Highway Dancer

Last October I spent 3 days washing/waxing my car:

Day 1: Wash with dishsoap/palmolive and Clay Bar by hand, then Meguiars #85 Mirror Glaze with orbital buffer.
Day 2: Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polisher and then Meguiars #81 Hand Polish.
Day 3:Meguiars Tech Wax 2.0.

The paint has been great ever since, however last weekend I had the misfortune of parking in my fiancee's driveway overnight while their sprinklers came on (unknown to me until the next day). I came out to calcium spots all over the right side of the car.

Since then I've, I powersprayed with water, and washed twice by hand with Meguiars Gold Class Car Wash and a sheepskin glove. The spots still appear as ghosts.

I've been told that "all the wax is probably gone by now" and that "I should just wash with dishsoap/palmolive" to strip the car down to the paint again and start over.

My questions:

(1) I know I should wax at least once a year, but is all that hard work really gone and do I have to start all over?

(2) How do I get those damn hard water/calcium spots off the car?

I really take pride in my cars appearance, so your help is appreciated.

Post Wax Pictures from October (excuse the cropping)

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

I dont ever recommend kitchen products in car care, just dont see the need for it. What I would do is add a cup on vinegar to your normal wash as see if it removes the spotting. If not you want to get them gone prior to etching the painted surface and you have two options:

1. Paint Cleansing Lotion -- these a chemical based and help remove oxidation and other items on painted surface

2. Polishing --- Use the machine and polishes to abrade the surface and remove the contaminents as possible.

Not to burst anyones bubble, but there are few if any waxes or sealants that last a full year unless they are hidden in a garage. Paint sealants are typically more durable (longer protection) than carnauba based waxes but still in the 4 month region for nice environments. So even if you still have some wax protection, you should consider waxing a little more often. (consider using a spray wax or spray sealant while washing and you'll get longer protection too if you prefer less waxing sessions)

Luster

These were the water spots I removed from an '07 Corvette with clay bar, followed by M205 on an Lake Country Orange Pad, Griots Polisher, speed 5. I used this combo on the paint as well as the acrylic top. (Sorry, I didn't get any shots of the top after polishing! )

BEFORE:





AFTER:

Highway Dancer

Thanks for the responses and replies.

I tried vinegar, water and soap. It didn't work. I then decided to try and use clay bar, it also didn't work, it wasn't picking up anything and the surface was as smooth as glass.

Eventually I grabbed some Meguiars #95 speed cutting compound and the buffer and did the entire car, it worked brilliantly. I finished off with some Tech wax 2.0 as protectant. It wasn't the extent I did last October, but it worked.

Song

May need to use a buffing compound and a buffer to buff it out. But be careful not to take the Clear Coat off of the paint.

Luster