Water Spots and Paint Sealant

[ouhockeyplayer]

So it rained yesterday afternoon and the sun came out later in the day and it looks like water spots formed on the hood of my 2016 World Rally Blue STI.  Unfortunately I was not able to wash the car last night so the car is out in the parking lot at work and it is upper 80s and sunny.  Should I be worried about etching requiring polishing if I have a coat of Adam's Paint Sealant on the car and a coat of Americana on top of that?  Sealant was applied about a month and a half ago and wax maybe a month ago.  I'm nervous when it comes to water spots as I had two layers of another brands carnauba wax on the car under similar conditions and ended up having to do a full correction to remove water spots a few month ago.  Unfortunately I daily drive the car so avoiding the rain and sun is not an option.  I'm hoping to wash the car tonight but it is looking like more rain so it may not get done until the weekend.  

 

 

[butters]

When was the car last washed, was it pretty dirty?

 

My car is black, but I share the same concern. I carry around waterless wash for freak rain-sun events, and if I can't wash the car at home due to time constraints but there is water on it, I will wipe the top surfaces with rinseless or waterless wash depending on how dirty it is. This prevents those spots from really baking in under intense sunlight / heat.

[ouhockeyplayer]

Car was washed about a week and a half ago.  It has only been driven maybe 5 times since the last wash though.  It was semi dusty but not too bad.  Previously I was always able to park in a parking garage at work so the car sat out of the sun but now I have to park in a standard lot that is exposed to the summer elements.  Subaru paint is super sticky so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't have a nightmare job ahead of me again.   

[Dan@Adams]

Water spots are always a not-fun situation In my area, it's been very hot and extremely humid the past few weeks, with large storms quickly followed by sunshine. It's just about the perfect nasty recipe for water spots and has now given me a great reason to do a paint correction on my new car

 

Having a good layer of Paint Sealant and Americana will provide great protection, but it's still possible that the water droplets heating up and baking/drying into the surace could cause slight etching, especially if it is something like acid rain that may have other contaminants mixed in with the water. Sometimes if they are minor, you might be able to remove them with something simple like another wash with Car Shampoo, or applying some Brilliant Glaze or a light clay bar treatment. In other cases, it may require machine polishing to fully correct.

[ouhockeyplayer]

Thanks Dan.  I'll keep the idea of brilliant glaze in my back pocket when I get to washing the car.  My wife's Equinox which is always neglected and not washed in a timely manor never has these issues but the one car I care about will water spot and etch so easily.  

[AvsBest]

Let's not freak out too fast here, water spots will occur to all of us on a regular basis unless your car doesn't see rain. The likelihood that hard water spots form if you are using the paint sealant is next to none assuming that we talking regular condition here.

 

I found that the main cause of hard water spots is acid rain and hard water at your house. Your regular rain won't qualify in my mind and you are overthinking this. Wash the car as normal and let us know, at its worst you may need to clay bar it but i've never ran into that myself just because of rain and hot weather....

Edited August 17, 2016 by AvsBest

[BluedogGMC]

If they are light water spots you should be able to just use some Adams Revive to clear it up.

 

Ron

[Chris@Adams]

Like Dan mentioned having a good coat of PS will definitely help, however what I like to do in that situation is do a WW wipe down on all the flat areas like the hood, roof and trunk to minimize the chance of spotting.

[ouhockeyplayer]

Well I lucked out and had a chance to wash the car last night.  Thanks to Adams paint sealant and car wash soap the spots came off with a simple wash.  I thought for sure with the sun and heat I would be getting out the PC to correct the hood again.