I've tried wax, polishing compound and rubbing compound and it doesn't do a thing to remove these spots. They appeared after the car was parked outside in the rain, then sun. It looks like the paint is faded because I
can't feel anything on the surface. I recently cleaned and waxed it with PS21 products and it looked great until this. The car was painted 25 years ago. Thanks for any tips you have.

Try a clay bar

How aggressive were you with the rubbing compound, and what kind did you use?
Have you tried a clay bar?
Hopefully a paint guru will chime in soon.

I have not tried a clay bar. I was not real aggressive with the rubbing compound. Just worked on one spot by hand for a minute and it didn't do a thing.

Clay bar or a porter cable DA with some cutting polish will work.

Water spots can happen when water is allowed to sit on the car in the sun. First, try a clay bar with a little waterless cleaner to lubricate it. Don't expect this to take them off but it should pull up all the other grime on the surface. Then, try an aggressive polish. If this doesn't take it up, go to rubbing compound. With the rubbing compound, if there isn't color on your cloth, you're not rubbing hard enough.

Per John Paterek, add some Blue Magic about the size of a pea in the middle of some P21S Paint Cleaner. If possible try on a less critical area first...

Paul

Yep!

Blue Magic - is that a metal polish?

From a Google search, the all purpose cleaner?

Actually, from a chemistry perspective (and a paint one too, since I've worn that hat), water is best. The deposits are minerals present in the water before it evaporated on the surface. Try washing the car, in cool weather, in the shade if possible. Keep the area saturated (wet) as long as possible. That will help the deposits become soluable in the water again. Using rubbing compounds doesn't usually do a good job because the binding agent of the deposits aren't affected by the solvents (xylene/benzene/ketones) that are used as the carrier solvents for the 'grit' of rubbing compounds.

Polishing paint (which is removing paint, really) doesn't seem like a good solution to removing something that is ON the paint.

If the water route doesn't work, head to your local marine store, there are some products out there specifically made for removing water spots from boats.

Thats metalic paint, so I would think its a base clear. Dont use rubbing compound till you see color like Rob said unless you know its single stage.

You need to get aggressive with the rubbing compound, sounds like you've done everything else.

Now THAT is my kind of response, since I wear the science hat That's what I've always done - saturate the paint with a longer wash. Clay bar if you like at that point. Then follow up with a quality wax. The wax will help to fill in the microscopic voids in the paint and minimize the deposition of other materials like minerals.

find someone with a real buffer, not a polisher. A little buffing compound and then some polish and it will come right out

I've always had excellent results removing water spots with a clay bar. Follow the directions on the box, and use LOTS of the spray lubricant that it comes with. The spray lubricant should loosen the deposits, and the bar will pick them right up. Seriously, try this first. By far the quickest and easiest, and in my experience, super effective.

Thanks Painted Man, just trying to help.

I use a clay bar on my vehicles as well. I haven't used it for water spots though. It is an easy method to try first if you have the clay bar around. If not, I've found the clay bar at Autozone or other FLAPS.

My Daughters dark blue '13 Elantra got water spotted when a sprinkler broke durring a 100+ degree hot spell in SoCal. I thought "Oh great, now I've got to rub it out", but I got lazy. A week later, I took it to the local car wash. It came out with water spots gone. I was amazed!

Andys

It's not metallic paint and I've been told it is single stage paint (whatever the hell that is). I'll try a clay bar and report back.
Thanks

How did all those Grandma's clean the water spots off the fine crystal? Vinegar.
How do you clean a dishwasher? Cup filled with vinegar in the bottom and press start.
How do you clean a coffee maker? Vinegar.
How do you clean grout haze off tile? Vinegar.
Whats works to get water spots burned into glass off? Vinegar
How do you make a bathtub shine? Vinegar.
How do you clean effervescense in concrete? Vinegar.
How do you clean chrome? Vinegar

What do all these have in common? Its all scale of some kind (lime or calcium).
3 parts water (preferably distilled or soft to 1 part white vinegar.

Washing your car? Add a couple capfuls of vinegar to your wash bucket. It will shine bright before you even apply wax.

Roadtar? 3 to 1 vinegar.

Windows frost up after sitting over night? 2 cap fulls per qt of water as a window cleaner and anti fogging agent.

Cat problem? Vinegar

Ant problem? Vinegar

Rabbit problem? Vinegar

Grease stained your hands like a tattoo? Vinegar

Sunburn? Vinegar

Ex -wife? Vinegar

Pesky red heads? Vinegar

If its good enough for Grandma its good enough for you.


Have tiny rust spots? Rail dust or iron dust from disc brakes stuck to your paint? Auto Magic #713 or Oxalic acid diluted 8 parts water to 1 part.

Really heavy spotting after a rain? Baking soda desolved in water as a pre-wash on your mits.

No swirl polish? Corn starch

It's old school but it works.

I don't know why, but the above post reminds me of the Dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"! His modus operandi was Windex though!

Clay bar will take care of it

Funny about the Windex! Good movie.

I've been told that metal polish works wonders.

BUT, I'd try in in a non-visible test area first.

First, clean the lens on your camera. If that doesn't work, clean your glasses....

I started with the easier recommendations:
Cleaned camera lens: doh
Cleaned glasses: doh
Clay Bar: doh. the paint is as smooth as a baby's you-know-what and the clay bar just glides across the surface
Went to FLAPS to buy rubbing compound and of course they were out but I found Water Spot Remover by Maguiar's: doh I think that was just repackaged polishing compound
Metal Polish: tried on an inconspicuous spot and it worked but I didn't like the marks left on the paint. Had to use polishing compound to take the marks out of surface. I'm not going to do that on my entire front and rear trunks.

I'm convinced it will come out with some elbow grease or power buffer which I will leave to the pros. It's running good so I decided to go for a drive and worry about the spots another day. Thanks for the advise.

I would suggest just drive it and put more spots on it, then the original ones will become less conspicuous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSReSGe200A

Clay bar and rubbing compound are for surface contamination. . if this is a 'bleach' type stain that is down thru the paint you may be facing a losing battle . . Unless you are seeing it get lighter with compounding, you may just be rubbing a divot in the paint and soon you'll have another discoloration as the paint gets thin and the primer starts to show thru. . {Been there done that and it happens so slowly you don't notice it until you step back and look at the big picture} .

Is there the possibility the stains are from something caustic being splattered on the paint? If so, see your insurance guy. . It may be covered. .

OMG you owe me a minute of my life back!

Explain that one to me, please. Will it get rid of her forever?