Hi All,
I just got my new Mini Countryman a few weeks ago, and was so excited to do my first wash and wax this weekend. I pored over the detailing posts, and got a bunch of new detailing products. I washed the car with Dawn to remove whatever the dealer used. I dried with a microfiber towel, then applied Prima Epic, let it sit overnight and wiped it off the next morning. When the car was in the sunlight, I noticed water spots on the car, which I guess means they are now under the wax? I washed the car out of direct sunlight, but it was warm out, I did see a few water spots before I applied the wax, but my boyfriend said when I applied the wax it would buff out. I wanted to get it washed early enough so I could apply the wax and let it sit overnight. I don't have access to a garage, and there is a lot of dust/pollen where I live. Did I make a huge mistake? And is there anyway to fix this without damaging my paint? I know you detailers are probably cringing! I'm sorry, I'm somewhat of a newbie! And I won't be listening to the boyfriend any more! Please help!

 

Did you dry it well?

Re-wash with Dawn.....clay bar....and check for acid rain etching before waxing

 

You could try removing the wax and water marks by using a clay bar. It basically removes all wax and contaminants sitting on top of the clear coat without hurting it. Its pretty easy and any novice can do it alongs if you following the basic instructions. After your done and the car is dry re-wax. You could use a buffer however if you are not experienced you could really damage the paint. I included a vid from youtube that shows the clay bar process. I personaly use the smart wax product however I'm sure almost anything will be okay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajJigviAZ6w

 

I thought using Dawn soap was the worst thing you could do .

 

Dawn is used to remove wax build up so that you can start from scratch. It is a very useful tool. But it's just one step of many. For the love of God and all of his little green apples, don't use Dawn and then go on about your life. You still have work to do after that.

+1 for clay bar. You might also try washing it with a good car wash (like Mystique), drying it thoroughly, and going over it with a decent detail spray. If you can still see the spots, I'd head for a clay bar.

As for Epic, you don't have to wait overnight. I wouldn't wait that long. An hour or so will do the trick.

I may be a bit conservative here but I would wait 6 to 10 weeks before doing anything heavy-duty to a car after it's been painted. I don't know how long you've had your gorgeous Countryman or what, exactly, MINIs paint specs are, but letting some time go by so everything can cure isn't a bad idea. I know when my ex's MINI was repainted (post-accident) they said to wait 8 weeks before waxing. And don't get really excited and clay bar too often. Depending on storage and motoring, once a year at the most should do it.

Enjoy and happy motoring! :-)

 

Don't give up.

A few weeks ago I noticed some nasty water spots on my bonnet that I somehow picked up while my MINI was left outside overnight down in the Ozarks. They were deposited on top of a one-month old coat of Epic. They were only on the bonnet, making me think that heat from the engine somehow accelerated their formation. One other important note--I noticed they were on top of the clearbra as well as the paint, but of similar severity, so I was fairly certain that the underlying paint was still okay. I had unknowingly applied some Hydro over the spots after a quick wash prior to noticing them.

Man, those buggers were hard to remove. I tried all of the tricks. Clay bar didn't work. That new NanoSkin AutoScrub clay bar alternative didn't work. Soaking with vinegar didn't work. I finally started to see a little progress with some Swirl and a PC with a mildly aggressive foam pad. Since Swirl breaks down into a finer polish as it's used, it took me multiple passes with the Swirl and a lot of polishing but I was finally able to eliminate the spots. I followed up with a round of Amigo and a reapplication of Epic, and happily the bonnet is back to its unblemished, showroom condition again.

I'm not sure if this kind of aggressive, repeated polishing would be acceptable on young factory paint but I imagine such paint would be sufficiently aged that you wouldn't have to worry. One of the detailing experts who frequent NAM might know. Also, Dawn works well to remove a carnauba wax but I seem to recall that it's not very effective for taking off synthetic waxes like Epic.

In sum, I had to work at it much harder than I originally expected but I eventually succeeded in removing the spots. I hope you enjoy similar success!

 

Hi Guys, thanks for the responses. I just had a few more questions...

"+1 for clay bar. You might also try washing it with a good car wash (like Mystique), drying it thoroughly, and going over it with a decent detail spray. If you can still see the spots, I'd head for a clay bar."

I may try this first, I have the Hydro wash from Prima, would that be ok? Would the detail spray be something like Slick or Hydro, or is there something else you think is better? I am just a little hesitant to do the clay, I've never done it before, and I've heard you can scratch the paint?

As to how long I've had the car...I've had it for about two weeks, and it sat at the dealer for about a week before I got it. Before that it was on a boat for a couple weeks, and before that, it sat at the port for almost a month. I am hoping that is long enough for the paint to cure? The last thing I want to do is mess up my paint. The only reason I washed it so soon was that it rained for a few days right after I got the car, and it looked filthy.

One other question, how long should I wait to take care of this? Should I take care of it right away, or wait a few weeks?

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate your help!

 

Use Dawn only when you want the wax off and are gonna do some correction, if needed, and gonna re-wax.

Polishing removes your clear coat, a little bit at a time and the scratches in it.

Good reading here: www.autopia.org

 

First to dispel a few myths....the paint on factory painted cars is already oven cured by the time you get it. In fact, the paint has already been buffed and polished by your dealer and probably even waxed. Waiting another 8 weeks is pointless.

When a car is painted at a body shop, the car is already assembled, and filled with flammable liquids, so you can't bake the finish, thus it takes longer for it to dry. Although UV lamps accelerate the curing process, it's generally agreed upon that letting the paint outgas for 30 days is sufficient before waxing and sealing the paint.

Second, Dawn only removes natural waxes, i.e. carnauba's. It won't strip off synthetic polymer sealants.

Third, don't worry about the water spots. Water spots are mineral deposits. The synthetic wax can be easily abraded off with a PC or you can use a wax and grease remover like Prep-Sol that comes in an aerosol can at your local Pep Boys. If you wash in the shade on cool paint, the chances of getting water spots is much lower. Using Prima Slick quick detailer after your wash can remove water spots before you wax. Note that Epic is a sacrificial barrier. It's thickness is microscopic. You will be able to remove the wax and water spots using some vinegar.

Clay isn't an effective tool to remove wax. However if you clay a waxed surface, you should rewax it because the potential to have compromised the wax is great, however it won't uniformly remove it.

 

Thanks OctaneGuy, I was hoping you might chime in on my predicament, I have read many of your posts, and am blown away by your knowledge on this subject! I am also relieved to hear that I should be able to get the spots off. So this weekend I will try again, if you think that's not too soon. Would you recommend the prep sol over the vinegar solution? If I do use the vinegar, what is the dilution? I've also read that you can use alcohol/distilled H2O to remove the wax. So here is my plan, let me know if I should do something different.

1. Wash the car...in a cool place! I have Hydro wash.
2. Clay the paint.
3. Remove the wax using Prep Sol or vinegar.
4. Wash again to remove water spots???
5. Amigo???
6. Epic

Also, if I can't get all of this done in one day, what should I do if dust gets on the car? MF towel? California car duster?

Thanks a bunch!

 

No problem...I tend to be very busy at the shop so don't have as much time to monitor posts here as much as I'd like.

I forgot that the alcohol water solution should also be sufficient to strip off the Epic as well instead of the PrepSol. For the vinegar, I use distilled white vinegar from Costco and use a soft microfiber rag and saturate that with 100% vinegar. I let that sit on the spot for several minutes, don't worry it won't hurt your paint. Make sure to do this on cool paint, not out in the sun, and gently rub the spot and see if it goes away. My guess is that you can even do this over the waxed area without stripping it.

Your process is fine, but steps 3 and 4 need to be adjusted. Vinegar is for removing mineral deposits and water spots, not stripping the wax.

Personally, I would either wash the paint, or use Slick to clean it, then process the individual water spotted area, first to prove that the method I'm thinking about will work before trying to attack all of the problems at once.

A Porter Cable polisher is the ideal tool to improve the paint and remove the water spots, but if that's not available, then doing the test as above to ensure that you aren't wasting time and energy is important.

Richard

 

Ok, so here's the revised plan...just to make sure I'm getting it right.

1. Wash and dry car.

2. Try to remove water spots using vinegar. There are quite a few spots all over the paint, not just in a few spots, should I just keep doing the MF towel with vinegar, working my way over the whole car?

3. If the vinegar removes the spots proceed to clay.
If it doesn't remove the spots strip wax using Prep Sol or alcohol solution (50/50?) then clay, or should I try the vinegar again before claying? If the wax is gone, will the vinegar damage the paint?

4. Amigo.

5. Epic.

Unfortunately I don't have a PC, and am not sure I am ready for that yet! So, this will all be by hand.

Thank you again for your help, I am sorry to be so nitpicky if that's a word, I just want to make sure I do this right.

 

The best thing about the PC is that you can't mess it up. It can't generate enough heat to hurt your paint so it's almost impossible to mess up. It's a GREAT tool to learn with.