Hello everyone, any tips? I picked up a Florida car and it has waterspots on the side mirror gl***, the pillar trim, and the paint. Apparently they have...I don't know...acid rain or something down there. Pretty sure I can buff out the paint (it's modern BC/CC stuff) and I'm not too worried about the pillars. But the mirror gl*** is really annoying. I did try white vinegar on the mirrors, which did nothing. Thanks!
For GL*** I use gl*** cleaner and 0000 steel wool. Wont scratch, removes all the ****, and works super fast. Learned it from a car detailer that reconditions cars for resale and does high end cars also. After done make sure you put some rain x on it for preservation is my tip. My 56 windows have only ever had to have rainx re applied and have never water spotted. Can be used on chrome and stainless trim also. Paint, soak the affected area with a good detailer spray, let penetrate for 30 seconds, buff off with circular motion, if not enough, use a "cleaner wax" this has very mild abrasive and wont take the rest of the wax off either, if that doesn't produce enough results, do spray detailer and clay bar treatment, and next to the last, compound use a fine/medium cut, you will have to buff and polish after that, but I feel confident that clay bar or cleaner wax will remove everything you have on there. It would probably be worthwhile to claybar the entire car, then apply a good 2 coats of new wax to keep the paint in good condition and prevent this ever from happening again. Hope this helps man.
Try a "Claybar" they have several names but bigtime wax places carry them. It looks like a chunk of silly putty and you flatten it out and rub it on the gl*** or paint very WET or soapy like when washing the car. You can buy a spray bottle of "special lube"but I find car soap or just water works good. It removes spots. It is mild and will not harm paint but are very effective and relatively cheap buy a couple. I see lt. blue colored ones and white color the blue ones seem more aggressive. One CAUTION if you drop it THROW IT AWAY as small pieces of rocks or whatever get embedded and it will scratch any surface you rub it on.
The best thing for hard water deposits is vinegar and water. I work at a marina we deal with it all the time.
My local gl*** shop sells a product that you mix volcanic ash into, doesn't scratch and works miracles on gl***. They sell it for shower doors but I have used it on many a stained car gl***.
I lived in Florida, and I always used Barkeeper's Friend. Windshields get it bad too down there. Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
None of those. Why, do you have extremely specific, year make and model instructions for waterspot removal?
Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. I didn't have much luck with vinegar, but I keep hearing about Bartender's Friend (or maybe Barkeep's Friend?), and it sounds like Bon Ami, a kitchen cleanser we used to keep around when I was a kid. I guess you're supposed to mix it into a paste with water and rub it on the gl*** or mirrors. I do have some clay I'll try as well. Gotta admit though, I never thought of white polishing compound or 0000 steel wool on gl***, but they're worth a shot too. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Most enthusiast sites will just tell you to go out and buy "Zymöl Destiny Carbon Waterspot Remover" or "Wolfgang Fuzion Gl***Werk Polishing System".
Thanks again for the helpful responses! I have clayed gl*** before, but FWIW, it didn't do anything for the waterspots. I ended up using some Turtle Wax Scratch and Swirl Remover, which worked like a charm. I'm guessing most of the suggestions you guys had that involved mild abrasives would have worked just as well.