Dark Blue 2018 Audi ... Sprinkler at lunch today ... water spots! ugh... help

[Scott in Houston]

So, my car has/had Bead Maker re-applied maybe 3 days ago.

Today at lunch, in the hot Texas sun, the freakin' sprinkler covered it and left behind hard water spots.
It baked for a few hours before I could do my only option before getting home and that was a brushless drive-through wash. That didn't seem to help at all, but it was my only option until coming home.

Got home and did a fast wash with ONR (again pressed for time).
It seemed to help, but when it's back out in the sun, I can still see the spots. Granted, they're hard to see if you're not actually looking for them, but they're there.

Do I need to polish?
Will it matter if I wait a week to polish? (No time until then)

I'm a bit ticked off that Bead Maker didn't seem to help AT ALL. I've been waiting for the weather to cool before re-applying Power Lock and potentially BM again or maybe another sealant like Turtle Wax ICE S&S or something else in my garage. (I don't want to buy anything more until I use up all the $$ I've sunk into products)
What kind of "Protection" was I actually getting from Bead Maker? Just applied, one shot of hard water and only a few hours before treated with ONR, and spots still there... how is that "protection"? Makes me wonder if we're fooling ourselves.


TIA for advice.

[rlmccarty2000]

I would go ahead and hit it with a light polish and see if that removes the HW spots. It’s been my experience that nothing else really works. Waiting a week won’t do any harm.

I’m not surprised BM didn’t provide much protection. I’ve seen waterspots on much hardier sealants. The spot is probably not down to the clear coat, it is probably etched into or on top of the Bead Maker. It’s hard to feel the difference. The water as it dries leaves behind minerals that bind to whatever is on top of your paint. The taller the bead, the more minerals left behind from the evaporation process, even on a coated vehicle. This is where the sheeting vs beading discussion can get heated.

[Scott in Houston]

Thank you.

My neighbor has some 3D Eraser Water Spot Remover that I'd like to try as well. We'll see if that works first then I'll try polishing.
In watching a video online, it is showing acid based wheel cleaner working well, but doesn't say what brand.
Any recommendations?

Should I try a MDR type product first then polish? Or is the wheel acid something worth trying?

Thanks again for your help.

[Rsurfer]

We can send a man to the moon, but we can't stop water spots from a sprinkler.

[PM5C]

Thank you.

My neighbor has some 3D Eraser Water Spot Remover that I'd like to try as well. We'll see if that works first then I'll try polishing.
In watching a video online, it is showing acid based wheel cleaner working well, but doesn't say what brand.
Any recommendations?

Should I try a MDR type product first then polish? Or is the wheel acid something worth trying?

Thanks again for your help.

Was that video from The Rag Company? They just did a comparison on 4 approaches to water spot removal.

[TTQ B4U]

So, my car has/had Bead Maker re-applied maybe 3 days ago.

Today at lunch, in the hot Texas sun, the freakin' sprinkler covered it and left behind hard water spots.
It baked for a few hours before I could do my only option before getting home and that was a brushless drive-through wash. That didn't seem to help at all, but it was my only option until coming home.

Got home and did a fast wash with ONR (again pressed for time).
It seemed to help, but when it's back out in the sun, I can still see the spots. Granted, they're hard to see if you're not actually looking for them, but they're there.

Do I need to polish?
Will it matter if I wait a week to polish? (No time until then)

I'm a bit ticked off that Bead Maker didn't seem to help AT ALL. I've been waiting for the weather to cool before re-applying Power Lock and potentially BM again or maybe another sealant like Turtle Wax ICE S&S or something else in my garage. (I don't want to buy anything more until I use up all the $$ I've sunk into products)
What kind of "Protection" was I actually getting from Bead Maker? Just applied, one shot of hard water and only a few hours before treated with ONR, and spots still there... how is that "protection"? Makes me wonder if we're fooling ourselves.


TIA for advice.

if it was a sprinkler you may have to polish or even compound them out. BM won't protect a car from it. Coatings won't either. I just go through doing the hood of my car as my daughter, who meant well, rinsed my car off in the driveway after a rain storm thinking she was helping daddy. Sun came out and BAM! 3 layers of ceramic were no match. Polish didn't work. Had to break out ClearCut and a wool pad to get them out. The roof and decklid aren't as bad but I'm going to do them this weekend when the temps hit the 60's down from the 90's.

[Scott in Houston]

Was that video from The Rag Company? They just did a comparison on 4 approaches to water spot removal.

It was.
At least their result showed a small improvement only from MDR (Optimum's Mineral Deposit Remover), good results for an acid based wheel cleaner (guessing Meg's Wheel Brightener) and then polish worked as well.

if it was a sprinkler you may have to polish or even compound them out. BM won't protect a car from it. Coatings won't either. I just go through doing the hood of my car as my daughter, who meant well, rinsed my car off in the driveway after a rain storm thinking she was helping daddy. Sun came out and BAM! 3 layers of ceramic were no match. Polish didn't work. Had to break out ClearCut and a wool pad to get them out. The roof and decklid aren't as bad but I'm going to do them this weekend when the temps hit the 60's down from the 90's.

Ugh... cute little thing, but ouch. Impossible to be mad at her though right?

Yeah, I wouldn't expect Bead Maker or even a coating to protect from spots after a day or two of sitting out, but just a couple of hours??
Yes, it was blazing hot, but I'm still a bit surprised (and irritated).

Last night, I was able to do another wash and the spots are barely visible, but I can still see them in the right light. Mostly when the angle is very shallow. My wife thinks I'm crazy because she can't see them.

In my current arsenal of products, I have Griots Fast Correcting Cream, Correcting Cream, and Meg's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish.
(Also HD Speed, but don't expect that to really have enough cut)

I'm going to try the Griot's products first with foam pads then MF pads if needed. Audi paint is hard, so kind of expecting to need the MF pads, also by Griots.

[Rsurfer]

It was.
At least their result showed a small improvement only from MDR (Optimum's Mineral Deposit Remover), good results for an acid based wheel cleaner (guessing Meg's Wheel Brightener) and then polish worked as well.






Ugh... cute little thing, but ouch. Impossible to be mad at her though right?

Yeah, I wouldn't expect Bead Maker or even a coating to protect from spots after a day or two of sitting out, but just a couple of hours??
Yes, it was blazing hot, but I'm still a bit surprised (and irritated).

Last night, I was able to do another wash and the spots are barely visible, but I can still see them in the right light. Mostly when the angle is very shallow. My wife thinks I'm crazy because she can't see them.

In my current arsenal of products, I have Griots Fast Correcting Cream, Correcting Cream, and Meg's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish.
(Also HD Speed, but don't expect that to really have enough cut)

I'm going to try the Griot's products first with foam pads then MF pads if needed. Audi paint is hard, so kind of expecting to need the MF pads, also by Griots.

Why remove clear coat (polish) when a water spot remover might work without removing any clear coat?

[Scott in Houston]

Why remove clear coat (polish) when a water spot remover might work without removing any clear coat?

That's a fair question.
You'll see above that I'm actually going to try the 3D Eraser Water Spot Remover first.

It's an acid-based water spot remover so I'm hoping it has good results like that Rag Company video showed with an acid based cleaner.

If that works, I won't polish. That being said, parts of my hood could benefit from a polish regardless of the spots, so I may end up there anyway.

[Bruno Soares]

In my experience, MDR and CarPro Spotless both work but very little. Meaning don't expect miracles, for the most past only abrading the surround areas (polish/compound) will actually work. The rest is either for the shallowest of etchings or deposits that are still so fresh they can be broken down.