The definitive guide to WATER SPOTS (and how to *actually* remove them)

[@diydetailofficial]

Products used: Water Spot Remover bit.ly/WaterSpotRemoverDIY Wool Cutting Pad: bit.ly/GoldStandardWoolPad Gold Standard Polish: bit.ly/GoldStandardPolish

[@julianmartinez6658]

Yes, ths is becoming my new favorite detailing channel.

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you

[@davidgranados6708]

Pan the organizar and this one are the BEST for me

[@lucashurley7612]

These guys are great, but check out forensic detailing and you just might change your mind.

[@neilwalker5041]

About four or five years ago when I got back into detailing everyone was polishing water spots and it reminded me of people who clean carpets with harsh chemicals and to much water. Yes it looked good at first but the stains came back. The first person who said polishing water spots only pushes the minerals deeper into the clearcoat was Yvan. This was the moment I began to watch more videos from Yvan on the Rag company and Business detailing channel. The Gold Standard polish is just amazing. I can sand a scratch in the paint and then use the purple pad and switch to the yellow waffle pad and the outcome is golden.

[@diydetailofficial]

great to hear, thanks for the long-time support!

[@WhatinDetailNationOG]

I’m so glad you guys touched base on this. Admittedly- I’ve polished them out before and it’s SOOOO much work. Just did a truck last week - did a water spot remover before polishing and WOW - night and day difference. Thank you for this tip and video!

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you for watching

[@Redrunnerdetail1323]

I say it every time I watch their videos best how to detailing on KZbin! And funny on top of that everyone needs a good laugh!

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you

[@rvazquez818]

Got my note pad ready. Bring it. Thank you.

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you for watching

[@ryanl8653]

Water Spot Remover is a very underrated maintenance product! When will the gallon size be available?

[@diydetailofficial]

no plans for gallons at this time...

[@ansoncraig9525]

I need gallons... Or drums

[@larryleerssen2562]

How do I polish gelcoat watercraft, what products do you recommend. Thanks, love the videos, a great help

[@diydetailofficial]

Exactly the same as clear coat.

[@vincentiussnow765]

Hi Can I use a waterspot remover on a fresh paintjob? I got nasty waterspots from a sprinkler, my only other option would be polishing. I can't let the waterspots bake in the sun, it would cause even more problems long term. Thanks

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes, but be careful, do a test spot. You want to get the minerals out before they etch.

[@vincentiussnow765]

@@diydetailofficial Thanks! It worked. I would have another question. I have some refurbished wheels with 1K clear coat on them, its not that chemically resistant as 2k clear. Can the iron remover be used on them, before a ceramic coating? Should I clay these wheels? Or it might hurt the 1k clear?

[@logansmn4894]

Hello! I wonder a-t-il what point in the preparation is it best to remote water stains ? Alter washing and drying ?

[@diydetailofficial]

Always best to wash first.

[@andrewgirard5286]

Hey, love the work you guys are putting out. What brand/model polisher are you guys working with?

[@diydetailofficial]

We use a few different polishers, the turquoise color is a brand called Car Shield. We are currently testing them, they’re not available in the U.S. just yet

[@mikeeonfiya]

@andrewgirard5286 I don’t think this question was answered entirely. At 6:40 Nick mentions 15 & 21 mm. Brand would be Milwaukee. - model 2684 (15 mm DA) - model 2685 (21 mm DA)

[@patuxent78]

Hawaii often experiences frequent rain, sometimes occurring daily for brief periods. This constant rainfall can be frustrating for car owners, particularly those who have just had their vehicles detailed. Even cars with ceramic coatings aren't immune to water spots, which will persist until cleaned off. Given the likelihood of it raining again soon, maintaining a spot-free car can feel like a never-ending task.

[@diydetailofficial]

It’s a quest

[@jasonnash7323]

Can you use your coating outside or should it only be applied in a shop setting?

[@diydetailofficial]

It can be used outside

[@yweleung]

Would the product cause etching in the paint if it was left on for too long or was not rinsed off thoroughly? I think that might have happened on a couple panels. If that's the case can the etching be polished off with Gold Standard Polish and the yellow waffle pad?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes. And DIY Detail Gold Standard Polish will remove the etching

[@yweleung]

@@diydetailofficial that's good to know. Thank you!

[@Ronaldo95163]

After water spot removal and polishing can I then proceed to apply a ceramic coating?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes!

[@greghaefs4677]

I have water spots on my side mirrors. Ever water spot remover says glass, paint but most say it won’t work on mirrors. Will your product work safely on side mirrors or is it just etched in. FYI / the more I watch your channel, the more products I see the need to buy. These are classes and I love attending!

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes it can work on mirrors. Often though on mirrors a little The Gold Standard Polish on a Microfibre will do the job

[@greghaefs4677]

@@diydetailofficial Just watched a 3 month old video of your where Nic stated exactly what you said. I missed one of you videos - shame on me!

[@diydetailofficial]

@@greghaefs4677 no problem, KZbin notifications are not fool proof.

[@Neil-33]

So I may have goofed. Car is 5 months old, looks like it has water spotting. Last weekend I was finally able to do a decon on it (fine grade clay mitt). I did test a spot with some iron remover and didn't see anything (it I'd a black car though....) so I didn't do it on the whole car. Given the time of year, I went ahead and put some Cerakote sealant on it since I don't know when/if the weather will cooperate again before spring. Should I just wait until spring and do a decon, water spot remover, and polish then?

[@diydetailofficial]

The sooner you remove the minerals the better.

[@GeorgePap99]

I guess the best way to avoid water spots is to take care of your vehicle in general. But may I ask, won't it be needed to do the same process (and remove more clear coat) after a while since they were not fully removed? I understand that you deliver what you're paid for obviously, but I'm asking from a "student" point of view. Great video, Yvan talking about polishing makes me feel secure about what I hear!

[@diydetailofficial]

Unfortunately the ones we left behind are there for life, unless someone is willing to inflict irreversible damage to all the clear coat in order to cut past the scars.

[@GeorgePap99]

@@diydetailofficial Good to see what the situation is in case a vehicle isn't maintaned. That's also a lesson cause we can understand better why we should offer a ceramic coating! Thanks

[@diydetailofficial]

Definitely a ceramic would have helped. If you have a customer that can’t avoid sprinklers ( where they are forced to park), apply a coating, then a good thick wax every 2 months. As the wax wears away, it takes the minerals with it.

[@GeorgePap99]

@@diydetailofficial Noted!!! Thank you very much again for the responses!

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you for taking your time to ask a question

[@lukatoll]

Can I use water spot remover immediately after rinse-less wash (before I dry). Then rinse, and use ceramic gloss with clay towel? That my plan in my head to wash my car next weekend. Should I respray rinseless between each step for extra lube?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes you can, add some DIY Detail Rinseless Wash before using the Perforated Synthetic Decontamination Towel and DIY Detail Ceramic Gloss

[@denthevetteman78]

What should I do if the water spots are waxed over it ? Now i want to put a 3 years coating and get the best paint condition for it.

[@diydetailofficial]

Start by removing the wax , DIY Detail All Clean at 15/1 followed by Iron Remover, then Waterspot remover.

[@denthevetteman78]

@@diydetailofficial thank you

[@williambooth7885]

If you were to have buffed it without water spot remover, sealed it then the water spots come back. Would you just buff again to remove the sealant then use water spot remover, wash, then reseal?

[@diydetailofficial]

Correct

[@03Memito]

If I have hard water from my hose is it okay to rinse it with my hose water after using the water spot remover?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes, just don’t allow them to dry on the surface.

[@luvishfokeerah3716]

If we apply paint protection on a paint which has little water spots , will it will affect the durability or performance of the protection?

[@diydetailofficial]

No effects.

[@zipper1399]

I have an older car with single stage paint. looks amazing Until even rain water. water creates deep GREY cloudy spots which are incredibly difficult to remove. any suggestions? and no coating I have used stop this from happening. Any suggestions?..

[@diydetailofficial]

What do you need to do to remove them, what chemicals or process?

[@CarsWithKeav]

Is this a new model Audi? 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for the info I have spots on my black vinyl wrap and will be doing this before polish and ceramic coating.

[@diydetailofficial]

E-tron mini… looking forward to seeing that video.

[@BXGreen_DrivewayDetails]

Does the towel need to be damp with rinseless for the lubricantion?

[@diydetailofficial]

It can be.

[@joelpasserell4525]

I have a 2025 Mazda CX-5 that I am going to be ceramic coating. I finished the Deacon and it has water spots on the hood and some on the side doors. My question is, when I check the paint depth in the door jamb, I'm at 55 microns, when I check the roof it is also at 55 microns or 2.2 ml. The hood is at 85 micron's or 3.2 ml. It's crazy thin paint. I was wondering if that were your car, and the water spot remover did not remove the etching, would you be comfortable still polishing it with the wool or foam & gold standard polish?

[@diydetailofficial]

A light pass with foam is maximum

[@detailerchick]

Great information!!!

[@diydetailofficial]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Bull1the1Great]

Here is one unorthodox question. Waterspots react to acidic solution, so, wouldn't an acid like meguiars wheel brightener have the same effect ?

[@diydetailofficial]

most water spot removers are on the acidic side of the ph scale, but just use a product that the manufacturer suggests. If you want to freestyle, just do so at your own risk:)

[@tjs9699]

I use meguirs wheel brightener all the time and it works great, it also perfect for oxidized and water spotted chrome trim

[@antoniou5]

Does the diy water spot remover work on aluminium engine pipes?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes.

[@Theseones]

Do I use a waterspot remover on dry paint or can it be wet?

[@diydetailofficial]

Your choice.

[@89unica]

Thank you guys! Question regarding the pad, you went for the most aggressive pad first, is it worth starting with the foam pad first or go to the wool right off? - Thank you!

[@diydetailofficial]

Start with the least agressive.

[@stevenv9224]

I like the smell on the water spot I definitely keep this product in my arsenal. It’s a must to have 👍🏻

[@diydetailofficial]

it works great to restore water beading that's for sure!

[@cyclechris6591]

Should I avoid getting your Iron remover and water spot remover on the plastic led type headight units?

[@diydetailofficial]

No concern

[@Shireen-j3j]

I just had Ziebart Diamond-gloss put on my car two weeks ago and now it has constant water stains! Will the WaterSpotRemover affect the coating? Not that it can look any worse!

[@diydetailofficial]

DIY Detail Water Spot Remover is safe on most coatings.,

[@joef4845]

How can i do water spot remover on Matte paint???? i can't polish it....

[@diydetailofficial]

If they are fresh DIY Detail Water Spot Remover will work, if etched, you will need to repaint, cover with matte PPF, or learn to live with it.

[@garrett6743]

Instead of rinsing water spot remover with power washer, could you use rinseless wash? If so, I’ll start using water spot remover in the garage instead of outside. Do you think water spot remover could etch if left on the paint for about a minute when using outdoors? I used it recently and noticed a big round spot on the hood that looked like a bird etching and it did not come out after polishing with gold standard on the yellow waffle pad. I’m thinking it’s more likely something else and not the water spot remover

[@diydetailofficial]

If you can flush it off the paint, that’s what is most important. Whether you use water or Rinseless Wash. it shouldn’t etch but I would *always* recommend…when outdoors, don’t let products dry on paint if you can help it. Always best to use in small sections when outdoors so you’re in control. It’s easy to ignore this advice in the moment lol but it will benefit you to follow it

[@garrett6743]

@@diydetailofficial I think it was something else being that I polished right after and it wasn’t removed. It was shaped like a bird poop etching

[@oldatarigamer]

How about using the non-clay towel with the water spot remover?

[@diydetailofficial]

Not a good mix, it can damage the towel.

[@oldatarigamer]

@@diydetailofficial Oh, that's right, I remember you saying that in another video. Thanks!

[@ThisOldDetailingDude]

Ready to learn!

[@diydetailofficial]

See you soon

[@gerritdehaan2428]

Nice video, great information! When will the DIY Detail products be available in Europe (Netherlands)?

[@diydetailofficial]

Very soon.

[@davidgranados6708]

And Spain??

[@robertalfonso9114]

Is that water spot remover safe to use on vinyl wrap cars?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes

[@Coffeedad]

Could you use the SDT with the water spot remover to help or is just a regular microfiber good enough?

[@diydetailofficial]

No you never want to use the decon towel with water spot remover as “lubrication,” use iron remover or rinseless wash/incredible suds for your lube 👍

[@macallanvintage]

Great video👍👍👍 Super accurate info👍👍 Thank you

[@diydetailofficial]

Glad it was helpful!

[@KR8810]

So the process was rinseless wash, decon? What was decon process?

[@diydetailofficial]

iron remover as lubrication, perforated synthetic decontamination towel with no pressure over the paint. then rinse

[@Mumush72]

Why does CG heavy duty water spot remover remove the appearance without polishing? Vs this where it doesn't remove the appearance of the water spots??

[@diydetailofficial]

Not all waterspots are created equally. DIY Detail Water Spot Remover will easily remove surface spots, but if they are etched nothing but polishing will remove etching.

[@RAZERSDRIVER]

Can I use water spot remover on coated car?

[@diydetailofficial]

absolutely

[@PatrickRivera-t6h]

@@diydetailofficialOn a coated car, if I use water spot remover and need to polish the etching, will polishing with DIY Gold Standard remove the ceramic from that area? Should I use a DA or palm rotary sander?

[@diydetailofficial]

@@PatrickRivera-t6h yes polishing will remove the coating. Use the tools you have.

[@pinoscoccia4997]

When in Italy 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹???

[@diydetailofficial]

not there yet!

[@collinhefley7392]

What if you polishes your car and thought you got all the water spots out then applied a ceramic coating to then have the water spots come back a week later after the coating has fully cured?

[@diydetailofficial]

Then you must polish off the coating

[@collinhefley7392]

I was assuming that was the answer but thought I’d ask.

[@diydetailofficial]

Thanks for the question.

[@ohsnapsitzjustin]

What about on the glass?

[@diydetailofficial]

Same process

[@Tony-vf3sg]

Would this process apply to a ceramic coated vehicle?

[@diydetailofficial]

sure, but if you polish a coated vehicle you'll probably want to re coat it after

[@kadirtas25]

I have this water spot problem. There are many water spots on hood and roof. I didnt know that it should be hitted by water spot remover and polish my car twice. All spots came back again. Now i want to ask if I wash my car with Carpro Descale acid shampoo, is it enough to neutrolize minerals? Or do I have to use water spot remover before polishing? Thanks for your reply.

[@diydetailofficial]

You will still want to use a dedicated water spot remover.

[@kadirtas25]

@@diydetailofficial washing with acid shampoo and polish them isn’t enough, right?

[@terryrucinski9752]

How do I get water spots off black 3m matte wrap?

[@diydetailofficial]

DIY Detail Water Spot Remover, if that doesn’t work you will need to replace the wrap.

[@ronayotte3571]

That Prius needs another ring on the grill to match the front license plate...

[@diydetailofficial]

Probably a few other things as well

[@mmdotking]

So basic steps being, 1 water spot removal, 2 damp wool cutting pad ?, 3 polish with gold standard and waffle pad ?, 4 recoat ceramic if doing ceramic again. Thanks

[@diydetailofficial]

Yep!

[@lacboiatl]

Does your Milwaukee eat batteries? Mine does. Like sheesh it's like a 5 min life 😂😂😂

[@diydetailofficial]

We have a bunch of batteries that we keep in rotation. Honestly we just use it on camera for videos, we like the cordless Milwaukees...I wouldn't say we love them. But they match our colors and cordless is super convenient for videos, especially

[@macallanvintage]

REALITY: Many “coatings” on cars that’re not frequently washed, can experience even more hardwater mark staining issues vs uncoated cars. Hence, when coatings were peddled to the world starting from circa 2006 by companies with unknown names, these companies much later needed to start selling Watermark Removers…when established brands in 2006 such as Meguiars, Eagle One, Autoglym, Collinite etc never had such a product. It was mostly sold by those “🎉unknown newcomers” which were committed to peddling “coatings”….eg: Carpro, GTechniq etc. And its because they KNEW that “coatings” can create/worsen hard watermark staining issues. For the next 10years, Meguiars still did not sell coatings and did not sell Water Mark Removers 😂😂

[@diydetailofficial]

Meguiars and a few others sold very harsh wheel acids and told users to use those as water spot remover.

[@macallanvintage]

@@diydetailofficial Yes…the Meguiars Wheel Brightener, where Darren was the first YTuber to cleverly advocate using it as a watermark remover at 1:3 ratio, and which I hv been using for the past 5yrs on thousands of customers’ cars with great results and no issues. Its even fantastic on those whitish, encrusted “lime drip” damage caused by liquid lime dripping from leaky ceilings onto the car. Fantastically cost-effective. But sadly, Megs Wheel Brightener appears to be in short supply (currently) in many regions of the world. Its the only watermark remover that i use…so economical when diluted 1:3 👍👍👍

[@05xrunner]

DIY and the rag company both putting out waterspot videos today. I will say the rag company didnt give proper information about removing them correctly and fully

[@diydetailofficial]

Great minds think alike

[@kimnewling5728]

Thats pretty cool.

[@diydetailofficial]

thanks!

[@equinoxgaming1204]

Audi Omaha? Y’all in Nebraska?

[@diydetailofficial]

Yes.

[@diydetailofficial]

yep we are based in Omaha! Yvan travels North America by bus and Nick lives in Utah though, so we're not always there

[@unnamedchannel1237]

The young guy always in the way LMAO

[@diydetailofficial]

lol

[@ghffrsfygdhfjkjiysdz]

I avoid water spots on my 2007 Honda civic by not washing it. But when i do, i use unicorn tears.

[@diydetailofficial]

lol

[@thebarak]

Amateurs using water spot removal acid can etch their windows after 30 seconds, More warnings are needed!

[@diydetailofficial]

our Water Spot Remover is on the acidic side of the pH scale, but nowhere near as strong as wheel acid some pros use.

[@ThisOldDetailingDude]

2nd. As always! Humberto is always 1st😂

[@diydetailofficial]

Always!

[@tasty-ramen]

Thats because all you @username1234 accounts that happen to be created exactly 11 years ago and spam the comments of every DIYdetail video are just paid commenters lmao

[@GlacierDetail]

3rd and ready!😂

[@diydetailofficial]

Thank you

[@UnknwnMind]

Lmao used half that bottle just on the hood

[@diydetailofficial]

It was rough.

[@UnknwnMind]

@@diydetailofficial great video! Thank you a ton of all these tutorials!

[@diydetailofficial]

@UnknwnMind thanks

[@jeff-f7g]

the best way to remove deep water spots id using a compound with a heavy duty polisher tool. But you have to know what your doing or you will take the paint off. Then you wax and seal after. All these people will try to sell there products of coarse and say it will work, Do it the old fashion way and it will work, Its the only way it will work if its deep with spots and swirls,,,,,

[@diydetailofficial]

Before polishing or compounding you need to remove the embedded minerals.