Water spots on final color coat

[69NovaYenko]

I gave my body a final wash with Dawn detergent and water before shooting the clear coat to ensure all fingerprints, grease, dust etc was off the body. To my anguish, the hood has a series of stubborn water spots that have appeared. I washed the hood once more with clear water this time and the spots are still there. The spots appear to be on the surface. I Googled to see if my city has hard or soft water. The on-line answer was  my city did not have hard water at all and there was no need to buy a water softener; in fact, my query revealed my town has been rated as one of the best in the nation...who knew.

I do not wish to scrub the finish and scratch my beautiful color...after all it is five passes of lacquer deep. Yes, I know the paint was dry not only had the hood been air drying in a dust free environment for two weeks and I put it into the dehumidifier for 45 minutes as well. Has anyone had this issue and if so how did you deal with it? Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited July 9, 2016 by 69NovaYenko

[angelo7]

I never heard of washing after painting.  Seems to me another coat of color will be needed.  If you clear now, the spots might still be visible.

[69NovaYenko]

Yep...I sure these bad boys will show through the clear coat.

[Snake45]

I'd first try washing the spots off with Windex.

If that didn't work, I'd polish with Wright's Silver Cream.

[Cato]

I'd do the following test on a spoon or plastic sheet; shoot the same paint the same way. After drying, wash as you did and let the water spots dry in. Then I'd rub it with Barkeeper's Friend. I know it removes waterspots from hard surfaces and finishes. It may work here.

[Art Anderson]

I gave my body a final wash with Dawn detergent and water before shooting the clear coat to ensure all fingerprints, grease, dust etc was off the body. To my anguish, the hood has a series of stubborn water spots that have appeared. I washed the hood once more with clear water this time and the spots are still there. The spots appear to be on the surface. I Googled to see if my city has hard or soft water. The on-line answer was  my city did not have hard water at all and there was no need to buy a water softener; in fact, my query revealed my town has been rated as one of the best in the nation...who knew.

I do not wish to scrub the finish and scratch my beautiful color...after all it is five passes of lacquer deep. Yes, I know the paint was dry not only had the hood been air drying in a dust free environment for two weeks and I put it into the dehumidifier for 45 minutes as well. Has anyone had this issue and if so how did you deal with it? Any advice would be appreciated.

For starters, I know of no city that doesn't have at least some mineral content in their water supply--so droplets of that city water will necessarily leave at least some mineral deposit as they evaporate.  Remove this type of water spot?   Plain old VINEGAR (AKA acetic acid) will remove small water spots--I know, because I do that every night at work.  Oh, and vinegar won't hurt lacquers or enamels.

Art

[69NovaYenko]

Thanks for the tips everyone. :-)

[Snake45]

For starters, I know of no city that doesn't have at least some mineral content in their water supply--so droplets of that city water will necessarily leave at least some mineral deposit as they evaporate.  Remove this type of water spot?   Plain old VINEGAR (AKA acetic acid) will remove small water spots--I know, because I do that every night at work.  Oh, and vinegar won't hurt lacquers or enamels.

Art

That's a fabulous idea/tip, Art! I might have to remember that myself someday.

Surely something mentioned in this thread will work for Yenko.

[69NovaYenko]

Update.  The vinegar took a large number of the spots out. However, I still had three larger stubborn watermarks that refused to yield their hold on the paint job. So, I ended up  resorting to Barkeeper's Friend; it knocked them out pronto. I noticed  Barkeeper's Friend acted like a very fine rubbing compound  as it removed the spots. Had to mindful that I didn't rub through the color coat down to the primed.

[Snake45]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out, and I think everyone who read this thread picked up at least one new way to deal with this problem in the future.

Well done, everyone!

[Ace-Garageguy]

... I think everyone who read this thread picked up at least one new way to deal with this problem in the future...

I sure did. Thanks. 

[peteski]

I wash my in-progress models probably way too often and I have never ran into this problem.  Very interesting. Did you just let the water droplets naturally evaporate from the model or did you towel-dry or use compress air to try to dry the body after washing?

Also, what type/brand of paint did you use on that model.

 

Barkeeper's Friend is a mild abrasive, so you are correct.  And it didn't leave any residue which . . . needed to be rinsed off?

[High octane]

After the first coat of primer goes on, I NEVER wash the body anymore. Never. I do use a tack rag before painting the color coats, and also before applying the clear coats 24 hours later.

[69NovaYenko]

I wash my in-progress models probably way too often and I have never ran into this problem.  Very interesting. Did you just let the water droplets naturally evaporate from the model or did you towel-dry or use compress air to try to dry the body after washing?

Also, what type/brand of paint did you use on that model.

 

Barkeeper's Friend is a mild abrasive, so you are correct.  And it didn't leave any residue which . . . needed to be rinsed off?

I washed to get the invisible oils from my fingers while decaling as well as dust/dirty and any other contaminants off the body and hood before I clear coated. After washing in warm water with a drop or two of Dawn Liquid I sat in a dust/lint free environment to air dry, I choose not to use a towel (paper or linen) to dry it being concerned that it would deposit lint/dust back to the body.

The type of paint was Acrylic Lacquer.

Yes, after employing the Barkeepers Friend I had rinsed the hood but; I removed the excess water with canned air this time around. v.s. drip-drying.

Edited July 13, 2016 by 69NovaYenko

[peteski]

Thanks for the info Greg. What brand or type of acrylic lacquer?

 

Just out of curiosity, if you have small pane of (clean) glass or small mirror handy, could you place them down flat on a table and put few drops of water on them and let it evaporate naturally.  Do you see spots or rings left on the glass or mirror?  If yes then it sounds like your town water has lots of minerals dissolved in it.  If you used distilled water it should leave no spots behind.  You can buy distilled water in gallon size in pharmacies or in many grocery stores (supermarkets).

[69NovaYenko]

Hummm...distilled water might be a good solution. Thanks for the idea.