# How long does it take water spots to form



## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

Hey guys so I am in an unfortunate situation where parking at work is uncovered. This leads to the inevitable situation like today, where it rained yesterday and this morning but then the blazing sun is out now and baking the dried minerals into my paint 

I know that BMW paint completely sucks and i get new rock chips every day and cant even see a decent reflection due to the immense ammount of orange peel, and I'm hoping that my assumptions about water spot formation arent in line with the logical conclusion that they would form on a BMW after sitting in the sun for 30 seconds. 

Any thoughts?


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

If you stay on top of protecting your car with a good sealant and or paste wax even both, water spots will not form on the surface to speak of...if I where in your position I would be using a waterless wash in the evenings to keep on top of the minerals while they are soft on the surface


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

well i just went out to my car to find it covered in bird droppings, i brought it right to the wash and got them off but all the etchings are left there, i had just gone out to check on it an hour before and it was fine... are these permanently etched into my paint now only after sitting out there for ONE HOUR... wtf??


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

i tried quick detailer with some elbow grease to get them out after the touchless wash and they wont come out... i guess ill try and clay it when i get home followed by some colorX

this is complete bull****...


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

anyone know where i can get some bird poison?


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## djfitter (Sep 12, 2007)

chris328 said:


> well i just went out to my car to find it covered in bird droppings, i brought it right to the wash and got them off but all the etchings are left there, i had just gone out to check on it an hour before and it was fine... are these permanently etched into my paint now only after sitting out there for ONE HOUR... wtf??


The paint didn't get touched, the clear coat did. It sounds as if you have little or no protection on your car if you find it hard to see a reflection. It will take something with a little abrasive to remove the etchings. 
Also, rain water has no minerals in it. If your car is clean when it rains it won't spot.

dj


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

Do not use the scratch x just yet...the clear is lightly etched from the acid in the bird crap...get some Megs Deep Crystal Paint cleaner, its avaible at any auto parts store, use that with a cotton applicator and clean that off with a micro fiber towel and you should remove the etching and water spots all at once


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## BmW745On19's (Aug 12, 2005)

Usually rain won't cause water spots, what you are seeing is dust that has gotten on the car after being driven and the water drops mixing with these.

Keep your car waxed and you won't have a problem with water spots. Keep it out of sprinkler sprays too.


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

dboy11 you recommended me before to use DCP on the water spots on the back bumper but i tried colorx instead and that worked for those, but it didn't work for these etchings, man was i bummed. i came back and read this and forgot about the DCP, i tried it just now and it worked i couldn't believe it this stuff is like magic. made the paint look real good too. i might actually go over the whole car with this waxing after of course. you saved my day man thanks a lot!


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## BmW745On19's (Aug 12, 2005)

Try clay first.


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

thats actually what i did, i tried clay then colorx and no go. only when i rubbed in the DCP over the colorX did it work. it probably would have worked without the colorX, but im not sure if the colorX had softened up the etchings at all. something just doesnt feel right about rubbing that hard onto a clayed unprotected surface even with a cottom applicator, i feel like im scouring the surface 

is it safe to use a cotton applicator to "work in" DCP and use some elbow grease on a clayed unprotected surface? the reason im worried is cause i tried doing similar before but wasn't using a cotton applicator but this foam one with an abrasive mesh covering and it gave me fine scratches, fortunately i only did it on a small test spot, but with how soft BMW paint is im very reluctant to even touch the unclayed paint its practically like butter on there.


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

chris328 said:


> dboy11 you recommended me before to use DCP on the water spots on the back bumper but i tried colorx instead and that worked for those, but it didn't work for these etchings, man was i bummed. i came back and read this and forgot about the DCP, i tried it just now and it worked i couldn't believe it this stuff is like magic. made the paint look real good too. i might actually go over the whole car with this waxing after of course. you saved my day man thanks a lot!


DCP?

Are you talking about the paint cleaner?

Color X is an AIO polish, and to take the WS off is not surprise, the paint cleaner would have done the same IMO...no harm no foul you achieved what you wanted


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

yeah the deep crystal paint cleaner. what do you think about rubbing it into an unclayed surface. i've read that it has a small amt of diminishing abrasives in it, any chance you can cause scratches by working it into clayed, unprotected, weakass paint like BMWs?


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

chris328 said:


> yeah the deep crystal paint cleaner. what do you think about rubbing it into an unclayed surface. i've read that it has a small amt of diminishing abrasives in it, any chance you can cause scratches by working it into clayed, unprotected, weakass paint like BMWs?


Paint cleaners are chemical based, much like Klasse AIO, you can NOT hurt the paint with this product. The reason why it works on water spots and etching is the chemical in it. Paint cleaners are used in conjunction with clay, they are both paint prep products. My suggestion is to apply some wax on those areas now

I want to thank you for getting back to me with your results, many don't...I took some heat from another detailer on this site that a paint cleaner would not work on water spots & etching from bird crap..I knew better


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## chris328 (Jul 16, 2008)

Yeah it definitely worked here. I swear to god some kind of perodactyl dinosaur shat on my car yesterday, I came out and it looked like silver shiny concrete and it must have dropped from a really high height cause the radius of the splotches were like 8 inches in diameter, I seriously shat a brick.


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## lild (Sep 11, 2007)

first off, bmw use very good clear on there cars, if they didn't you would of never fixed the problem. secondly, next time when find some shat on your ride, acutally wash it by hand, you'll find much better results than a touchless car wash, which they don't clean your ride all that well.


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