Water spots on red paintwork.
Water spots are unsightly marks on what could otherwise be pristine paintwork.
Imagine washing and waxing your car, but instead of being able to admire it, you’re horrified by water marks.
How do water marks appear? How can you get rid of them?
What are water spots?
Water spots are created when water evaporates from paintwork and leaves behind contamination.
Unless your car only ever comes into contact with filtered or distilled water, all water has some contamination.
Contamination is either from trace minerals, dirt or chemicals.
It is these ingredients that create water spots.
How do I remove them?
If you have been fastidiously grooming your car, removing water spots should be easy.
Contaminants on the wax or sealant that sits atop your paintwork should prevent the spots from becoming permanent.
So, washing your vehicle with a good car shampoo should do the trick.
If not, you may need to use a gentle polish (the least abrasive sort) to remove the spots.
Remember to apply another layer or wax or sealant after polishing the paintwork.
What if the spots are stubborn?
If you have allowed water marks to remain on the paint, they will become tough to remove.
This is because your paintwork and the sun combine to “bake” the contaminants on the surface.
In this case, you’ll need to wash your car and then use a clay bar to remove as much of the embedded contaminants as possible.
After this, polish your vehicle, before applying another layer of protection to its surface.
If the spots still don’t come out, it is best to send your car to a professional detailer to have it machine polished.
A machine polisher, with a more abrasive product, is better at removing stubborn spots than if you were do it by hand.
You’ll need a machine polisher to remove chemical contaminants that may have etched the paint.
How do I prevent water spots?
Frequent washing and waxing) will go a long way towards keeping your paintwork water spot-free.
Do this even if the weather is rainy.
If you can, dry your car after driving through a rainstorm.
To prevent scratches, do this with the aid of a quick detailer.
A quick detailer adds a layer of lubrication between your wax/paint and surface dirt.
This lets you wipe it off without marring your finish.
