Paint Correction, Water Spots Around Raised Nautique Lettering

[gsyogi]

Need some suggestions on how to best remove the water spots between the “Super Air Nautique, GS20” raised lettering on our new GS20. Took delivery with a less than adequate wax job from the dealership and went to using our new boat—my crew just couldn’t wait. I have a great and disciplined crew (my wife and kids) who also wipe down after each day’s use and we store our boat dry off the water; however, we still ended up with problem spotting. I am currently doing the proper paint correction and waxing before getting out on the water this season. Would really appreciate the help as how to correctly get after those spots without damaging the lettering! Thanks in advance. Hope the pictures help (the first two show the spotting, and the last one shows my section-by-section work on the boat).


Water Spot Images (2):






My Section-by-Section Paint Correction (1):

[Scooter G]

gsyogi, nice write up, the pics look good but what process to you use to get where you are at, just wax? Wax alone is a lot of work for hard water spots and you may still not get them all. I've done a lot of gelcoat repair over the years, and it seems the darker the color, the more of a magnet for scratches and hard water spots, well, you see everything, right. I've used a bazillion different products, and I've been extremely pleased with Marine Detail Supply out of Tampa, along with their compounds and polishes. Their Ignition finishing polish is one of my favorites, should cut those water spots, but I use different compounds for different situations. Wool pad on a random orbital polisher, you'll be able to get in around the letters, no harm. Foam finish pad for the final wax application. A vinegar solution with water and WD 40 works on my shower doors, but I haven't gone that route on my boats yet, lol.

Edit: By the way I use Griot's spray on wax every time the boat hits the trailer. Spray down the boat while it's still wet and throw the crew some wipe down towels. No more water spot issues. Boat shines like it just came out of the detail shop...

[mlange]

Scooter has the right idea. I use Griots Detailer instead, but same deal nonetheless. If you spend long days out in the sone mix it with some white vinegar and distilled water. In mid summer when it gets nasty with the sun I go with a 50/30/20 mix of Griots/distilled water/vinegar. The vinegar will remove the water spots without stripping the wax.

[MN Ryan]

I always wipe down with 50:50 white vinegar: distilled water. I have no idea how it impacts the wax, but it does a number on water spots. Now, I want to buy some Griots!

I will admit that I'm way less OCD than some of you, though!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[bird_dog0347]

Water/Vinegar has never noticeably impacted the lifespan of my wax, but absolutely cleans up the water spots and it's CHEAP! I'd say start with that and go from there.

[gsyogi]

gsyogi, nice write up, the pics look good but what process to you use to get where you are at, just wax? Wax alone is a lot of work for hard water spots and you may still not get them all. I've done a lot of gelcoat repair over the years, and it seems the darker the color, the more of a magnet for scratches and hard water spots, well, you see everything, right. I've used a bazillion different products, and I've been extremely pleased with Marine Detail Supply out of Tampa, along with their compounds and polishes. Their Ignition finishing polish is one of my favorites, should cut those water spots, but I use different compounds for different situations. Wool pad on a random orbital polisher, you'll be able to get in around the letters, no harm. Foam finish pad for the final wax application. A vinegar solution with water and WD 40 works on my shower doors, but I haven't gone that route on my boats yet, lol.

Edit: By the way I use Griot's spray on wax every time the boat hits the trailer. Spray down the boat while it's still wet and throw the crew some wipe down towels. No more water spot issues. Boat shines like it just came out of the detail shop...

Thanks for all the help ... I suppose my biggest concern is hitting the raised lettering and marring the finish on them. Appreciate all the suggestions so far, perhaps I would ask to expand this discussion to include tips on making dark color (i.e. black) gelcoat look its best (and, of course, maintain that look)? And one more, in addition to just good after-the-water habits/wipe down, how about the pernicious and stubborn water spots that we get on our glass? In response to Scooter G, here has been my process so far to get a handle on our boat's finish:

Using a TORQ10FX random dual-action orbital polisher and a “boatload” (ha) of microfiber towels, then (working one section at a time masked off with blue painter’s tape):

Step 1: Meguiar’s M4716 Marine/RV Hard Water Spot Remover

Step 2: Meguiar’s M0216 M2 Mirror Glaze Fine-Cut Cleaner

Step 3: Meguiar's 210 Ultra Pro Finishing Polishing

Step 4: Meguiar's M4516 Marine/RV Polish & Gloss Enhancer

Step 5: Meguiar’s M5616 Marine/RV Pure Wax Carnauba Blend

Note: I have used the Collinite product line on our old boat (a ’94 SN) with great success—(big fan), just happen to be using Meguiar’s this round. I have also used the 3M versions of the above products with good luck. Also, items from Chemical Guys and Adam’s … A, like Scooter G, I have also seemingly used a “bazillion” of products over the years.