Water-spotting on Paint

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downeykp

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
746
Location
Keaau, HI
I took delivery on Tuesday 5-31-11. Being that it is a wonderful day here in the PNW, my daughter and I gave the Leaf its first bath. As we were drying we noticed that the paint and the glass were really water-spotted. There were also light scratches and some white spots that looked like over-spray. It looked like it had been sitting out in the elements for 2 months, (which it had) in Long Beach. Has anyone who had their car languish in LB for two months and recently took delivery seen this problem?
 
Sounds to me like it was washed with very hard (or is it soft?) water. Those are probably calcium deposits. I never wash my car in the bright sun for that very reason. Wash it on a cloudy day or under some sort of shade and that problem won't happen.

Do the spots go away with a coat of wax?
 
I used wax after the fact but water spots are still there. I could probably rub it out with some rubbing compound. However the glass is water spotted just as bad.
 
I had the same problem today. It really shows on my black paint. I was thinking it might be the soap? What do you guys use for a spot-free finish?

Also at O'Reilly's I saw a turtle wax product called, "the Black Box". Apparently formulated for black paint jobs. Normally I use Mothers, or another of the top name brand Caranuba based waxes, but I was curious. Does anyone have any experience with that product?
 
Rake, I am curious as to how many more are like this or if it is more prevalent to our black paint. Could it just be the nature of the rain and sitting in the sun in LB for two months. You would think that paint should have been perfect. But I am not that worried. It seems like a cool car.
 
Was your car a pollen car? Mine was damaged enough that they had to paint the bumper (after Nissan CS told me that the pollen would be removed with no damage to the paint/finish). See this thread:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4220
 
downeykp said:
Rake, I am curious as to how many more are like this or if it is more prevalent to our black paint. Could it just be the nature of the rain and sitting in the sun in LB for two months. You would think that paint should have been perfect. But I am not that worried. It seems like a cool car.

Brendan Jones said the black cars were the most susceptible to the pollen sticking.
 
downeykp said:
It does not look like pollen. It is just really water-spotted.
My question would still be whether the water spotting is due to damage to the finish from removing the pollen, or just water spotting for another reason.
 
I always like a clean "canvas" when I get a new toy (was a Professional Detailer in my teens) and strip everything off right away. This way I only have ONE known product on the car and can built up a stable wax base.

Step-1, Use dish soap to wash the car. If you take care of the finish, this should be the only time you ever wash in dish soap.

Step-2, Clay Bar the entire car! I like Meguiar's. Take your time and inspect the finish carefully. If something has not come off at this point, it is in the paint. Call your dealer and have a professional compound the car. Otherwise...

Step-3, Wax the car with RejeX. I have used everything but this the only wax I have used for 10 years. It was first made for the Marine Industry to protect yachts from salt corrosion. Amazing stuff and comes off without alot of damaging hand pressure. Best done with an orbital. Repeat waxing at months 1, 3, 6 and then once a year.

If your paint is undamaged, you will be blinded by the finish.
 
The water spots on the body and windows are probably from acid rain while sitting at the port.
I got a GT-R 3 years ago and it sat at the port for a month or two while Nissan was trying to get dealers certified. Another instance where NissanUSA screwed up the deliveries while customers were chomping at the bit waiting for their cars sitting at the port in an area loaded with acid/chemical rain and lots of pollutants falling on the cars as they baked in the sun.
I didn't notice the problem until several months later when it was parked under a halogen or ?? street light at night. Then it really showed up, but I didn't pursue it with Nissan because I had no way to prove when and where it happened.
 
downeykp said:
Rake, I am curious as to how many more are like this or if it is more prevalent to our black paint. Could it just be the nature of the rain and sitting in the sun in LB for two months. You would think that paint should have been perfect. But I am not that worried. It seems like a cool car.
I know my car (according to CS for what thats worth) was not a pollen car, but it did sit in LB for 2+ months. I'm going to take some of the mentioned advice and wash/clay bar/wax as soon as I can find some of that wax. I'll poke around the net for some tonight. I found a small scuff on the hood so my PD said they will have their best guy buff it out. When I'm there I'll pick his brain for more info.
 
Mine had pretty bad water spotting, too. More visibly so on the rear window than anywhere else. I don't believe mine had to sit at Long Beach for very long. I tried using window cleaner on my rear window but it still didn't remove the spots completely.
 
Good luck getting window cleaned. There are some products at the auto supply store that might work.
If you are seeing water spotting on windows I can almost guarantee that your paint is also water spotted.
If you get it in the right kind of light you will probably see what I am talking about.
Take it to dealer and see what they say. I took mine in and they "cut and rubbed" it to no avail. It is still water spotted.
 
TRONZ said:
I always like a clean "canvas" when I get a new toy (was a Professional Detailer in my teens) and strip everything off right away. This way I only have ONE known product on the car and can built up a stable wax base.

Step-1, Use dish soap to wash the car. If you take care of the finish, this should be the only time you ever wash in dish soap.

Step-2, Clay Bar the entire car! I like Meguiar's. Take your time and inspect the finish carefully. If something has not come off at this point, it is in the paint. Call your dealer and have a professional compound the car. Otherwise...

Step-3, Wax the car with RejeX. I have used everything but this the only wax I have used for 10 years. It was first made for the Marine Industry to protect yachts from salt corrosion. Amazing stuff and comes off without alot of damaging hand pressure. Best done with an orbital. Repeat waxing at months 1, 3, 6 and then once a year.

If your paint is undamaged, you will be blinded by the finish.

Spoken like a true professional! I too have used RejeX for 10 years on both my Audi A4 and S4's. Apply only once a year. When applied correctly, it works super!

2 thumbs up!
 
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