what do I do to rid the etched water marks!

[aheyn]

Hey all ...

Today after washing I car, I realised I have a few etched water spots on my boot lid. Most of the car is fine - and I only noticed this upon CLOSE inspection, but its there ...

I tried mothers scratch remover, megs dc1 and dc2 separately .. but theres still about half of the mark there (each time ... theres about 5 or so etched water spots).

Is there anyway I can get rid of them without buffing?

Also, when I look VERY closely at my paint work, there are little `pits` here and there - especially on the hood.

Like, you cant notice them unless you look close, but instead of the surface being totally smooth after polishing etc, these marks are there. Like very shallow pits. My cars 96 but the paint is in excellent condition ... could it just be from age?

[mobiledetail1]

Sometimes water spots are built up deposits from the hard water, this should not be to hard of a problem to remove by hand if it`s relatively small area and not heavy. The other water spot problem is etching "acid rain" wich looks like it goes down into the paint, if that`s what you have it may... be removeable with "color sanding" and then machine compounding if your fortunate... Is that the shallow pits? or are the pits rocK or sand pitting?

[dalmore]

I think it`s worth the time to try clay if you haven`t already. Some stains that resembled water spot etching were removed from my paint with clay. However, if it really is etching, clay will not help as you know.

I had a horrid etched spot on my hood that was so big and ugly that I figured I wasn`t going to hurt much with a wet sanding. What convinced me to try it was that the spot was nearly invisible when wet. I figured that meant the color coat was still ok and I did not need a repaint. It worked out well. I was very happy. :dancin I downloaded the meguairs videos and the autopia.exe detailing guide. I also read some other instructions that google turned up and I can`t remember the name to properly cite them. It`s a scary process so if you`re not sure - go to a pro.

FWIW

[groebuck]

Most likely the pits are acid rain marks eating through the clear -