Recently while on vaction I parked our Black Opel C36 in the lot at the hotel for the night and in the morning found the car had been soaked by the hotels sprinkers. Normally no big deal but the water had already evaporated leaving large water spots that really looked bad, leaving a white ring around each spot, I assuming that the water was heavily alkaline. Once home washed the car well and still water spot reminants, thought waxing might "buff" them out, still no better. While the spots are not obviously visible you can see them from certain angles, it seems the clear-coat may be damaged, is this possible?? Or is there some product or technique that will get rid of the spots. Any help would be great.

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TIFOSI
1980 FERRARI 308 GTSi
2002 MERCEDES BENZ C32 AMG
2004 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE BLACK - CAFE RACER

There is a house hold cleanser "CLR" that works well on shower door etc. Be careful and try it in an inconspoicuos area. I have never tried it on auto paint.

Same thing happened to my acura a number of years back - turned out it was reclaimed/recycled water from the irrigation system, the hood and fenders needed color sanding to get rid of the spots, and if you know where they were, you can still find traces!

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

I experienced a similar case in my BMW ........initailly it seemed hopeless but after about 2 weeks time...I tried the "mother" 's pre-wax cleaner and those spots were eleminated right away...........
p.s. Apply it with a bit more stress...otherwise it may take a loooooooong time....and no worry as it won't harm the paint but clean the surface .....

One more suggestion.......in case if it don't perfect the surface.....then U may go to your familiar car valet shop and ask if they can apply the 3-M MACHINE GLAZE (should be white in color) to those defects and I am quite sure those spots can be eliminated......unless the liquor has been eaten but it seems not the case here............

again....hope it helps u out......

Good point Davis, the 3M machine glaze is good stuff.

I had two small, but noticebale scratches (relatively deep) on the front pass. door and rubbed it out by hand. This was NOT a great idea, as my arms aren't Porter Cable polishers. This left some "hazy" marks, but my wife and I just detailed the Benz today (swirl remover, polish and wax) and they came out fine. So... if those scratches can be eliminated, 3M's product should clear up hard water marks too.

I had this water stains too - it looks opaque white. Somewhat like bird dropping but its not. After much effort, it left a visible mark as you all described. I took it to the professional car detailer and it was polished with compound till the traces disappeared. It seems it took a lot of effort for these guys too.

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

First, the wax was not a good idea, if it was actual wax, you just covered up the problem with a layer of wax. So remove the wax, and then go to a boat shop or an auto parts store and buy a product called "Ducky" water spot remover.

http://www.duckyproducts.com/

Call around and see who has it, or contact Ducky in Pasadena, CA and ask for a dealer in your area.

This stuff was formulated for boats, so you can imagine how good it works on fresh water and salt water spots...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Ok, I`m only doing this once! When washing a car the usual applys, never in sun , use car soap, keep wet , and on and on.
This is how you dry a car.
After you have washed the car, respray the whole car. Remove the spray nossel, set the water to medium. Start at the top and run the water over the car ,top to bottom.
This will leave the car 99.99% dry. then take a 100% cotton towel, and blott up the drops.
Do Not Use A Chamie,they scratch! Use a 100% cotton towel with no poly threads.
I`m 44 years old, as a teenager I put myself through college reconditioning cars. This is the only way to dry a car. No spots, No water marks, no scratches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Try it , John

Hey John,

What about using a synthetic chamois? I know the real one's can strip wax and leave traces of oil and other leather byproducts...

?

Never used one. I`ve been doing it this way for thirty years,as long as your car is waxed the water will sheet off. Try it.
John

First, I have never found a synthetic chamois that was worth a crap. Most are either a synthetic fibre, or a rubber-like imitation. IMHO, they all suck on ice.

A professional grade chamois when properly prepared by carefully washing out the oil before the first use, will not scratch, leave oil behind, or strip wax when used correctly by laying it on horizontal surfaces and pulling it gently to the edge, and carefully removing the water beads on the vertical. Professional detailers swear by chamois. I even use a chamois-covered sponge for getting the remnants after using a professonal squeegee on the glass.

Terry cloth, on the other hand, can be highly abrasive, and will leave lint behind. If you only BLOT as John suggests, there will probably not be any scratches, but remember that terry cloth has several grades of softness. I use a particular grade that is stiff and abrasive just for heavily soiled glass cleaning, and another grade for removing wax & polish, but I do not dry a car with any type of terrycloth...

However, I will agree with the final rinse technique John suggests, but that will get best results from using a car wash and a wax/polish that does not induce the water to bead, but rather to sheet off of the car. I once had a detailer tell me to add a cap of Rain-X to my car wash, but I never tried it yet.

But the actual issue of this thread is hard water spots on someone's car after having parked at a hotel. What's the prognosis on your problem, TIFOSI? Has anything suggested here worked for you?

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

It seem I have the same problem as TIFOSE came back from a ski-ing vacation and notice after washing my Black ML 320. I have what appears to be hard water stains on my black pinted plastic bumper. It looks like something eat or damaged the clear coat.

And I remember reading this tread a while ago.

I tried the obvious. Washing with soap and water, wd40, alcohol and dish washing soap (to remove the wax) nothing.

Something suggesting using mother's pre wax paint cleaner. My question is does that work on black paint? And how does the paint cleaner work anyways. Is that a polish. To me a polish is a fine abrasive.

Anyone had any success with a simular problem??

thanks
ben

Something suggesting using mother's pre wax paint cleaner. My question is does that work on black paint

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Silver Honda Accord, 2006
Silver G500, 2003
Silver SLK-320, 2002
Black ML-320, 2000
Bule Porsche 993 Targa , 1997
Silver Merkur XR4Ti, 1987

Ben,

A "polish" is one of those words that gets to mean many things in automotive detailing. I would define a polish as anything you apply to the surface that is NOT a wax, and does not remove paint. (swirl removers, "cut" type polishes) What a pure polish does, a favorite being Meguiar's #7, is remove surface contaminants/oxidation/dead wax when applied/removed to the paint. Think of it as deep cleaning... All of the products listed in this post work on all paint colors as far as I know. The exception being the 3M swirl mark removers that are coded/labeled for "light" or "dark" colored cars.

As for water spots, they can do some damage to the paint if left unattened, especially on an unwaxed surface. The cleaner the surface of your car is and the better wax it has on it when you do get hit with a water-spot situation (as described in the thread above) the better your chances of coming out of it without any headaches beyond a polish/re-wax of the affected area. Let the wax take the abuse...

If the spots are on/in the paint, especially old or really deep you can either remove paint via the cut-type "polishes" or shine it up and ignore it. If it is something on the paint (as opposed to "in" the paint) then clay or cleaning type polishes are the route to take. (pre-wax cleaner, clear coat scrub, #7, etc) Clays are their own breed, run a search to get the info there... BTW, I would always start with the cleaning type polishes/approach before using the cut-polish method.

If you have already done the above and have some really nasty spots then I recommend taking whatever your trusted cut-tpye polish and applying it only to the spot itself on the tip of your clean fingertip. As for "trusted" I recommend meguiar's fine-cut or especially #9, or the 3M equivalents. The 3M's tend to take a bit more elbow grease to work, but either lineup is an excellent choice. Again let me state that multiple applications of a less agressive product is superior to one application of something harsher. As always, once you do use something harsher, follow it with the next less agressive on up the lineup through cleaner type polish and eventual waxing.

For waterspots on trim, that can vary quite a bit. If the trim has a "nap" or texture to it, a toothbrush (soft bristles please) may help along with the standard 100% cotton terry. Look for something that cleans trim vs "conditions" or "dresses" it. You can even use a bit of household cleaner on the plastic trim parts for really stubborn stuff. Back to Black is popular along with the Meguiar's equivalent. Once you have removed the spot, recondition/dress the trim. I like Meguiar's Endurance personally. Put on a rubber glove, massage endurance on/in with your fingertip for at least 30 seconds. Let stand a few mins, wipe with terry...

Give the above a try and let me know how it works...

Hope this helps,
Lee

Regarding my hard water stain mention earilier. I got some marguliar paint cleaner ( could not find mother's as suggested by other in the thread, it is probaly the same stuff).

Had to applied severial application and it was very slow but it worked. It must have been 7-8 application. But did not do much buffing. I was watching T.V. and I applied an application during every cormercial break.

The application may have cause a very slight hazing to the paint (probaly not noticiable unless it was black paint and under light).

But I am sure if I applied polish it would be gone. Because I am not sure if it is really there now.

I must love my benz.

thanks guys.

blau


P.S. If you guys are thinking about using the Paint Cleaner Don't worry about damaging the paint. It will not.

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Silver Honda Accord, 2006
Silver G500, 2003
Silver SLK-320, 2002
Black ML-320, 2000
Bule Porsche 993 Targa , 1997
Silver Merkur XR4Ti, 1987