Stubborn water spotting with CSL...too late for exo or will it even help?

**JCDetails** · 05-29-2018, 07:35 PM

So I got a call from my father in a minor panic over the jag. He’s taking it to have PPF done tomorrow at 9am and after rinsing it and wiping it down with ONR QD like I told him, he found a bunch of very stubborn, dark water spots.

Aside from my instinct that he’s not 100% following my directions as to towels etc, I believe the main culprit was a pollen covered car out in the rain then remaining out in the sun with more pollen coming down.

The car has CSL on it topped with C2v3 which was probably gone after a few touchless washes.

So, the question is other than garaging the thing, is there something I or he could do besides daily washing to help prevent it?

I’ve been regretting not going with exo on top of the CSL since I originally coated it. Now almost a month on, can I even add exo over top of the cured CSL or is it too late? And would it even make a difference?

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**SWETM** · 05-30-2018, 01:38 AM

Some QD is effective on water spots and maybe try the gtechnic QD and see if it's more effective on those than ONR. Know one QD that is very effective on water spots and has a lime scale remover built in it. It's not sold here and don't think it's available in the US. But it can be worth a try to test the gtechnic QD.

GTechniq Quick Detailer 500 ml

Otherwise a water spot remover would be good to have in the arsenal. But if your father is a little careless it could go wrong.

Could it be tree sap? Either way it's also good to have in the arsenal. You don't know when you need it but the day comes.

GTechniq W7 Tar and Glue Remover

**The Guz** · 05-30-2018, 01:46 AM

Coatings in general are prone to water spotting. But I recall reading various threads on google that C2v3 is prone to water spotting.

Try what was mentioned in the previous post.

You would have to chemically remove c2v3 so exo can bond to CSL. FYI Exo is not as user friendly as CSL.

**JCDetails** · 05-30-2018, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by The Guz

Coatings in general are prone to water spotting. But I recall reading various threads on google that C2v3 is prone to water spotting.

Try what was mentioned in the previous post.

You would have to chemically remove c2v3 so exo can bond to CSL. FYI Exo is not as user friendly as CSL.

Any suggestion on the best route to go? Have things like D107, OPC, W6 available to me for that task, or could run a light polish over it.

Once I'm sure C2v3 is gone (pretty easy to tell...slickness being the primary thing) no problem with applying exo about a month after applying CSL?

I know Exo can be a little trickier to apply, is it even any more water spot resistant?

The combination of pollen and water is just annoying, hopefully pollen season starts to calm down here soon.

**The Guz** · 05-30-2018, 02:12 PM

If they don't come out chemically then your last resort is to polish. Which will more than likely remove everything including CSL.

I can't comment on how durable c2v3 is. Slickness may be one by product of it being gone but it may still be lingering around. CarPro states on their site in order to remove Reload and apply Gliss (their topper coating), one must use ironx (if necessary), tarx (removes the oils from reload), wash with reset and finally a prep wipe. I am not sure if something similar would need to be performed with c2v3. A GTechniq representative would have a better answer on how to make sure it is removed from the surface.

Once it is gone, you can apply Exo right over CSL. Exo V3 is supposed to have better anti-water spotting behavior than the previous formula.

I recall reading a member on here using a water spot remover on old Gyeon Mohs and it damaged the coating. I believe it was Gyeon's water spot remover. I have used CarPro Spotless and it worked fine the time I used it. It did not damage the old coating on my brothers car at the time.

**JCDetails** · 05-30-2018, 02:13 PM

These did come out eventually with a gentle rub with some Megs #83 and a MF towel. Tried D107 at 10:1, 5:1 and even OPC at 2:1 with no joy.

Something else I noticed was that it seemed like there were a pretty significant amount of bonded contaminants (touch test) on the CSL, which I was surprised at.

**theblob640** · 05-30-2018, 04:08 PM

CarPro Spotless have worked miracles for me without having to repolish.

All I did was spray Spotless on the panels affected, then used a foam applicator (for waxes) since it is soft and won't damage the paint and it removed it by spreading it around the panel as if applying a wax.

**Eldorado2k** · 05-30-2018, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by theblob640

CarPro Spotless have worked miracles for me without having to repolish.

All I did was spray Spotless on the panels affected, then used a foam applicator (for waxes) since it is soft and won't damage the paint and it removed it by spreading it around the panel as if applying a wax.

Have you tried Carpro Spotless on both coated and non coated paint? I’ve only tried it a couple of times on non coated paint with no luck. I know it’s geared towards using it on coated paint and I’m wondering if the results are night & day.

**RippyD** · 05-30-2018, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by JCDetails

Something else I noticed was that it seemed like there were a pretty significant amount of bonded contaminants (touch test) on the CSL, which I was surprised at.

The coatings I've used all collect contaminants at the same rate as clear coat, if not faster. This is one of my 8 (or 9) issues with coatings.

**Eldorado2k** · 05-30-2018, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by RippyD

The coatings I've used all collect contaminants at the same rate as clear coat, if not faster. This is one of my 8 (or 9) issues with coatings.

I agree. It’s my #1 complaint when it comes to coatings. Beading is 1 thing [and even the beading is somewhat unimpressive] But I’ve never seen 1 that actually protects...

This is after just 3 months of being “coated”

I’ll pass on that...