I have a white 98 EL XR6.
Does this colour have a clear coat over the paint? Or is it just paint?
I have a lot of marks on the bonnet, that look like water drops, but they wont budge with washing or normal polishing. Scratch-X sort of takes them away but not completely.
Can I use a cut & polish on this colour, or is there a clear coat?

Off topic, I tried some of that new Turtle Wax Platinum Series Wax, and the end result was amazing, very very nice high gloss finish! But still marks on the bonnet!

yeah most paint these days have clear coats on them so im guessing that your car would have a clear coat.
umm yeah try cut an polish stuff if u wanna BUT dont use the abrasive stuff. try that T-CUT colour fast s**t that comes with the chip stick. that is a tinted polish so it may get rid of your marks

yes it will havea clear coat!

have u tried a paint cleaner?
you can use a cut and polish but i would not recomend it, as it depends on the quality of the paint at the time ie if the paint in real good nick should be fine but if it is in porr nick then i would not.

if the swirl remover has taken some of the marks away try a FINE cut polish i know meguirs make one or if in doubt take it to a panel/paint shop and ask their opion

actually id say it doesent have a clear coat, the white is a solid and doesnt have to be cleared.

No all non metalic colours are solid (no clear) you can still pollish them with a buff.

These are water spots, rain or car wash rinsing water that has not been removed while drying an the hard deposits like calcium etc leave white marks and can etch the paint surface

Nothing wrong with the stuff others have said to use (it does a good job considering it's off the shelf retail stuff) but try this water spot remover recipe

200ml of white vinegar
100ml of purified water
150ml of Lanotec citra force (can get it from motor traders etc)
40 ml of isopropyl alcohol
20ml of kerosene

Will not damage the paint

Now all that is needed is paint repair steps (lots of prep)

Clay the paintwork (use 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and water as clay lube)
Prepsol (to remove old wax, sealants etc
A paint cleanser or ultra fine cutting compound (try the cleanser first)
Swirl mark remover - by hand between two - five applications starting with the strongest one - example Poorboys SSR 3
Use a milder remover for each additional step
Polish with a any polish or a final glaze like my PPG paints final glaze
Finally put a base coat of sealant on. I use Klasse all in one cleaner/protector. Helps the Klasse SG to bond and cure.

Apply as many coats of sealant as you wish.
With metallic and darker colors, use a hand glaze after polish and all in one (if you had it) and then seal.

Leave one coat of sealant on the paint for a few hours to bond and then remove with an ultra microfibre cloth.
Wait up to 24 hours before applying another coat

err, umm, what happens if you use cut 'n' polish on a metallic colour?

Depending on the grit rating, you will loose either a tiny bit of metal flakes or alot

My previous AU - AURORA had killer shine and lustre but I had cut it too many times trying to get it perfect over the years and lost almost all the metal flake

With the Tickford it had 100% of the metal flakes still in it and I decided last week to use a paint cleanser instead of a cut
Was willing to put up with a few very minor swirls and scratches for the metal flake look

The following are the cutting compounds I have and their grit rating

Farecla G3 - general purpose - 1600 grit, a fine cut
Farecla G10 - 1800 grit- extra fine grade - very low loss
PPG Single Cut - 1500 grit - a medium cut
Malco Rejuvinator - unknown but pretty strong
3M Perfect It II Rubbing Compound - 1200 grit - a deep cut
Menzerna Powergloss - 1000 grit - don't use this unless you have no other choice.
You get a brilliant glossy finish though
Magnum Top Gear ultra fine color restorer - 1900 grit

Polishes don't have a grit rating but can be used many times

PPG Final Glaze 2000 grit - awesome wet look polish
Magnum Top Gear Final Glaze - 2000 grit
Poorboys World pro polish
Dinitrol 720 Wet look polish (solvent free) made in sweden
Magnum Top Gear Non silicone polish
Menzerna IP and FP (IP is a bloody fine cutting compound that thinks its a polish) (FP is a blemish removing polish that really brings out that shimmering lustre)

My advice to owners of metal flake painted cars is
Try a paint cleanser first and if no good, try the finest cutting compound you can get and move up the grit scale until you find the product that does the job

LSD metallic colours have a clear coat on them.