Hi all,
First off, no photos at the moment due to it being spring in Portland, which means it's grey and rainy so the water spots aren't showing up very well.
Here's the situation - I have a 2014 BRZ and, to put it mildly, when washing it after I got it, I had a tendency to drastically neglect the "drying" step - I had previously only had pre-owned and/or very lightly-colored cars, so I didn't realize that the etching and water spotting was so obvious in darkly colored cars (World Rally Blue), particularly with Subaru's crappy, thin paint.
Add that to the constant rain and a lot of highway driving, and, well, the paint on this car is pretty seriously etched (very few scratches and swirls, though!)
I took the car to a very reputable local detailer, and after finally getting the spots off of about half of the roof he gave me a call and was like "dude, this is going to take me at least three days." The price was going to be in the $1,400+ range, and while I have nothing but good things to say about the work that was done, it was just out of my price range and will be for the forseeable future.
So I'm posting this on a couple of different detailing sites to see if any particular polisher/wheels/compounds/etc emerge as the clear winner due to consensus across different audiences (if this post looks familiar, that's why!)
I'd like to ask you guys to put together a shopping list for me of everything I'd need to take care of stubborn water spots in the paint and glass of my car. Don't leave anything out - if I already have it, I just won't buy it - for example, I already have a foam gun, buckets, good quality microfibers and soap (Chemical Guys Honeydew), Wax (Chemical Guys XXX, though this tub is nearly empty), and so on.
I am a reasonably competent detailer - I can do the standard wash/wax/clay/hand-polish stuff (like I said, I've had this car for a little over a year and haven't swirled or scratched the paint anywhere yet!) but something beginner-friendly and/or idiot-proof would be preferable. Would like to keep my total bill under $400 (lower is always better, of course!)
I will try to get photos as soon as I can get a direct source of light, be it the sun or lights in a parking garage or something.
Thanks in advance to everyone.
First off, no photos at the moment due to it being spring in Portland, which means it's grey and rainy so the water spots aren't showing up very well.
Here's the situation - I have a 2014 BRZ and, to put it mildly, when washing it after I got it, I had a tendency to drastically neglect the "drying" step - I had previously only had pre-owned and/or very lightly-colored cars, so I didn't realize that the etching and water spotting was so obvious in darkly colored cars (World Rally Blue), particularly with Subaru's crappy, thin paint.
Add that to the constant rain and a lot of highway driving, and, well, the paint on this car is pretty seriously etched (very few scratches and swirls, though!)
I took the car to a very reputable local detailer, and after finally getting the spots off of about half of the roof he gave me a call and was like "dude, this is going to take me at least three days." The price was going to be in the $1,400+ range, and while I have nothing but good things to say about the work that was done, it was just out of my price range and will be for the forseeable future.
So I'm posting this on a couple of different detailing sites to see if any particular polisher/wheels/compounds/etc emerge as the clear winner due to consensus across different audiences (if this post looks familiar, that's why!)
I'd like to ask you guys to put together a shopping list for me of everything I'd need to take care of stubborn water spots in the paint and glass of my car. Don't leave anything out - if I already have it, I just won't buy it - for example, I already have a foam gun, buckets, good quality microfibers and soap (Chemical Guys Honeydew), Wax (Chemical Guys XXX, though this tub is nearly empty), and so on.
I am a reasonably competent detailer - I can do the standard wash/wax/clay/hand-polish stuff (like I said, I've had this car for a little over a year and haven't swirled or scratched the paint anywhere yet!) but something beginner-friendly and/or idiot-proof would be preferable. Would like to keep my total bill under $400 (lower is always better, of course!)
I will try to get photos as soon as I can get a direct source of light, be it the sun or lights in a parking garage or something.
Thanks in advance to everyone.