# Imprint Rings - A specific type of water spot on car paint by Mike Phillips



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*Imprint Rings - A specific type of water spot on car paint by Mike Phillips 
*

*Imprint Rings*

These water spots look like they're _*established*_ water spots, that is, every time it rains, or a sprinkler goes off, the water *pools* in the same place giving any corrosive substances *IN* the water a repeated opportunity to *etch into* the paint.



















Visually, I can tell the paint is likely etched in this instance but I won't know till I get the surface clean. The first step is to wash or wipe the finish, in this instance I'm going to repeat wiping process I used on the Mercedes-Benz with a spray detailer.



















*After wiping the paint clean, there are water spot imprints remaining in the paint.*










CLOSE-UP Shots of Imprint Rings











*Note:* These rings are actually etchings *in* the top layer of paint.











Because an Imprint Ring Water Spot is an actual ETCHING in the paint, you cannot simply wipe the imprint rings off nor can you use _*health risk hazard techniques*_ like wiping the paint with hydrofluoric acid to remove them.

The correct way to remove them and the only way to remove them 100% is to abrade the surface with a high quality polish that uses top shelf abrasive technology. If the etchings are really deep then you may need to use compound which is more aggressive than a polish.

Of course, always test the least aggressive product to get the job done so you leave the most paint on the car.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

I stupidly let my car dry in the sun and got some nice water spots. I put some vinegar into an ONR mix and it cleaned it up real well. I did it straight away and didn't leave the spots for than a few minutes.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

Andy from Sandy said:


> I stupidly let my car dry in the sun and got some nice water spots. I put some vinegar into an ONR mix and it cleaned it up real well. I did it straight away and didn't leave the spots for than a few minutes.


Sometimes Vinegar works, just depends on what was in the water.

Vinegar breaks the bond between the minerals that were dissolved in the water that show up on the paint after the water evaporates so you can wipe or wash them off.


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