# Possible water spot etching?



## Hazy2980 (Jul 18, 2018)

Hi all, first post!!

My 2 month old 3 series Estoril Blue, is showing small water/pit marks visible in certain light angles.

I rejected the dealer paint protection and opted to apply some Meguirs Ultimate Paste wax myself. The finish initially looked pukka.

I washed car yesterday for the first time in a month, dried and misted /wiped off with Meguirs Ultimate detailer.

When I got home under the drive flood light I noticed what I thought was water spots I must have missed when I did the wash, tried to wipe them off to no avail. Tried a vinegar solution, thinking they were water marks, no good...

Looking today under sun light the spots are noticable as the light transitions from light / shadow at a shallow angle, other than that the paint looks good. Just so annoying. Maybe they have always been there?!?
I tried some ultimate compound by hand today, it’s hard to say if there is improvement or not, maybe.....

Is it worth persisting with this? Trying to machine polish out? whatever it is has etched the clear coat, could it possibly be sand / dust & heat damage from all this hot weather??

Naively I thought the Wax would protect against this sort of thing.
Please check out the photos, zoom in around the sun.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Sorry mate, can't see anything in those photos.

Sure it's not just orange peel?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## Hazy2980 (Jul 18, 2018)

Novice here!! What is orange peel? And would it be a pain to remove?? As these marks take a lot of work.

Cheers


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

I can't make anything out from your pictures, however one possible cause of what you're seeing: The car was washed in the hot sun using hard water, mostly towelled-off, but residue quickly drying off on the paint. This would be too faint to see in normal conditions. Once waxed it will remain under the wax, and no amount of rewashing will get rid of it becasue it's locked in. You will need to wash, clay and decontaminate the paint again before waxing to get rid of it, but do it on a cool day! 

How do I know this? I've just done the same myself! But I will live with it until the autumn, because there is no mild weather on the horizon.


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