Stuck water marks??

So my car has some crazy water mark like spots all over it, only when you look really closely. Its not only on the paint either, the glass has it wicked bad. Could it just be really hard water, or is there something up with the paint. The car is a few months old so i hope its not something that will get worse.

I've heard that you can soak a rag in vinegar and put it over the water spots for a while (in the shade). The vinegar will dissolve the minerals and you can follow up with a wash & wax. However, if the clearcoat is etched you will need to claybar and polish to correct the problem.

You can also mix in a little bit of corn starch into your wash bucket. That gets rid of watermarks and doesn't harm a thing on your clearcoat or paint.

 

And it doesn't smell bad like vinegar.

Thanks for the tips, i'm just a little pissed since the car is only 1000miles old.

Don't worry, it's not a problem with the car... it's a problem with the water and local conditions in your area. As long as you wash the car properly and detail it once or twice a year you will be okay. Check out ocdetails.com for more info.

As i said, it's on the glass as well, so while the clay bar would work on the paint, how can it seep into the glass?

Most likely it is just the dried up minerals from the water that made the spots on the glass.

No reason to be pissed. :\ The number of miles on your car has absolutely nothing to do with water spots. You washed it with mineral filled water and it dried up or it rained (acid rain) and dried in the sun. It's not going to get worse unless those conditions continue.

 

I washed my car at my sisters house last year. She has well water.... I did it in partial sun because I figured I would just dry it by hand right away and be fine. NOT.. The water spots were like a million little craters all over my poor poor car. I could actually FEEL them. Took me a good wash, clay treatment and polish for them to come off.

 

Interested in the vinegar or starch ideas help. Let us know how it goes.

^^ya same thing at my our house. We use well water which is filled with minerals. I try to keep the car wet by continuously hosing it down until I can dry it off with a towel or something. That way, the water doesn't get a chance to dry up and leave mineral deposits. It seemed to work today when I washed the car, but I can still see water marks from previous washes (before I really knew how to properly detail/wash my car).

i had the same problem when i bought the car, my was etched into the paint

what i did was washed the car, clayed it to remove the surface contaminants, then ScratchX 2.0 with an orbital, paint sealant, then waxed.

 

if you look closely you can still see it a bit on the paint, but its much better. now i just wax it regularly and havent had a problem yet.

if the car is fairly knew you should just be able to wash it a few times with some real hot water and good soap and make sure to dry it before the sun evaporates the water off. I hope the there are no water spots on the intercooler however....

Try the vinegar, it really works.

Hmm, I have the same problem. I haven't noticed many water spots on the paint... but they are definitely all over my windows. I tried everything to get them off, but couldn't. I just assumed they were stuck on the inside between the windows and my tint. Since I only really notice after a wash and I really look, they don't bother me much.

 

Next wash I'll try the vinegar, though

steel wool #0000 for the windows.

 

and my paint is etched from acid rain, sucks, no matter the detail, with the reflection of the sun you can see it. i need to get it professionally repaired. happened before i bought my car brand new too, i was so excited i didn't examine the car thoroughly. 2 weeks later my buddy points it out to me and OMG, no way to prove it to the dealership it wasn't me.

steel wool #0000 for the windows.

 

and my paint is etched from acid rain, sucks, no matter the detail, with the reflection of the sun you can see it. i need to get it professionally repaired. happened before i bought my car brand new too, i was so excited i didn't examine the car thoroughly. 2 weeks later my buddy points it out to me and OMG, no way to prove it to the dealership it wasn't me.

 

wash, clay, scratchX 2.0, paint sealant, and wax

scratchX 2.0 will take out most of the acid rain spots if you look hard you can still see some, i used an orbital with scratchX, it took a while but looked better

 

i use paint sealant cause some people say it last a long time, and wax to make it shine, you dont have to wax after paint sealant, but i like the shinny look, and extra proteciton

 

edit: polish will take off a small layer of paint, while wax will add a layer, so scratchX will help to remove some of the acid rain

on the vinegar

on the vinegar

 

yea it might or might not work, it didnt work for me. i tried it on my paint and windshield, spend like 10min on one small spot and nothing happened