Hey all. I have some watermarks (acid rain marks) that won't come out. (it was like this when I got the car). I tried Zaino clay bar and then the swirl and scratch remover just to see if it would help, and as I figured, it didn't do anything but make the water marks look shinier! LOL. (Before I say more, know that I don't know a whole lot about paint, finishes, and/or high speed buffing...) Anyhow, I had a friend that used a high speed buffer on my triple black mustang a few times back in the day. He made that car shine like you wouldn't believe. After a year or so, even with proper care, it started looking a bit milky and he would go over the whole car with the buffer and some 3m compounds and such. When he was done, I didn't ever want to take the car out of the garage.
Anyhow, onto my topic. I asked the same friend (which used to do a LOT of buffing for a Honda dealership) to come and do my Vette for me. He said first off, the compounds he has is all for dark colors. He said I would have to order him the coumpounds and new pads (I buy him a lot and then he does my cars for free!). But the other thing he said is that he would actually feel uncomfortable doing the corvette since the whole car is fiberglass and plastic. He said you can actually mess up the car bad if you don't know exactly what you are doing. He has many years of buffing experience under his belt and he is telling me this.... He said I could probably take it somewhere and have it done, but make sure the person has insurance so they can pay to have it fixed if they mess up. Has anyone ever heard of this issue?? I really want this car to look as close to a show car finish as possible without actually having to have it repainted.

 

That sounds like mineral deposits. Had that happen many years ago from a water leak/drip in an airport parking garage. Ended up using LimeAway to get it off (followed by rinsing with a lot of water)...did not appear to damage the paint. YMMVIf I had a Honda, I wouldn't let your friend within fifty feet of it.
Seriously, what he's buffing is the paint. If he ever gets to the point where he's buffing the substrate (metal, fiberglass, whatever), you're looking at a repaint anyway.

 

I can tell you this, until last winter I had never used a buffer on a car and I found it to be quite easy, once I learned what combination of products to use. Use a PC random orbital with some LC white pads and Mirror Glaze M101 then 102, if you want it really slick finish it off with a black pad and Menzerna SF4000. Look up junkman 2008 on youtube, he will show you how easy it is.

 

junkman has some good videos on correcting and washing your car. i'd follow his advise over your friends if your friend is telling you he's uncomfortable doing it.

it's not hard, just time consuming.*edit* damn beat me to the punch

 

Perhaps my friend is just giving me a line of BS to get out of doing the work!!! LOL Thanks for the advice thus far!

 

Chadwicks takes care of that on my cars !!!!!!!!!!

 

You may want to post on the Car Care or the Paint/Body Forums - a lot of great products out there. Most water spots should be a thing of the past.

 

And good advice as well. I used a random orbital polisher last year with absolutely no prior experience and had no problem (except for some spattering of product).

 

Do it yourself. Catch a u-tube vid or two and buy yourself an inexpensive random orbital buffer. Easier than falling off a log to do. Then go show your (ex) friend the results. Maybe you will find your next career polishing Corvettes (beats Hondas anyday). LOL.

 

Fiberglass is no different than metal - you are not buffing the material beneath the paint (as already mentioned).

The C5 uses a 2-stage base coat/clear coat system (like many newer cars) and the Corvette's clear coat is very "hard" (which oddly allows it to get scratched very easily). The only thing you have to be concerned with is removing so much clear coat that you get down to the base (color) coat - then you are looking at a re-paint. That said I have used a Flex polisher with Menzerna polishes twice a year on my 2001 black C5 for 15 years and still have not not hit the base coat. However, if you have any deep scratches it is best to not try and remove them by any method as the trade off is too risky.

For water-spots you need to first determine if they are "raised" on the paint or etched into the clear coat. I would first try white vinegar and/or lemon juice. Just remember every time you use an RO or Rotary buffer, you are permanently removing some paint, so you want to keep it to a minimum.

 

I had them on my car just on the top side tried everything.i had some miquiars 2.0 scratch remover.So I diecided to give this a try.i had bad water spots they are actually etched into your clear coat .could not believe but it got thes spots off.

 

The meguiars 2.0 scratch remover got the water spots off?? I believe my spots are etched into the paint. I do have an orbital buffer, I just haven't used it in years... Maybe it is time to break it out.

 

If the spots are etched into the clear the only real way to remove them is to wetsand them out, and that's if the etching didn't go deep into the clear coat. ....I just did this to my car this past weekend. Spent almost 6 hrs just between sanding out scratches, bird poop and acid rain etched areas and then buffing the entire car out with Meguires 105 Compound followed by Meguires 205 Polish, then Meguires M09 Mirror Glaze Swirl Remover using Orange, Blue and Black Foam Pads. If you haven't had any experience wet sanding I highly suggest you don't try it...you can do a lot of irreversible damage.

 

Menzerna FG400 with a microfiber cutting pad on a flex or rupes machine will clean up your car. You'll need a final polish after to make it pop. Then top it off with a nice sealant.

I'm not sure I would trust your friend from the comments he made. Most dealership detail jobs go for speed over quality anyway so I would take it to a paint correction specialist or do it yourself.

 

It got mine out and they did looked etched in.

 

I've had great success with Menzerna Super Intensive 1500 polish and my Griot's 6" orbital polisher.

 

It hold heat different, which means you may need to change your technique but yes, you are working on the clear coat only.