cleaning water stains from single stage non clear coat enamel paint

[oldschoolcamaro]

i've got a 15 yr old single stage enamel paint job on my camaro with no clear and whenever the paint gets wet from rain or if i wash it then the sun drys it off i get some nasty water stains in my paint . even with a good quality wax ,glaze and sealer on the paint i still get these nasty water stains

today i cleaned my paint with a quality pre-wax cleaner then i used a clay bar on the paint to clean up the paint .i used next a quality glaze ,sealer then a quality carnuba wax and the paint was very shiny/clean .during the car show i was at today we had a 10 minute heavy downpour from a t-storm and after that the sun came out and dried the rain water off my paint and that's when i noticed the white stains

i tried using the pre wax cleaner again then a claybar then a glaze compound and even though i saw some paint transfer on the towel i was using the stains are still there . so is there anything else i can use to clean these water stains besides what i've tried ,would a polishing compound work ??

[oldschoolcamaro]

could i use the 3M light cut liquid rubbing compound or the med cut compound ?? .this problem with the water staining has been a problem since i bought the car 12 years ago and only happens if i don't wipe the rain water off the paint immediately and it gets baked in to the pain by the glaring sun .like mentioned previously in my other posts i'm using mothers waxes/polishes or surf city products but no matter how many times i wax my paint if the paint gets wet from the rain and baked by the sun that's my main issue


like tonight the water beaded up nicely after it rained so i know the wax is protecting the paint but the rain drops acted like magnifying glasses and left a stain in the paint

[TC]

I use this stuff, it works great......

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm slightly confused - where is the white coming from? Where I am, hard water leaves water stains like you describe - so no matter how well you wax the car, you'll still have hard water stains if you don't dry the car immediately after washing.

Isn't there a lot of alkali in the water down there

[realsteelfreak]

Could be acid rain, had a 94 Corsica looked like crap and always showed up , it had base and clear so I sanded with 1000 grit and buffed. I have buffed enamel after 1200 sanding, but you have to be very careful, easy to burn , very easy.
You might have to live with it.

[Barry Donovan]

I'm slightly confused - where is the white coming from? Where I am, hard water leaves water stains like you describe - so no matter how well you wax the car, you'll still have hard water stains if you don't dry the car immediately after washing.

Isn't there a lot of alkali in the water down there

or a continuos mineral attracted to the steel.
single stage is hopeless in my local war zone.. I got two part extreme urethane down to looking like an arizona dust storm smothered it once and awhile.

for single stage, you are being quite patient.. the chores might have to continue with what you are doing already. The extras added are always softer and removable. maybe make it a one stage wax job to take a load of effort off.

I did use a one stage once, but it was some 3000 psi epoxy white, used on cessna type airplanes. needed 90s F to dry.

[squirrel]

He lives in the greater LA metropolitan area. The air there is nasty.....

I'll be interested in hearing the solution to this problem.

[Beagle]

I guess I'm confused too - are you talking about needing to chamois the car like right freaking now or it leave residue, or are you talking about permanently etched paint that will probably have to be compounded? If clay bar won't take it out, eeek.

I love the new synthetic chamois'. They work. The neighbors sprinklers leave water marks on my cars for me before I get up though. I gave up washing them a long time ago though, to be honest. Garage or car cover is the only way I know to keep them pretty.

[Scott Liggett]

Sprinklers in LA. Most water the driveway and streets instead of lawns. Hard water spots galore.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'd be quite enthused if there was a product that repelled hard water stains - after all, the only thing drying does is make the spot into a film over a larger area (less noticeable)

water is a solvent, wax is the sacrificial anode - hard enough water, and the wax doesn't stand a chance

[yellomalibu]

I saw an infomercial a little while back for a product that was like a wax for cars - but rather than the water beading- up, it had "sheeting action"... much like dull, unwaxed paint would do. I don't remember the name of the product; I figured it was just another cheesy infomercial and dismissed it.

...at least it doesn't rain in southern Ca too often. Keep a chamois in the trunk.

[oldschoolcamaro]

I guess I'm confused too - are you talking about needing to chamois the car like right freaking now or it leave residue, or are you talking about permanently etched paint that will probably have to be compounded? If clay bar won't take it out, eeek.

I love the new synthetic chamois'. They work. The neighbors sprinklers leave water marks on my cars for me before I get up though. I gave up washing them a long time ago though, to be honest. Garage or car cover is the only way I know to keep them pretty.

if i leave my camaro outside and it rains and i know it rained on it and i towel dry or use chamois right after it rains i'm fine as it won't stain the paint .but if i don't wipe it down and the the sun dries the moisture off of the paint then i get those white stains all over my paint were ever the water was beading up



this problem is also noticed even driving my camaro through a water puddle/culvert filled with water and the water is kicked up on to the paint by the tires . again if i no this happened and quickly wipe it down i'm fine but if not white stains appear on the paint


i'm using mothers waxes/polishes or products from surf city garage and my paint gets waxed/polished regularly


the last time this happened i had to spend $125 at a detail shop to have it machined buffed out as i tried some wax cleaners and couldn't get all of the stains removed .the stains are always located on area of the body were water can bead up so any panel that is flat like the roof ,top of fenders ,trunk lid , top of front header panel

because i'm running N50 -15 tires on 10" rims the tires stick out of the rear wheel wells some and this causes water staining around the top of the rear qtr panels and trunk area

[oldschoolcamaro]

just tried some 3M light cut liquid rubbing compound and after sweating my ass off in 110 deg heat all i got was shiny/glossy red paint with white stains !!!! .i'm out of ideas and this is pissing me off

[oldschoolcamaro]

this is the type of water spots i have on my paint and found this pic on autogeek.net

Type III Water Spots
Type III Water Spots are spots that look faded or dull and are found primarily found on single stage paints after a water source lands on and then pools on the paint and is usually left to dwell on the surface for some measure of time before it evaporates or is wiped-off the surface. Type III Water spots can also happen to clear coat finishes too but it’s not as common because I Type III Water Spot is either a stain or fading. Clear coats don’t stain as easily as single stage paints because they are not as porous or permeable. Clear coats can’t technically fade because they are clear to start with, there’s no color to fade.

[TC]

You can try this stuff......

http://mx-7.com/plus-water-spot-remover-p-29.html?osCsid=a514958a22de175ff08600029e054acc