Does anyone have any tips for removing these water spots?

[Big Duck]

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[egxflash]

Try a dedicated water spot remover like this

I think diluted vinegar can also work in a pinch (you need something acidic to eat at the minerals which make up the water spots)

 

[koatic]

Trying not to get water spots I think is more practical at least in my case.
Most important thing in my opinion is to NOT wash in direct sunlight if at all possible.
I ceramic coated my car with Adams Advanced so I wash it in the shade and use a leave blower to easily remove excess water and then a small microfiber towel to gently go over and pickup any leftover microdots of water.

As said in previous reply you can also use a 50/50 mix isopropyl alcohol or 30/70 white vinegar with distilled water and a microfiber towel to gently remove water spot contaminates if they are not cured onto the surface which can happen quickly in direct sunlight. once they are cured only a polishing compound will really work.

Also note some people live in area with really hard water or even worse well water and a hose filter is recommended to reduce spotting from hard water contamination. I know there are a few pro detailers that only use distilled water to rinse after wash.

 

[egxflash]

Trying not to get water spots I think is more practical at least in my case.

That's only helpful if OP is a time traveler though

But yep, prevention is key. My car is also coated and it's more susceptible to water spotting because of that.

 

[Big Duck]

I've got adam's graphene coating on there but I didn't put it on in time. It's been a learning process but I'm getting there. I'll give these a shot next time I wash the car and report back.

 

[egxflash]

I've got adam's graphene coating on there but I didn't put it on in time. It's been a learning process but I'm getting there. I'll give these a shot next time I wash the car and report back.

Are you saying the graphene coating was laid down ON TOP of the water spots?

 

[koatic]

I've got adam's graphene coating on there but I didn't put it on in time. It's been a learning process but I'm getting there. I'll give these a shot next time I wash the car and report back.

When you say you didn’t put it on in time does that mean the water spots were on the car when you added the ceramic?? If that is the case you will need to compound the ceramic off and the water spots then re-apply.

 

[Big Duck]

Are you saying the graphene coating was laid down ON TOP of the water spots?

Yep, I couldn’t get the spots off at the time and didn’t care. I’ve got more graphene coating to spare otherwise I wouldn’t have coated it yet.

 

[egxflash]

Yep, I couldn’t get the spots off at the time and didn’t care. I’ve got more graphene coating to spare otherwise I wouldn’t have coated it yet.

Like @koatic mentioned, you'll have to strip the coating off before you can get to the water spots. The above sprays/vinegar solution won't work otherwise.

 

[zooka]

meguiars cleaner wax should work, should have enough abrasives to remove the coating

 

[koatic]

Stinks that you will need to redo it but Meguiars have different compounds with different cutting strengths. I found that the “meguiars ultra fine cut cleaner” with a medium pad was enough to gently take off the ceramic without cutting into the clear to bad. I had a few high spots I had to fix and a bad scratch that needed touch up paint.
That should take off the ceramics and buff out the water spots.

 

[Big Duck]

Stinks that you will need to redo it but Meguiars have different compounds with different cutting strengths. I found that the “meguiars ultra fine cut cleaner” with a medium pad was enough to gently take off the ceramic without cutting into the clear to bad. I had a few high spots I had to fix and a bad scratch that needed touch up paint.
That should take off the ceramics and buff out the water spots.

It’s my own fault. I’ve learned to be more patient over the past year as a result lol. Meguiars is a familiar name so I might go that route first to see if it really does work

 

[koatic]

You will need to use a cutting compound not just a polish. Attached photo is the compound and pad I used that I know will gently cut through the ceramic.

 

[ChromaPop]

If starting all over again it's important that you use the right kind of car wash soap to get the surface fully cleaned out. Something like this is good I believe:
https://a.co/d/gUX7RYJ

 

[SlippyFist]

does PPF change the dynamic of water spotting / water etching? instead of ceramic i went with PPF. for the record the shop i went to uses kavaca PPF, so it has a ceramic layer or something? i dunno it's my first experience with it and honestly the whole thing was a huge hassle

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