Hard water spots?

[Silvaria]

I have a black, 2018 Hyundai Elantra and I found what appears to be hard water spots on the top of the trunk lid. They are brownish around the edges and definitely etched in to the clear coat, much to my complete dismay!!

I read online that a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and distilled water can be used to remove them, but I wanted to check in here first and see if that is true in the experience of others before I do something that may damage my car further.

[Silvaria]

I've posted this question before but maybe I didn't phrase it very well, so I would like to try again.

My car is a black, 2018 Hyundai Elantra SEL that has what appears to be hard water spot etching into the clear coat on top of the trunk hood. From what I have read, I can polish this down but doing so will require some degree of damage into the clear coat itself and so I am looking for advice into the best way to do this as unobtrusively as possible.

I love this car SO much, I'm so proud to drive it but I'm very new to detailing black cars and I could really use some advice, please?

[Mike Phillips]

If it’s an actual etching - that is clearcoat paint is now missing - then the only way to fix the problem is to abraded the paint to level it.

[Mike Phillips]

Sorry that when you made this post no one answered you. Looks like you made it on Thursday, June 6th at 12:30am as in O'Dark Thirty. I'm pretty sure I was sleeping about then.


Your question and the answer is basic detailing 101 information. Anyone that’s read my book or this forum would be able to answer you.

I was off work and while I was answering questions from home I missed this one. I did just answer you in your new thread for the same topic here,

Best way to remove hard water spot etching.


Sorry to say, if the water spots are as you describe, that is actual ETCHINGS IN the paint, then the ONLY way to remove them is by abrading the paint, i.e. polishing and/or compounding and polishing. And "yes" this will remove some of the clearcoat paint. There's no other way to fix this type of problem except to add more clear paint, that is re-paint the car or the affected area.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that's the facts.

[Mike Phillips]

I have a black, 2018 Hyundai Elantra and I found what appears to be hard water spots on the top of the trunk lid.

HARD WATER SPOTS - this is a term everyone uses to describe ALL types of water spots but that's not the reality of it.

Hard Water Spots means - DISSOVED MINERALS in the water. Here's a picture of Hard Water Spots from my article from 2011, 8 years ago as I type.




You can see the now DRIED minerals after water has evaporated. These types of water spots can be washed off, wiped off and/or removed with some form of LIQUID formulated for hard water spots.

They are brownish around the edges

That's out of the norm. BROWN around the edges?

and definitely etched in to the clear coat,

So here's the question I always ask and I ask it to make people THINK.

What's in the water?????????


Urethane paint is pretty tough. So what is so corrosive in our water that it is etching the paint?
(no one ever has an answer, not even me)

I read online that a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and distilled water can be used to remove them, but I wanted to check in here first and see if that is true in the experience of others before I do something that may damage my car further.

Here's my article on this topic - I wish I had a nickel for every time and expert made this type of recommendation.


Using Vinegar to remove water spots


You can try it. Remember I said Urethane paint is pretty tough? Vinegar won't dissolve your car's paint. If there are dried mineral deposits, like the crusty stuff you see in the pictures above, then vinager MIGHT break the bond between the crusty stuff and the paint and allow you to wipe them off or wash them off. You won't know until you try.

If you in fact have Crater ETCHINGS or IMPRINT RINGS - like I show in this article,

3 - Types of Water Spots - Type I, Type II and Type III


Then you will need to abrade the paint and level it to visually make them disappear.


Here's my recommendation...

Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips



Or hire a qualified detailer to do the work for you or learn to live with them.

[Mike Phillips]

I've posted this question before but maybe I didn't phrase it very well, so I would like to try again.

I merged your two threads. Posting two threads for the same topic leads to confusion.


When no one is answering your thread it's better to bump the thread to make it rise to the top of most recent posts or show up on the recent threads list on the forum homepage.

[Silvaria]

Hi, Mike! Thank you for replying. I'm still learning the forum etiquette, next time I will bump instead.

I read over your article about the types of water spots, it definitely looks more like the Type II on the Corvette photo you posted. Using the detailing spray doesn't affect it at all. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny (which is always a 50/50 proposition here on the coast!), I'll get a closer look and try to take a picture.

Good question about what's in the water that can cause something like this!!

Thank you again!

[rlmccarty2000]

I had some strange brown hard water spots last week. Luckily for me my car was coated and the hard water spots came off with not too much effort. Another good reason to use a good LSP and keep it fresh.

[Silvaria]

So I tried to take some pictures today of the water spot but they didn't turn out well. However, having read the above article several times, it is definitely a "crater etching", and even in the bright sunlight, it still appears to me that the edges of the crater are brownish. I've only had this car five months and I began reading up the night I brought it home on how to take care of black paint, so I'm positive this happened at the dealership, before I bought it.

In any case, it appears that I will have to go ahead and either buy or borrow a polisher and level the paint, as you said, to get rid of them. How frustrating to have a car with only 6.6K miles and already have a paint issue!!!

@rlmccarty2000, what is an LSP? I'm not familiar yet with the terminology here.

[Jon TDS]

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