Crying About My Clear Coat

[jokerflingo]

Hey guys, i have had my Holden VS Ute now probably for a year or more and the paint work has been smick in that amount of time. But just recently i didn't wash it for probably 3 weeks which was probably the longest it has even been without a wash for. Now i will admit it was dirty and had they large water type spots that had sort of dried out in the sun.

Now i washed it and all these spots are all over the bonnet and wont come out of the clear. The roof may have a few along with the sides of the body but they came out whilst using meguiars next gen wax. But the bonnet is a different story, i washed it twice and it made it no better and then i tried meguiars paint cleaner i had around which helped a little and then the next gen wax afterwards. It looks better now all be a bit cloudy/hazy from the wax but up close if you look hard you can still see the marks. In the sun it'll look terrible i think
Now i know that there is pretty much nothing i can do now, but to prevent in the future what should i do? I am hoping that its not just water spots that have dried that can eat into the paint clear coat? Maybe there was some sort of chemical that stuck to the car?

Any info?

Thanks
Matt.

[customvt]

give it a buff mate it should come out pretty easy

[jokerflingo]

give it a buff mate it should come out pretty easy

I don't have a buffer, i do everything by hand. Was just wondering if you have explanation of what caused it? The paint cleaner did help a bit but id rather not keep repeating as that continues to diminish the clear coat.

I guess when i wax the car the next time and the time after it will eventually fade. Hopefully

Any other suggestions?

Thanks
Matt.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

It is the impurities in the water that are left behind after the water has evaporated. The only way to get them out is to use a polish, then a wax. And lots of elbow grease.

[jokerflingo]

It is the impurities in the water that are left behind after the water has evaporated. The only way to get them out is to use a polish, then a wax. And lots of elbow grease.

So to avoid this, after it rains i gotta wash/dry off the car? And what sort of polish would you recommend? I just don't like the polishing idea too much because when you run out of clear coat its big $$$ for a respray.

On average how much clear is on a car? And how long does it take for polishes etc to eat it away?

[jokerflingo]

I should add that the last wash the car got i also waxed it with meguiars next gen wax and then about 2-3 weeks later when i washed it with all these water spots they don't come off?
Is the wax bad or was it just some chemical that ate through the wax and or the clear?

Heres a picture i tried to show what im talking about. Its only when you are up close in the right light but it still pisses me off.



And heres a picture for reference by what i mean it was smick

[Goon]

chamos helps get rid of the spots, they usally appear when water has been left to dry in the sun..

[jokerflingo]

chamos helps get rid of the spots, they usally appear when water has been left to dry in the sun..

Yes after i wash i always chamois, But when it rains and the car is dirty i do not as all it would do is scratch the paint. And since it was raining for a few days straight i just let it go and on was busy for the first half of the week when it dried and then washed it later on in the week and found all theses marks/stains

Funny thing is i have owned the ute for over a year and have not had this happen once when it has rained and the water has dried on the car. Can water by itself really do this or must of there been some dirt/dust/chemical that landed on my car while it was drying that must of gone through the wax and into the clear?

I reckon a polish would get rid of em but how would i know how much clear is left on my paint? Knowing my luck i would polish it and all the clear would be gone

[jokerflingo]

Alright now i am truly confused. Yesterday i washed my car and waxed it, over night it rained a bit and this morning it had formed all the little water droplets like its meant to, none of which looked like the same type of damaging dry rough water droplets i experienced the other day when it ruined my paintwork.

Now last night my old man and i had a little fire in his chimenea, unfortunately some of the ash landed on my car and since this is what i thought caused it last time this morning i washed it off just with the hose. We then went to the dump in his car and left mine to dry in the sun.

This is where it becomes interesting. When i got back straight away i noticed these same type of dry rough water droplets that last time damaged my paint. I quickly washed them off and they had already started to do the exact same thing again.

Are you telling me that tap water whether it contains chlorine or fluoride or whatever is what is eating through my wax/clear? Although this would actually make sense because i hardly ever just rinse off my car without either washing it then chamois or just chamois by itself to remove the water. But recently i went to pick up some grass and dirt and stuff and rinsed the whole car off and let it to dry and i feel sure this is when these damaging droplets formed.

So to sum it up, does this mean that tap water is the culprit? And to avoid this all i should have to do is immediately chamois my car after i clean it with tap water?

For the past year i have owned the car this has never happened but neither have i ever just rinsed off the car and left it to dry without a chamois whilst using tap water. Rain is totally different all together and causes no problems it seems since it just leave water marks that rub straight off with no marks.

Any info would be much appreciated as i feel sure this is where the problem lies.

Thanks
Matt

[Tiger28]

First off mate i had the same water spots on my new car when i bought it ,but it comes of easy I used meguairs fine cut polish and it took them right away.Mate you should be worrying about takeing to much clear off that only happs when you heavly cut a car with a buffer doing it by hand is alot better as you have control.I use mothers products and after I cut it I polished the car and then waxed it with canabu which is save for clear coats and you can use it as often as you like.I use it alot.The water drops I herd it was rain or water you use that contains a high amount of acidity and it stains the paint then.

[jokerflingo]

First off mate i had the same water spots on my new car when i bought it ,but it comes of easy I used meguairs fine cut polish and it took them right away.Mate you should be worrying about takeing to much clear off that only happs when you heavly cut a car with a buffer doing it by hand is alot better as you have control.I use mothers products and after I cut it I polished the car and then waxed it with canabu which is save for clear coats and you can use it as often as you like.I use it alot.The water drops I herd it was rain or water you use that contains a high amount of acidity and it stains the paint then.

Oh i thought that pretty much any type of chemical i use on the paint/clear to remove imperfections must be removing clear? If so can i have a link to the product you used until i receive an email from the Car Care Products team.

Thanks
Matt.

[VZLAD]

water from the sky ( lol) should not damage clear coat but water from tap if not wiped off before it dries will damage the clear coat..

[jokerflingo]

water from the sky ( lol) should not damage clear coat but water from tap if not wiped off before it dries will damage the clear coat..

Why did i never know this? I guess its lucky i finally found after owning my ute for a year, too bad i didnt know before it happened, so now i need some sort of polish i presume to fix it?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

See post #4.....

[jokerflingo]

See post #4.....

Maybe a few examples and options of polishes i could use would of been more helpful then the above post?

[Tiger28]

Maybe a few examples and options of polishes i could use would of been more helpful then the above post?

Hi buddy as I said to you to get out the water sdpots use Meguiars fine cut polish and then I used Mothers sealer and Glaze polish and the Mothers Canabu Wax.All from Super cheap buddy.I used Meuiars for the fine cut aas Mothers dont make a cut .Trust me Car will look a gem.

[jokerflingo]

Hi buddy as I said to you to get out the water sdpots use Meguiars fine cut polish and then I used Mothers sealer and Glaze polish and the Mothers Canabu Wax.All from Super cheap buddy.I used Meuiars for the fine cut aas Mothers dont make a cut .Trust me Car will look a gem.

So you reckon this will do the trick? Just by itself?

Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Cleaner - 473ml - Supercheap Auto



So steps should be something like

Wash
Clay
Wash
Dry
Polish
Wax

It wont take off heaps of clear i presume?

Thanks
Matt.

[vxcalais_01]

Depending on contaminants etc, all rain is not the same. Its the minerals in the water that react with the paint. Tap water can be the worst. Try some Meguiars Scratch X version 2 etc to get it out. It etches the paint, therefore its eaten in and must be buffed out. Bird crap does the same thing. A good wax will protect the paint from the water etching, make ti easier to clean off other contaminants.

What paint cleaner are you using ? Some are so mild and most do not effect clear coat.

[Tiger28]

So you reckon this will do the trick? Just by itself?

Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Cleaner - 473ml - Supercheap Auto



So steps should be something like

Wash
Clay
Wash
Dry
Polish
Wax

It wont take off heaps of clear i presume?

Thanks
Matt.

Thats it mate some areas you might have to do it 2 times.Follow the steps wash ,dry ,fine cut ,then seal and glaze and canabu wax I use mothers and works a treat .

[jokerflingo]

Thats it mate some areas you might have to do it 2 times.Follow the steps wash ,dry ,fine cut ,then seal and glaze and canabu wax I use mothers and works a treat .

Sounds all good i have the car wash, wax and will buy the fine cut which hopefully isn't too harsh and works, what is the seal and glaze? Does it smooth it out a bit and get rid of any marks?

[Tiger28]

Sounds all good i have the car wash, wax and will buy the fine cut which hopefully isn't too harsh and works, what is the seal and glaze? Does it smooth it out a bit and get rid of any marks?

The mothers range comes in steps you only need step 2 which is sealer and glaze polish and gives it that smooth finish and shine and wet look and step 3 Canabu wax gives it protection and long lasting shine.Dont use your wax mate .Follow the steps in mothers dont mix polishes and wax.Trust me will look a dream.First do fine cut and do small sections at a time with a polish pad not rubbing to hard.Mothers® Polishes·Waxes·Cleaners