water spot remover. Just polish and seal.

3. have you used the chem guys water spot remover ?

No. But most liquid water spot removers that I've tried have never worked as good as we all hope for.

i have water spot etching on the silver plastic trim as well, and am reluctant to use anything on those areas , other than polish / wax and that doesn't seem to be removing the etching spots.
also skeptical about using it due to people telling me subaru has " soft paint ".

Just guessing here but when you say SILVER PLASTIC TRIM - is this actually ANODIZED ALUMINUM TRIM?

I don't work on Suburus much so not super familiar with the type of material used for exterior trim. I will say that most cars that have a "silver" looking trim that runs around the side windows- it's anodized aluminum. I've fixed the water spotting on this type of material a bunch of times the last few years but it's always been with the RUPES Nano, which is about $500.00 to get into a LONG neck version with the rotary function drive unit. With the Nano I use a 1" microfiber pad and a quality one-step and seems to work every time. Real pain in the but though.

This is also why I no longer use iron removers on cars with anodized anything. Also I strongly recommend to people to NOT take cars with anodized aluminum trim through TOUCHLESS car washes. Both of these things in my experience lead to STAINED/SPOTTED anodized trim. Both the silver and the black.

2019 subaru- crimson red pearl paint btw.

just purchased a year ago and don't believe prior owner was critical of the vehicle surfaces like i am.

thank you in advance for any help on the situation, it is appreciated.

Did you get a good deal?

[ctfshjohn7]

thanks Mike

yep its meguires ultimate, red car on label.

ANODIZED ALUMINUM TRIM is what its, if thats what youre calling it, thanks for setting me straight .

when you say one step, what product(s) would be available for me locally to try on this aluminum area , and can i just use my hand ?
i have meguires polish here but did not want to apply the compound to that area.
i have a guy that might let me borrow some buffing tools nearby if i need to .

I NEVER GO THRU ANY KIND OF CAR WASH, BTW.

NEVER .

yes, i was satisfied with my deal, 6100 mile on the car was in service for 16 months, no accidents, 1 owner and was serviced at the dealership they gave me records.
carfax checked out and driving well today.

appreciate your help,
thank you again

[Mike Phillips]

thanks Mike

yep its meguires ultimate, red car on label.

I a tick familiar with the red car.

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound History


Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and SwirlX

ANODIZED ALUMINUM TRIM is what its, if thats what youre calling it, thanks for setting me straight .

It's a horrible choice of materials for the outside of a car. In the old days we had bare aluminum, stainless steel and nickel and you could polish all three of these metals and bring them back to life. We also had chrome, cant take scratches out of chrome but you can clean, polish and protect it.

With anodizing, I've only found one way to fix it - ever. And I've been doing this a long time.

when you say one step, what product(s) would be available for me locally to try on this aluminum area , and can i just use my hand ?

I've only ever fixed spotted anodized aluminum (silver) trim with this combo,

Nano long neck in rotary mode
1" Microfiber pad
BLACKFIRE One Step

And to polish the trim on the outside of a passenger car, (both sides), with the above combo took 2 hours each time I've done it.

I've tried other combos by machine and other machines, but had zero luck.

I have fixed it by hand using a patch of cotton terrycloth and the BLACKIRE One Step but it takes a lot of hard rubbing and more time than doing it by machine. This is because compared to a machine - the human is wimpy.

Yes, i was satisfied with my deal, 6100 mile on the car was in service for 16 months, no accidents, 1 owner and was serviced at the dealership they gave me records.
carfax checked out and driving well today.

Good to hear. To date, when I ask someone that buys a car used if they got a good deal? I've never once had a person answer "no". Sometimes part of the "good deal" is water spots and stained anodized trim.

appreciate your help,
thank you again

Wish I had better info. The water spots in paint can be fixed because you can abrade and level car paint. Anodized aluminum trim? This is a unique surface that simply doesn't lend itself well to polishing.