Help, I got something nasty on my car. (1 Viewer)

[Keith Mickunas]

While washing my car the other day I found that I got something all over it that won't come off. It's mostly on the hood, with some down the sides, and my guess is it's oil. I've got a silver car, less than a year old, and it's got little black/brown spots all over. They're very tiny and hard to see until you get real close to the car. Also the surface feels rather rough.

I haven't taken as good of care of the car as I should have so far. I bought it in the fall and it was a demo with 3k on it already. Since then I've only put about 5k on it, and I've washed it a few times at an automatic brushless carwash which also sprays wax on it. I hadn't really looked close at it so I don't know when this stuff got on there, but it's baked on pretty good now. I've been out of work for four months and it sits in the garage most of the time, so I imagine this stuff has been on there a while.

Anyways, I searched on here and found a couple of threads on car cleaning but nothing really covered cleaning tough dirt. So far I've tried some Meguair's paint cleaner and that didn't do much. I've also tried some claymagic, which has helped, but it's not getting all of it. Should I just keep working on it with the clay? Or is there something else I should use? Once I get the oil or whatever it is off, I'm going to go over it again with the Meguair's cleaner, then wax it.

 

[Sean Conklin]

Try some rubbing alcohol in an inconspicuous spot, maybe its sap.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Have you driven over any freshly repaved roads lately?

It sounds like the oil they use when asphalting a street. I wonder if you can call the county and find out what they use, if anything.

Glenn

 

[Erik.Ha]

I concur. Sounds like Treesap. Probably wont come out by hand. Might need to take an orbital to it. Don't try this yourself unless you know what you're doing, you can burn the finish pretty easily.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Get a can of "bug and tar remover": autoparts stores sell it. It cleans off stuff like that without damaging the paint. It also takes off any wax so you have to re-wax after using it......

 

[Keith Mickunas]

These are very fine specks, not what I'm used to with sap. They're very tiny, there's quite a lot, and very dark. Like I said, you have to be right on top of it to see it. Because of that it's hard to say how long it's been there, it's possible it's been there a while and I hadn't noticed it. If it was from a recently paved road I can't recall when or where it happened, but I'm sure it's a possibility. I was thinking that perhaps I drove behind someone burning oil, I think it's possible that could collect on the car.

I'll try some alcohol, that shouldn't hurt. I don't have a buffer but I've considered getting one. Right now I'm out of work so I won't be buying one anytime soon.

 

[David Preston]

I was going to suggest the Clay bar. Try it a couple more times with that.

 

[Philip_G]

Me too.
should be done once a year anyway. Read the directions, keep it wet, it'll work wonders.

if it is indeed tree sap, I'd try googone, it has removed glue from decals and emblems on paint just fine for me, I imagine tree sap would be no match

 

[DonnyD]

It does sound like some road tar.......and it could be paint overspray........ a clay bar should finally remove it without any damage to your vehicles finish...as someone pointed out, be sure to keep the surface lubed while using a clay-bar.

 

[Jay H]

Might be explosive mulch.... It sounds a lot like the stuff that was all over the side of our glass at work, because the landscaping company used this really cheap mulch that literally was explosive and you couldn't just use a rag to wipe it off, it was really tiny reddish black spots that you had to use a fingernail to get off or something stronger than soap and water.

Aha, a google search for "Artillery fungus" suggests a possibility. If you've parked front first into some landscaped parts, it could be.. it's warmer in Texas than here so perhaps they are out.

Here's a picture of what the spots would look like:

http://www.delhi.edu/page/plantsci/P...tillery_01.jpg

And a info link:

http://www.delhi.edu/page/plantsci/P...c/sap_prob.htm

A google search of "artillery fungus" returns alot of results...

Jay

 

[Tim Markley]

The claybar should do the trick. When I bought my car it had tar all over it. After using a Zaino claybar on it, the finish was smooth as glass. Just take your time and use lots of lube and it'll come off.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

The claybar seems to be working. It's not getting all of it, yet, but it's making a huge difference. I've found the clay is a lot easier to work with if I use more of the fluid. The hood was by far the worst part of the car, and now it's getting smoother and smoother. I still have some work to do on the doors, then it'll be time for the waxing. But man my arm is getting tired. I can only effectively do this kind of work right handed, and it's been getting a lot of use these past few days, of course my persisten mouse-shoulder doesn't help.

 

[Tony Whalen]

I was just about to chime in and say "claybar it!", but I see you are doing just that. It's labour-intensive, but works wonders. Just remember that you car has NO wax on it now...so once you have it clayed to your satisfaction, put a nice wax and/or polish on there.

Of course, I would recommend Zaino.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

The claybar is definitely labor intensive, but it's doing the trick and is worth the effort. I should have done this shortly after I got the car.

I may go the Zaino route once I use up the Meguiar's that I have now. The recommendations I've seen for Zaino are definitely glowing. But I don't see a reason to spend the money when I got some perfectly good products already.

 

[DonnyD]

Another Zainoid here..... and if you DO change to Zaino, you'll be getting a product that will definitely give you protection for 6 months or so....
I, too, was a Mequiars lover for many years but upon changing to Zaino a couple of years ago, I'll NOT use anything else. Simple to use, fantastic results, and longevity........
Mequiars is a great product also but you're gonna get a lot of practice using it if you keep your vehicle waxed since it doesn't last long at all........

 

[Tony Whalen]

Yup. Ditto to what Donny said.