Greetings all, here is my problem.

I have a 2000 F-150 that i bought last year, when i bought it, it sat in a dealer lot for a long-@$$ time! And it never had a hood condom on it, so all the rain and stuff sat there everytime and dried, therefore leaving marks on the hood. I take very good care of my truck and wax it often, but i am unable to remove these "stains" from the hood... I hear alot of the clay stuff and wonder if that would take these marks out..i will try anything short of taking it to a "pro" to be done, but it looks as though i may have to head that way in the spring...---->suggestions?

TIA

medic

 

I would first try the Clay Bar. I am alwasy amazed what that will take off. I have used it on waterspots before and it works wonders.

 

Rain won't leave waterspots. It doesn't have minerals to deposit. It is most likely etching from acid rain or bird droppings!

But if they were there when you picked it up from a dealer then they could be waterspots. Most dealerships only hose the vehicles off and don't dry them.

What do the spots look like? Are they white or are they dull spots? I see you have a blue truck so you should be able to see.

Can you get a picture posts?

 

Clay bars have always worked well for me too. So just try that first.

 

If he didn't want to go to the trouble of the clay bar, would dawn dishwashing liquid do the work. I know it eats the wax off, but he could just apply some more when done. Anyway, just a sujestion.

 

I have the same water mark looking things all over my hood, siderails, and roof of my 2000 Ford Ranger XLT. I noticed it a week after I bought it new in september of 2000. I took it immediately back to the dealer because I waxed it first and they didnt come off. After close inspection from myself and my service rep, we took pictures of it and sent it to ford who authorized a new paint job on the affected areas under warranty! The response was that water must have gotten on the base coat before the clear coat was applied at the factory, thus sealing in the water marks underneath. I declined to have it repainted because although it is annoying, it is hard for others to notice and I didnt want to take a chance in getting a worse paint job. There is really nothing you can do if it is the same problem as mine. Hopefully it is something less serious but it sounds the same. Good luck!!

 

Wax won't take watermarks off. Wax is a protective barried, kinda like a Cond... Nevermind

Did you try a Polish? Polish will take watermarks off. I would try a polish and if that doesn't work a little colorsanding over the affected areas. If that doesn't take them off, then you can say they are under the clearcoat.

 

Medic,

I get Deja Vu reading your post. I tried several things to get the spots out of my paint, and my truck was about 6 months removed from the assembly line when I bought it off the dealer's lot.

Those same "water spots" on my Black 99 F150 Sport ended up with Ford buying my truck back under the VA Lemon Law.

Your warranty covers damge to the finish from the environment (Acid rain) up to 12K miles. The only way the Ford dealer could get my "water spots" out was by repainting the truck.

As painful as the thought of going through that process is, It's worth it when you end up with either your vehicle repaired properly, or replaced.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...y.cfm?gnum=872

 

3M Swirl Mark Remover #39009. My wifes Honda is covered in waterspots (acid rain), I tried everything to get them out. I used the 3M, spots came right off. I haven't finished her car yet, so I will try and get some before and after pics posted. Be careful when using this stuff though, it is a very fine abrasive and if you rub too hard or long it will strip the clear coat off. In most cases (unless you have the same problem woernerjustin had) the spots are just etches on the surface of the clear coat.

 

You guys are way too quick to break out the abrasive clay bar. While a clay bar has its place, in this case I would just use a paint cleanser like Mothers Gold Step 1 "Pre-Cleaner" You would be amazed at what this stuff removes without resorting to abrasives. Other manufacturers also sell the same type of thing (maybe Zaino and Meguires?)

 

Plus a lot of times the clay will just slide right over the watermark if they are faint.

Meguiars's has their Body scrub which is good.
I like Pinnacle Paint Cleansing lotion. It is awesome stuff!

 

There's nothing at all abrasive about the clay bar, unless you throw some sand on the truck first, or don't wash it first. I still have the original paint on my truck(at least on the upper surfaces) and have used the bar several times. No scratches yet!!,,,,,98

Misinformation is as good as no information, IMO.

 

Actually, claying your truck is somewhat abrasive. Stuff gets caught in the clay and it is dragging on your paint. Sometimes you'll get scratch you can see. Other times you get faint swirls from it that can only be seen at certain angles from the sun or under bright lights (1000w halogens) Clay will also strip wax off.

 

No, it's not!,,,,98

 

I'm kidding of course, lol! I understand what your saying, just that the bar itself contains no abrasives. You do have to be careful when using a clay bar, the paint surface has to be as clean as it can possibly be before you start. The dish soap does usually take care of that problem. ,,,,,98