How to deal with water spots & other nasty paint damages on my Miata
I've had my year 2000 Mazda MX-5 NB for over a year now, and originally I wanted to ask for advice on some nasty water spots she developed. We had an unusually harsh winter, which she spent in a deep level parking garage, naive me thinking that my car will be adequately protected there from the elements. Of course the garage ceiling developed leaks, one of them directly above my parking spot. By the time I noticed it after returning from the Christmas festivities at my parents', water was dripping down for weeks and essentially growing what I reckon to be baby stalagmites on the hood of my car. I wiped off what I could and washed the car and after it dried (and I removed the new drippings too) I covered the whole car up. Unfortunately the damage was done and now I have these hard white splashes that just refuse to come off and are quite an eyesore. Tbh I only tried vinegar on it so far, I read a lot about different water spot remover products, clay barring, and I even tried to get comfortable with the idea of doing my first polishing job, but I did not reach any conclusion on how best to proceed.
I have to say at this point that I am an absolute dummy to detailing, and I did not care so far for the many inherited damage that came with my long-lived Miata, including paint cracks from gravel, clumsily overpainted scratches from an exterior luggage rack, paint marks from other surfaces, chippings on the edge of the door and a particularly nasty carving on one of the mirrors (see photos). Oh and the bonus white markings on the soft top that look just as if sunscreen made them, they are only really visible in bright sunlight but then really hurt the eye. I figure that this level of damage would call for a complete repaint, but I am not intending to spend that kind of money on her, she is an affordable weekend fun plaything after all. But, I do want to care for my first sweetheart, and while I am okay with her looking like the experienced lady she is, I feel like I could still improve the present condition. So I am here to learn about what can be achieved cost-effectively and mainly with household methods to give her a more organized look. The water spots really should go first, but I am also curious about what else could be achieved with polishing or correction of chipped paint (even though I am rather afraid to do stuff like that to her myself). So please, if you have fatherly advice on treating any of these damages, it will be very welcome!
Footnote: I am well aware that the car was involved in an accident or two, we checked paint thickness at purchase and it was 200-500 microns around the sides and up to 1000 microns around the wheel arches and sills. Don't know how much that counts here though.