What would be th next step for removing old water spots?

[KEVINS]

I turned my dad onto CarPro`s Water Spot Remover based on my excellent results on my car but his Vette has water spots that are really old and he`s not having the same results. He said that it did make a difference but not enough for his pleasure and I think he`d be willing to try ONE more chemical to see if he can remove the water spots.

1. If it was your dad what would be your second choice to try that he can wipe on/off?

2. If the two chemicals do not remove the spots I`m assuming that the paint needs to be polished..? (not gonna happen).


thnx
ks

[Swanicyouth]

If they are very old they are etched into paint and they need to be compounded away.

[Mike lambert]

Compound, bake in sun to see if they return, and compound again.

[Accumulator]

I`d be inspect the waterspots under magnification to see exactly what you`re dealing with. I.e., are the spots IN or ON (or BOTH) the surface of the clearcoat?

I`d probably do the car with ValuGard`s A & B to neutralize (and maybe even remove/remediate) the "stuff that caused the spots". IMO/IME that`ll help prevent the spots "coming back", don`t want to polish it aggressively more than necessary nor do you want the [stuff] to keep eating at the paint, so the neutralization is what I`d do first.

No, I have zero idea whether the CarPro stuff already did neutralize them, since I haven`t seen any test data on it I don`t know what to expect.

[Swanicyouth]

I use the Duragloss Water Spot remover on glass to get rid of spots - since glass isn’t usually etched. It appears to be some kinda weak acid. It works pretty well. My next step up is a cleaner wax - which I never really have to use.

TBH, I dunno what the Duragloss stuff cost - it’s several years old. Let’s say $6. The CarPro stuff I’m sure cost 2x that much...

What’s cheap and easy is white vinegar. It’s a mild acid & its $2 a gallon at Walmart. Works just as good if not better than the Duragloss stuff. I wouldn’t use any of these in sun - including the ABC stuff which is an acid.

In fact, you can dampen a hand/machine polishing pad with white vinegar and add some polish to it to make a mildly abrasive water spot eating polish. Works excellent for spots above the surface. Neutralize with water when done.

I also use white vinegar on glass before applying a glass sealant since it costs less than Eraser or even IPA - both of which I use for other things.

[SWETM]

Dumb question maybe. But has your father done multible application of carpro Spotless? If not let him do some more if it maked a dent on the waterspots. This is just in general that many give up to fast with chemicals. They don`t see it work on one application and think what a crappy product. But do 2-4 and you could have solved the problem. Spotless could eat in it little by little who knows before trying. Then if it has etched the clearcoat no chemical cleaners would have solved the problem. But know you have the etching to take care of only. The waterspots which is minerals and often where I live is lime scale. That is added to the tap water here. Will get off rather easly if not baked to long. There could be other contaminants and different minerals that has bonded to the waterspots or is a different kind than for an example lime scale and can be desolved with an iron remover too. Even a stronger acid based product could help but it`s not recommended to use if you are not prepared to polish after if it`s hazes the clearcoat. But wondering since Megs Wheel Brightener is safe to use on clearcoated wheels if it sometimes would work on waterspots on the paint too. The thing to be carefull with when useing chemicals is to not let them dry on the paint. And one thought comes to mind is to use a soaked mf towel over the area so you are getting a longer dwell time. And let the Spotless dwell for a longer time. Again nothing I would do if I`m not prepared to polish after testing it.

We have a domestic supply company that sells an acid gel cleaner. They take of heavy oxidized paint from vehicals and boats with it. And you apply it with a mf applicator and wipe it off after dwell for a longer time since it`s been able to cling so great. This would work on waterspots too I think. And the ability to clean severe neglected wheels is awesome. Could compare it to Carpro ironx paste with the difference in the dwell time to regualar ironx. Just got me thinking of pull the trigger on this acid gel cleaner it could come in handy sometimes. Wondering if you have something like that over there?

The acid step in abc value guard is that gel like or runny in it`s consistence?

[Lonnie]

Not knowing IF the `Vette is REALLY old with single stage paint or if it`s a newer clear-coated `Vette with old, baked-on water spots makes a difference in the approach to removing them.
I would think the latter, so I would suggest what Mike lambert suggested: compound with an aggressive foam or microfiber pad with a long-throw dual-action buffer. You probably will not be able to do much with a Porter-Cable DA, based on my recent hands-on experience on a late model `Vette with older waterspots with a PC-DA. A rotary buffer will make short work of this, but you`ll need the experience to do it right.

If it`s REALLY bad, wet sanding is a last-resort option, and again, finding someone to do this properly is challenging, not to mention expensive. You might find help at a body shop that does a lot of Corvettes.