Waterspots to do or not to do?

[sage_78]

Hey guys, rookie in need of an expert opinion. Have a year old black 09 Jetta, got laid into by a water sprinkler at work back in October of 2009 in the TX sun. As she was new I was afraid to get a PC and get to them myself, so I got her professionally detailed. Well with the advent of spring and sprinklers coming back to life again here in TX she got hit again. Not as bad as the first time, but thing is I don't want to spend the $ getting her done by a pro again. My questions though are, can too much detailing be bad for clear coat, as we are removing clear coat thickness? Will it be bad for the paint on the long run? How easy is it to attempt it myself if I purchase a porter cable and required accessories, and probably the most asked question, what polish combo would work best for a VW clearcoat if anyone here has had experience with VWs?
I'm beginning to think you can't win with a black car, especially one that is a water sprinkler magnet....but still those water spots are quite an eye sore.

[CEE DOG]

she got hit again.

If this was very recent I would wash and dry her and then use some vinegar/water mix with a quality mf to remove the water spots. This is just to hold you untill you get your polishing machine and supplies.

can too much detailing be bad for clear coat, as we are removing clear coat thickness? Will it be bad for the paint on the long run?

As long as you are not too aggressive there is enough clearcoat their so you don't need to worry. Letting contaminants fester and not claying and polishing your car every so often is going to be bad for the clear coat. Important: If it will just be hit with water sprinklers next week then you have a situation. Either remove the vehicle from the environment it's in or accept the way it is. What I mean is if you are going to let water spots stay on it long enough to burn in on a regular basis you can't wait till there burned in and polish them out every month. Well you could, but you get my drift.

How easy is it to attempt it myself if I purchase a porter cable and required accessories.

Don't be afraid! With a DA it is safe for a beginner. As far as "easy" that depends on what you consider easy. It will take some time to do the job right. After you hear our opinions on what products you should use and you make your decisions it will be important to do a test spot and make sure you have the right pad/polish combo figured out before you do the whole car. Starting out is the hard part because of lack of confidence.

what polish combo would work best for a VW clearcoat if anyone here has had experience with VWs?

I do not have experience with VW so you will get more detailed info on that from somebody else here but I will tell you that the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover works good for beginners. With a DA get the flat pads, no question. I also really like the LC-HT pads for correction. Now they have a finishing pad as well but I haven't used it. (HT pads are a type of flat pad) For a finishing polish I like Menzerna PO85RD but you might like to get the Wolfgang finishing glaze instead as a combo with your WTSR. People are going to steer you in 2 directions with your polishes. One group will tell you to use Meguiars 105 and 205 polishes (SMAT). The others will tell you to use Menzerna polishes (diminishing abrasives) The Wolfgangs I mentioned is very similar to the Menzerna's.

I'm beginning to think you can't win with a black car, especially one that is a water sprinkler magnet....but still those water spots are quite an eye sore.

Black paint certainly requires patience, dedication, and time to keep it looking good. But if you have enough of that available to you it will be worth it.

[sage_78]

If this was very recent I would wash and dry her and then use some vinegar/water mix with a quality mf to remove the water spots. This is just to hold you untill you get your polishing machine and supplies.


As long as you are not too aggressive there is enough clearcoat their so you don't need to worry. Letting contaminants fester and not claying and polishing your car every so often is going to be bad for the clear coat. Important: If it will just be hit with water sprinklers next week then you have a situation. Either remove the vehicle from the environment it's in or accept the way it is. What I mean is if you are going to let water spots stay on it long enough to burn in on a regular basis you can't wait till there burned in and polish them out every month. Well you could, but you get my drift.

Don't be afraid! With a DA it is safe for a beginner. As far as "easy" that depends on what you consider easy. It will take some time to do the job right. After you hear our opinions on what products you should use and you make your decisions it will be important to do a test spot and make sure you have the right pad/polish combo figured out before you do the whole car. Starting out is the hard part because of lack of confidence.

I do not have experience with VW so you will get more detailed info on that from somebody else here but I will tell you that the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover works good for beginners. With a DA get the flat pads, no question. I also really like the LC-HT pads for correction. Now they have a finishing pad as well but I haven't used it. (HT pads are a type of flat pad) For a finishing polish I like Menzerna PO85RD but you might like to get the Wolfgang finishing glaze instead as a combo with your WTSR. People are going to steer you in 2 directions with your polishes. One group will tell you to use Meguiars 105 and 205 polishes (SMAT). The others will tell you to use Menzerna polishes (diminishing abrasives) The Wolfgangs I mentioned is very similar to the Menzerna's.


Black paint certainly requires patience, dedication, and time to keep it looking good. But if you have enough of that available to you it will be worth it.

CEEDOG thanks for the reply and important advice, yes it was pretty recent it happened yesterday, I got to her at 3pm and washed her, tried the vinegar combo but some had already etched in (water here in Bryan,TX is notoriously hard). I gather from what you're saying is, the longer I leave them on there the harder it will be to get them sorted later?
Yes I find starting out myself is hard, one thing is I can follow instructions well, but to be honest I think I lack the finesse side of things not to mention the lack of confidence. But you need to start somewhere.....

[Mike Phillips]

Hopefully the etchings are not too deep...

You can remove them but after you remove them you've really got to try hard to solve the root cause of the problem and somehow find a way to keep your car away from the sprinkler.

As for removing them, here's an article on the different types of polishers there are to choose from, the DA style is the easiest to learn and master...

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project


There are some videos on working with the DA style polisher and the Cyclo Polisher you can watch by clicking the link below,

How-To Videos

If you're new to machine polishing one suggestion would be to just tackle panel at a time, for example just buff out the hood one weekend and then call it a day. Take your time and work your way around the car.

[markm]

I had the same problem. Left my truck in the way of sprinklers and no protection layer due to to long between waxing. I did use vinegar to help remove the spots, especially from the windows, chrome and headlights. I waxed it and it looked like crap. I was going to get it painted. When I finally got a PC I polished it the best I could. It looked better but still not good. Eventually I found this site and with Mike Phillips videos I tackled it again. I did have to wet sand and use a rotary on several bad spots. I must say it looks better than it did when new now with the exception of some rock chips. I even filled them in with touch up paint, wet sanded and polished and you can hardly tell they were ever there. Now I am trying to make the front bumper look good. Bugs ate the paint and several large chips. It is a work in progress. I plan on attending Mike's class in 3 weeks if I can get away. You can learn so much from him.

Mark

[tuscarora dave]

I don't believe too many folks over here at AG are too big on Poorboy's Products but I feel the need to mention the Poorboy's Professional Polish. It is a pad dependant chemical cleaner type of polish and it works very well for removing hard water spots when you get to them quickly. As for the etchings it normally takes a bit more than PP but as I said it is pad dependant so if a polish pad won't do you can step it up to a light cutting pad to get some level of correction. If the etchings are real deep then it won't be the right product for the job.

[CEE DOG]

I don't believe too many folks over here at AG are too big on Poorboy's Products but I feel the need to mention the Poorboy's Professional Polish. It is a pad dependant chemical cleaner type of polish and it works very well for removing hard water spots when you get to them quickly. As for the etchings it normally takes a bit more than PP but as I said it is pad dependant so if a polish pad won't do you can step it up to a light cutting pad to get some level of correction. If the etchings are real deep then it won't be the right product for the job.

I know someone who swears by the Poorboy's polishes. It's all he uses on his clients cars. He says you can polish in the full sun and get amazing results with these at a great price.