Alright guys. My paint is etched with water spots and I'm having a tough time getting them out. They aren't noticeable unless you look at the paint from a certain angle; it seems whoever owned the Z before me never dried the car after a wash. I've tried scrubbing with a 50/50 mix of white distilled vinegar and water, full on white distilled vinegar, clay baring, buffing with McGuire's Ultimate Compound (helped at first - took out a lot of water spots but etches still remain), Scratch X, Turtle Polisher, wax, etc. I'm out of ideas and I'm hoping someone knows some magical compound that will help me own the water spots. If not, I'm going to have to live with the etches. The paint is smooth after clay baring and waxing. You can't tell the etches are there unless you look at the paint from a certain angle. Let me know fellas!

 

No magical "compound" but you could use a buffer.

2000 grit wet sand + Buff= PURE SEX

 

Have you tried asking someone at Meguiar's forums? They have some pretty knowledgeable people and you may even be able to bring your car in to one of their classes....

 

take it to a DETAILER they will fix it the proper way and save you the headache of doing it yourself

 

I have always had good luck with Chemical Guys stuff performing the way its advertised. You can give their Water Spot Remover a try. However, I don't know if it is more tailored to water spots to the point that it would be more efficient than a compound. If not maybe a detailer can buff it out with a wool pad and compound or color sand the spots.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. A buddy of mine owns a detail shop and he suggested/showed me how to work my car with an acid bath (vinegar bath). This still didn't work. I've read up on Chemical Guys' water spot removal, and I do want to try their stuff. If this doesn't work, back to buffing and polishing. Maybe I'll use a higher speed for more heat, well see how things go. But yeah, thanks for the response guys.

 

Water spots can act like little magnifying glasses going to work on your paint. If the spots were severe enough they might have caused permanent damage to your clearcoat. I would try the water spot remover and after that it might be time for a body shop instead of risking more damage or buffing away too much of your clearcoat.