After learning the ways of how to remove spots and etchings and finding out first hand it's a royal pain in the neck I need to look at it another way. Here's the deal:

1. car - 12 years old, 10 yrs in my possesion. Usually washed and waxed although most likely not good techinques (washing in the sun, one bucket wash, slappin on a coat of wax, thinking the wax lasts 6 months). Result is the car has very bad etching below the clear. Not very concerned about this car, it may be a rotary learning ground some day.

2. 00 F150 - 7 of I don't know what kind of random washing/waxing. Not a single water spot/etching spot on the truck.

3. 05 F150 - I believe I'm doing things right on this one. Two bucket wash, polish, wax, sealer. Etched spots on the hood and roof, no other spots.

So obviously the rain water sitting on a flat surface and then drying there is a bad thing. However, without a dangerously high level of OCD there's no way to prevent that from happening 100% of the time. Is frequent washing and maintaining a good coat of wax effective at keeping these minerals/acids from settling down into the paint layers? Are there other methods? Looks like in case # 2 an effective layer of dirt on the truck for long stretches might block the production of spots I'd much rather do the preventitive thing rather than spending hrs/days trying to correct them. Any thoughts or am I on a crash course with the looney bin?

 

Get out now while you still can!!! Run!

 

ive said this 1000 times lol... but zaino does a really good prevention to acid rain. if your just wanting to prevent it id go with that, if your wanting to remove it without a polisher, i belive someone on here reccomended some type of rust remover that has a acid in it that can remove 1 or 2 layers of the clear to get to the next good spot in the paint, then apply zaino, 1-2 coats and you will get some of the best protection.

 

So... let me get this straight... the clear is on there in 'layers'? How many do I have? Are these layers 'peel away' (similar to the peel away covers on Nascar windshields)? Point me towards a rust remover that is a good paint peeler. Sandpaper removes rust... 100 grit should be adequate, shouldn't it?

:rollseyes:

BTW, the fact of the matter is that nothing will protect you on certain potential paint problems. Acid rain is one of those special problems that can be prevented but, depending on severity of the source, often times cannot.

The way to keep it from happening is what you mentioned --- immediately removing the water from the surface of the paint prior to it drying there. Even then, though, you may experience it to a certain degree and it's obviously not practical in all situations.

There are *no* perfect paint protection products out there. There are some that are better than others but, even those won't protect against everything. Bird bombs, acid rain, industrial fallout... they'll all cause havoc on your paint. The *ONLY* way to prevent it is to garage it 24/7/365.

 

there is usually 8+ coats of clear on a normal car, some people call them layers, others call them coats. heres a link to where someone reccomended whinks rust remover, even posted pictures of there truck after and i have to say i was skeptical at first but seeing his results would make me consider it as a option. https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=285662

 

8 coats of clear alone....???? not sure but i would guess that most factory oem paint jobs are 5 layers/coats plus or minus one and that would include the primer being one of the 5 coats. with a total amount of 3-5 mil thick from top of clear to bare metal.

 

The clear coat itself is a layer, no matter how many coats are applied. I don't know where you're getting your info, but I'd sure like to see you list a couple popular paint systems (factory or aftermarket) that recommend 8+ coats of clear on a vehicle.

 

No offense Ridge, but I would NEVER place a rust remover chemical on a $30K truck that has no rust, don't care how thick/thin the clear is. Think about it for a second. It's made for rust removal. I'm not willing to risk a new paint job to rid a few spots. It's simply a BAD idea in my opinion. Go for it if you got the bills to repaint.

RP I hope no one asks you how to remove 100 grit scratches

Afraid that was going to be the answer. Perhaps someone 'chemically advanced' (no, not stoned!) will come up with a good application to nuetralize harmful acids and such. Now excuse me while I run off to melt down some Nexium and apply it to my spotted hood...

 

there is a way-- acids are neutralised by bases. Find a base that won't do too much harm (eg: Simple Green) and coat your truck with it. Just be aware that there will be a solid precipitate left behind. and don't worry that the SG took off your paint after being applied and left for days... no biggie...

j/k. Yeah, You'll just need to keep a good coat of wax on it and consider using the hose after it rains to dilute the H+ ion concentration (That's what makes up an acid)

 

Are you thinking of single stage paint systems like laquer? It's true that when using something like that there might be quite a few coats of clear shot on top of the color. But no chance you're going to find that on modern urethane paint systems. And on modern clear coats you don't want to remove any more than you have to since most of the UV protection is in the uppermost part of the clear coat. There have been other posts about the UV thing. Bad idea to 'peel off a couple of layers'.