Dropped the ball...................

I

imported_turbomangt

New member
Well, I regretefully have to say that I came up short on a detail over the weekend. I had a customer drive 450 miles to have me detail his car, (300c) he had a wedding to attend 75 miles from me so he dropped the car on Sat and was picking it up Sun, The one thing he wanted me to do was remove the water spots on the hood and roof. Their were hundreds of them, and I tried the following with no luck what so ever. First I tried every cleaner polish/compound in my inventory. Next, I used CLR, vinegar, even wheel acid, it didn't even phase them. I them called my friend Steve with Poorboys, did what he suggested which was to try to chemically remove with his P Polish, he said to put on a layer and leave it on over night, I was optimistic that would work, but the next day when I removed it they were still there. I can only summize that these spots "ecthed" the clear and once that barrier is broken, the damage is done. I was not going to wet sand the entire roof and hood, I did not feel comfortable doing that, I think that would open a can of worms. If anyone has any feedback to this situation, or have encountered same, please share your experience. I gave the owner a discount on the detail., but I felt like I really dropped the ball. gary
 
Gary, I've encountered the same thing dozens of times - water spots frequently etch paint, especially on dark colored cars...presumably because the extra heat exaggeragerates the chemical reaction and softens the clear at the same time.



Usually aggressive compounding (like with a wool pad and a rotary) is the most extreme measure I'll take on a factory jobber (though sometimes I'll spot sand); if this doesn't get it, the etching runs deep. Usually Im able to remove the water spots, but not always.
 
I forgot to mention I did try a wool pad and compound also, I have wet sanded a small area with success, however an entire roof and hood, I don;t think so. gary
 
A wet sand sounds like would have been the best way to handle it. I did a complete wet sand on a new ford focas that was parked in range of a lawn sprinkler for a month.



I sanded over 80% of that vehicle. My trusty paint thickness gauge insured I was within limits.
 
Hi-Temp extreme cut @1500 RPM's removed most of these--they were some of the worst that I have seen.



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Someone at LXforums sent me the link to this thread. I had forgotten that I was registered over here.



Gary... as far as I'm concerned you did NOT drop the ball on my car! Don't beat yourself up!



I know you were disappointed, but... I told you that my local guy had not been able to get them out either. Therefore, I knew it either was very VERY difficult, or impossible. It was just that he didn't personally work on the car AFAIK... rather it's his "business" (Quick Lube and Car Detailing)... so it's his employees working on the car... and you saw the job they did with the paint chip repair... not so good!



So I wanted your best shot, and without question, you gave it to me. As I told you, I will be bringing the Heritage Edition to you in April for it's annual detailing. I just completed the interim detailing on it a couple weeks ago with your products.



At least my spots didn't look like those above! Sheesh!
 
Gary, here is an after--the only spots that weren't greatly improved/removed were the areas near door handles and such where I couldn't really buff (like 1/8" aroiund handles, emblems, etc).



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ebp... That's amazing improvement! Was that on a clear coated car? ... and if so, you didn't wear out the clear coat?
 
GoofyTimL said:
ebp... That's amazing improvement! Was that on a clear coated car? ... and if so, you didn't wear out the clear coat?
Click to expand...





Factory GM finish--05 Tahoe I believe.



I did that with a foam pad @1500 RPM's. :nixweiss
 
Removal depends on depth. If water spots have built up on the surface, you can get them out. It may take time but they will come out. However, if they have etched into the paint and are deeper than the maximum safe level of clearcoat that can be removed (.4 mil) you can't remove them completely without jeopardizing clearcoat intergrity.
 
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