I just purchased an 06 sedan. At the dealership I could still see what looked like water spots all over it. The salesman assured me they wouldnt be hard to get out. My instincts told me then they would have already done it, but nontheless I was in love so I drove her home.
After a good cleaning Im doubting there is going to be anything easy about this. The spots are pretty gnarly, all over the glass and chrome trim. Its actually in the paint also but looks like the polished it out pretty well.
So, any tips or tricks? Read up a bit and saw people trying CLR, vinegar, clay bars, 0000 pads, etc. Im a complete noob @ detailing, wash & wax experience only. Is this something I should let a pro try to fix?

 

as you can see in the photos, especially in certain light, it's pretty damn ugly

 

First off I will assume you were not able to remove these while washing. For the glass I would use the Glass Science Glass Scrub. It does a great job of deep cleaning the exterior glass and removing water marks. The problem with water marks is they can etch in to the clear coat. To remove the etchings there are only two options that I know of. The Chemical Guys Water Spot Remover can be used to remove light etchings that are hard to see or feel. The more traditional option is to polish that area, starting from a less aggressive polish to a stronger one. I would suggest starting with medium pressure and a polish like the Meguiar's M205 and move up to the M105 if need be. If that doesn't work you may need the extra power of a buffer to help work those polishes in. With the the help of a buffer you can remove about 99% of the surface imperfections from water marks. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

 

I've got a cart full of goods on your site ready to be ordered but have a few questions; I'm focusing on the windows and trim since the paint is not too bad (or at least not too noticeable). Seems like the Glass Scrub will do the trick on the windows so I will try that. Is the m105/m205 safe to use on the "chrome" trim (working by hand unless I end up needing a buffer)? Are the inexpensive yellow application pads sufficient for both the glass scrub and the polish or do I need different pads?
Really appreciate it. Can't wait to put some elbow grease into these spots soon.

 

The Glass Science Glass Scrub, you'll love the results. For the chrome trim, it's usually just a plastic piece with a chrome coating and a clear coat on top of that. If this is the case you can polish it with the M205 and light pressure. However the clear coat is not particularly thick so you don't want to go overboard with pressure and do not use a buffer on it. The traditional yellow foam apps will work just fine with all of these products. Let me know if you have any other questions I'd be happy to help!

Greg

 

Just ordered the scrub, m205 and some pads for now to get rid of the water spots. Will order some more detailing goods after I read up on what I need. Very informative site btw Can't wait to up my detailing game to keep my g35 looking good.

 

I appreciate the purchase and I look forward to hearing about your results. I'm happy to hear some of the information on our site was helpful and if you need any further assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Greg @ DI

 

Got the goods today (quick & professional shipping btw)! Don't have the time to do the entire car right now but I had to see if this stuff works..... and it does
Results are amazing! Truthfully, after reading online about how much trouble people were having and all the tricks and methods they were trying to get rid of the spots, I had my doubts about something so simple fixing them. Of course, doing it by hand took a little elbow grease, but that's expected. Can't wait to finish it up and will post pics when I do.

Thanks again!

 

Glad to hear you received everything fast, again we appreciate the purchase. I'm thrilled that the products worked so well and those awful marks are gone. I look forward to hearing more from you when you get time.

 

 

My G has the same problem. Just ordered M205, Glass Scrub, and the pads. Results soon to come.

 

1st pic is what I started with.. Results follow:

 

Huge improvement, thanks for sharing the pictures!