# Can't remove water spots from my jet black 3



## AZDrPhil (Mar 22, 2011)

I've got a bunch of water spots that I couldn't remove with clay or a re-wash. I don't know if they were caused by the dealer's courtesy wash or by me not being able to dry quickly enough after my own wash. It looks like using my plain ol garden hose is definitely out of the question from here on. There are too many minerals in our Arizona water and I'm not about to buy a hose filtering setup since I don't really trust it will help.

Anyway I'm about to plunge into purchasing a complete Porter Cable kit from Adams. The car has only a few noticeable swirls in addition to the spots.

Is it too early to begin using something like this? The car is less than two months old.


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## CGdetailing (Feb 27, 2011)

a light polish will most likely take it off.


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## Johnz3mc (Jan 5, 2005)

Try a 50/50 vinegar and water soak first. The key is to let the liquid dwell on the spots long enough to soften/dissolve the calcium deposits. Maybe use a cloth or paper towels soaked in the vinegar/water and figure out some way to let the cloth/towel stay on the spots. Easy on the horizontals, tricky on the verticals.

After a dwell time, try the vinegar/water cloth to gently agitate the spots and they should come off or be dissolved. If you see any success at all, increase your dwell time then gently agitate again.

If the vinegar/water isn't too successful, your Porter Cable should arrive from Adams and you can polish them out.
Good luck,
-John C.


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## mishaparem (Apr 28, 2009)

Johnz3mc said:


> The key is to let the liquid dwell on the spots long enough to soften/dissolve the calcium deposits.


Yes!

I had this very same problem, I didn't want to resort to vinegar, so I tried polish first, and that didn't work. When I did resort to vinegar, I used a 10% vinegar mix. It took forever, and I made mistakes along the way, but it got the job done. Here is what I came up with by trial and error:

Do it in the garage, one water spot at a time, don't apply pressure, and keep the working area moist and lubricated - as in, don't be stingy with the liquid or you'll get scratches. Dry each spot with a clean towel when you are done dissolving the water spot, or you will have a thin film of calcium in that spot if you let it dry on it's own.

Sounds like I'm taking things a bit too far, I know but trust me, there's a difference between "no water spots but scratches" and "no water spots, no scratches".Sure you can polish out the scratches, but that just means your clear coat got that much thinner.

Good luck!


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

Compounding involves abrading away the area surrounding the scratch or blemish until the defect is no longer visible. This is best accomplished with a circular polisher (like the DeWalt 849, Makita 9227, Flex PE 14-2) but one orbital polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP will remove minor defects and visually reduce deeper swirls, scratches and blemishes. Compounding may leave the surface dull. This is normal! This dullness, or compounding haze, is removed in the next step which is polishing.

Polishing removes compounding haze and restores surface gloss. It creates a mirror-like, highly reflective finish ready for waxing. Polishing is best accomplished using a white foam polishing pad and a finishing polish.

Finishing protects the surface with your favorite wax or sealant ( Blackfire of course ). Finishing can be accomplished by hand or with an orbital polisher (Porter Cable). Applying a wax or paint sealant by machine is typically done using a red or Gold foam finishing pad.

This should help in the remover of these water spots, but the vinegar way is recommend before polishing to dissolve most of it for you. Always remember to support your Vendor's here at BimmerFest.

http://www.properautocare.com/blackfire.html

http://www.properautocare.com/makhigspeedp3.html


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## AZDrPhil (Mar 22, 2011)

Ok thanks much for the hints. I'll try a diluted vinegar solution this weekend and report back here if still in trouble.

Re supporting Vendors. This is my intention but I'm overwhelmed by the choices. I'm too afraid and too inexperienced to get a rotary polisher so plan to get a PC orbital instead. Just want to stay with that too; I only have 1 car and it's only 6 weeks old.

Last, Adams confuses me a bit with their PC kits because they include a replacement backing plate. What's wrong with the backing plate that comes with the machine? In switching to the Adams are you then locked in with purchasing Adams pads from that day forward?


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

It would be in bad taste for me to compare our products directly against another company or I'm not good enough to do so in a tasteful manner so I would only ask you consider this.

We sell tons of DA polishers (such as the Porter Cable, Shurhold, and Meguiar's) in complete kits. We offer the two best polish brands (or at least the two most popular) in Meguiar's and Menzerna, and we offer the highest quality pads from Lake Country.

I would look at one of our Kevin Brown Method kits, which include the polisher, the backing plate, the pads, and the polishing liquids. You will never be stuck inside one brand and we encourage you to try different products. Most people (including avid professionals) find that the Meguiar's M105/M205 combo is the very best in DA polishing.


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

The KBM kits start at a great price to boot! and these are the best kits around for your hard earn money!:thumbup:

http://www.properautocare.com/allmeguiars.html


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## mishaparem (Apr 28, 2009)

how did it go?


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## AZDrPhil (Mar 22, 2011)

I have a DA polisher on order for future beautification plans but the truth is they actually went away on their own with future washings using Meguiars Gold Class shampoo. I also switched from garden hose rinses to pouring gallon buckets filled with RO water to minimize the creation of future spots. That helped immensely.


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

Let us know how is your process is going on. Pictures if your could post them also. Have a great weekend.


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## AZDrPhil (Mar 22, 2011)

Ok finished first polishing job Saturday with my new Griots DA. I'm a total amateur & left a few scratches that are especially visible under my halogens. Used Menzerna Micro Polish followed by Menzerna Power Lock sealant. I probably needed a little more abrasive polish and/or pad, but good grief the car is only 2 months old so I figured the Micro polish would do it all.

Had a lot of problems with cloth fibers sticking to the surface as I went. The pad also sheds a bit, wonder if that's normal. It's extremely dry here in the Phoenix area so lots of airborne particles kept sticking to the surface due to static electricity.

There are definitely no water spots now, however .


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## jfs356 (Oct 14, 2010)

That cars looks cherry!:thumbup:


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## Ilovemycar (Feb 19, 2010)

AZDrPhil said:


> Ok finished first polishing job Saturday with my new Griots DA. I'm a total amateur & left a few scratches that are especially visible under my halogens. Used Menzerna Micro Polish followed by Menzerna Power Lock sealant. I probably needed a little more abrasive polish and/or pad, but good grief the car is only 2 months old so I figured the Micro polish would do it all.


Congrats on getting the feet wet! As you might've noticed, you're picking up the experience. :thumbup: I am only a year ahead of you, if that. So, for the aggressiveness of the pad/polish, it's really the combination. More elbow grease means you can use less aggressive pad or polish, or same goes for orbital speed selection (which also varies with the different machines out there). What color pads did you use, and what orbital speed? Also, smaller pads cut more than larger pads of the same color.

You did clay before hand right? I highly recommend a $35 foam gun, 2x $5 buckets, and a grit guard. It will save you time and money in the long run, for sure, trust me. I've been using Gold Class wash, but will buy Optimum my next go round due to its rep for foaming insanity through a gun. (Chemical Guys citrus wash would be my very next choice.) I want my car to look like Frosty the Snowman, like some of the pros do here, hehe.

As for 2 months, it's not really about time IMO, but about the care. What I mean is that I expect my car to look better after 1 year than most cars do after 1 month, or you know what I mean. It just takes one pass through an automatic car wash to necessitate a thorough polishing out of swirl marks with dark paint, for instance.



> Had a lot of problems with cloth fibers sticking to the surface as I went. The pad also sheds a bit, wonder if that's normal. It's extremely dry here in the Phoenix area so lots of airborne particles kept sticking to the surface due to static electricity.


I've never seen pad shedding before, and the only MF fibers that were shed came from my very cheapest of MF towels. Buy good towels, and it will be a thing of the past. I might use cheaper MFs for engine bay, jambs, sills, wheels, tires, or something.



> There are definitely no water spots now, however .


Well done.


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## AZDrPhil (Mar 22, 2011)

Blue pad from detailersdomain for polish, black for applying sealant. I read somewhere BMW jet black was soft so I erred on the cautious side.

Re clay, grit guard, 2 buckets, better MF towels. Check! Not sure why I need the foam gun but hey, I'm game. No automatic car washes for me and learning as I go, thanks.


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## Swanicyouth (Feb 20, 2011)

Walk five feet from your car, it looks excellent, relax. There's only so much you can do. If you obsess over every little imperfection your life will just be working, and washing and polishing your car.


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## Ilovemycar (Feb 19, 2010)

AZDrPhil said:


> Blue pad from detailersdomain for polish, black for applying sealant. I read somewhere BMW jet black was soft so I erred on the cautious side.


Caution is a good thing. What people recommend is indeed to start softer, *but* when you do not see the desired improvement after a small test area, then go on to more aggressive pad/polish/technique/etc.

FWIW, I foresee blue being the very softest pad I'll use in the future, only for the application of sealant. IOW, I do not even think it has any cut to begin with. I'd recommend some more aggressive pads for the future. I know my PC is pretty tame, compared to a Flex DA, and let's not even talk about a rotary; a PC-type DA with a blue pad is extremely gentle I would think.



> Re clay, grit guard, 2 buckets, better MF towels. Check! Not sure why I need the foam gun but hey, I'm game. No automatic car washes for me and learning as I go, thanks.


If you want to clay often, give Pinnacle Ultra Poly a look-see. It's so soft, to a fault (crumbles easily).

The reasoning behind the foam gun is related to so many of the other techniques with detailing: reducing the chance of scratching the paint. So instead of mechanically applying the wash, whereby your hand might be physically moving dirt and stuff across the paint, the foam gun lets you apply the soap in a gentler way, and gets you a head start in lubricating all of the dirt/grime off.


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## x26 (Sep 16, 2007)

AZDrPhil said:


> Ok finished first polishing job Saturday with my new Griots DA. I'm a total amateur & left a few scratches that are especially visible under my halogens. Used Menzerna Micro Polish followed by Menzerna Power Lock sealant. I probably needed a little more abrasive polish and/or pad, but good grief the car is only 2 months old so I figured the Micro polish would do it all.
> 
> Had a lot of problems with cloth fibers sticking to the surface as I went. The pad also sheds a bit, wonder if that's normal. It's extremely dry here in the Phoenix area so lots of airborne particles kept sticking to the surface due to static electricity.
> 
> There are definitely no water spots now, however .


Wowee!! That car looks amazing...

I'm thinking about getting a Kit to do my own JB 335. :dunno:


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## rbelton (Aug 25, 2015)

Here's how to remove the stubborn water spots, you'll need a microfiber pad, some polish and a dual action machine. This X5 had really bad water spots, this light combination of products and tools took them right out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9UIjIHGRZM


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