How to remove specks embedded in paint?

[bcwang]

Hi,



I`ve got this white car, which now when you look close to the surface, looks like it has tiny brown and red specks in the paint. Some you can feel, but some you can`t, almost like it`s underneath the paint. Washing and waxing with a 1 step cleaner wax did not seem to help with this problem the slightest bit.



So my question is, what is this contamination from, and how do you get rid of it? It`s strange because the entire car is like this, yet I have another car which is red, but even if you look closely and feel the surface, it does not have this problem at all. Is this a paint defect possibly, or is it just contamination?



My next step to try and get rid of this is either a pre-wax cleaner, or a clay bar? Which one do you think will be more effective? Does chemical cleaning have the ability to remove it or will this involve abrasives and some rubbing?



Thanks for any help!

[johnson]

Try using a claybar first to see if it gets rid of it.

[bcwang]

When is the right situation to use a polish? It seems like claybar would already take care of all contaminants and leave a surface ready to wax. Is it only when a finish is dull and oxidized and needs to have a layer removed?

[2k2blackWRX]

A claybar wont remove swirls or light scratches... A polish will

[bcwang]

I see, so it does sound like claybar is what I need.



On the swirls and light scratches thing, I thought that`s what a sealer/glaze is supposed to take care of. Or is sealer/glaze == polish and I`m just eating my foot right now?

[shaf]

Yes, it sounds like a perfect case for claying.



I would stay away from using the word "sealer" since it`s not used much here and might get confused with "sealant". It`s all a big, messed up arguement over wording, but it`s probably less confusing to simply call glazes glazes, and reserve the word polish for things with abrasives. That`s what I try to do anyway. :o Glazes can hide light swirls for a while, but you need an abrasive polish of some kind to actually remove them.

[bcwang]

Thanks for your help guys, I`ll try the claybar and see how it turns out. If it doesn`t work I`ll find out what else can be done.

[Accumulator]

bcwang- If the claying doesn`t do it (and you might have to be sorta aggressive about it), look into AutoInt`s ABC (A=base;B=acid;C=neutral). It`s made for your problem.

[bcwang]

Well, I just tried claying, and some of the specks do come off, but a lot don`t. It seems like the surface is smooth afterwards though, so maybe the damage is beneath the clearcoat. Some of them actually look like little rust dots, like the metal underneath is rusting and the stain of it is coming up to the surface. The only panel I was able to remove all the specks was, the gas cap. I worked on the trunk for awhile but gave up after spending a lot of time on it.



By the way, how much lube are you supposed to use when you clay? I don`t know if I put too much, but it seemed like the clay was gliding way to o easily and not picking up the stuff. I could stroke it a lot and would have to push really hard to make it grab the dirt away. Am I possibly using too much surface area? For the gas cap I used a surface equal to about a fingerprint to clay, but for the trunk I was using about the same of half the area of a new bar. If you guys think I just didn`t clay correctly and could correct me, I can try it again. But otherwise what`s the next step for getting rid of these specks?



By the way, is the clay supposed to be very hard? I had a hard time kneading it, and I`m not that weak of a person. The best I could do was fold over and flatten with both palms.

[bcwang]

Oh, the finish on this car was in worse shape than I thought. After finishing up, there are still the rust colored specs, and many spots marked from bird crap in distinctive "splat" patterns. These definitely do not come out with the clay bar. I tried using a cleaner wax too but those bird craps are very destructive. I also found overspray on the car in certain area`s, these don`t want to come out with the clay or the cleaner wax either.

[shaf]

I dunno, just keep at it or do it in warmer conditions maybe when the clay is softer. :nixweiss This is kind of Anti-Autopian for me to suggest, but do these rust-like spots chip off with your fingernail? I`ve seen very tiny spots like that before and they`ve turned out to be worn-down spots of road tar. The clay is supposed to glide over the paint, and the size of clay you use shouldn`t matter. Sometimes to get spots really stuck down in some pocket in the paint you have to press down a bit harder than normal, but I wouldn`t call it "really" hard, as that could cause marring. Maybe it was too cold or something, since you`re having trouble folding it and maybe it`s not soft enough to conform to the surface perfectly. Just some ideas.



Treat bird dropping etching like bad oxidation (sometimes goes all the way through though), overspray can be clayed out sometimes, but you might need something stronger, like Clay Magic red.

[bcwang]

Nope, now those spots feel smooth, but won`t go away. I think it`s contamination down to the metal. Oh well, it feels nice!



By the way, with door handle scratches, which seem to be a lot, right under the door handle actually, is a glaze enough to hide those, or should a pre-wax cleaner/polish be used to buff it out? I know they`ll come back, so doing the abrasive polish in that area too much sounds like it`s going to put too much wear.

[shaf]

Hmm, it`s funny you mention this issue!



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22045



In my opinion, glazes don`t do much for "scratches".

[MegaMan]

I too have the same problem you are describing, in that I have these very light brown to black dots. They are very noticeable on my yellow car and I can imagine even more noticeable on your white car. I once spent over 40 hours solid with clay bars to remove and I did have to use considerable amount of grunt work to remove them (and two clay bars). I know you are not supposed to push too hard with the stuff, but that is what it took to remove them. (Nothing else would seem to touch them) Uggg..



If anyone knows if the ABC wash will remove these air born and road contaminants with ease, please let us know. You should see my trunk and bumper! Do you think I should just leave them on and let the SMR and pad remove them?



bcwang: just as a side note, Zaino did help me keep the dots off the car for a period of time. So I do recommend a good protection once the contaminates from the paint are removed.



MegaMan

[Accumulator]

If anyone knows if the ABC wash will remove these air born and road contaminants with ease, please let us know. You should see my trunk and bumper! Do you think I should just leave them on and let the SMR and pad remove them?



The problem you guys are dealing with is a PERFECT example of why people need to clay or use ABC on new vehicles. The imbedded ferrous contaminants ( i. e., "rail dust") DO, in fact, cause tiny rust problems. .."never sleeps," so after a while they aren`t so tiny.



The ABC MIGHT work, but after a certain period of time, it can`t work miracles. Still, I`d sure give it a try. If you try it, I`d clay DURING the "B" step (the acid, yeah, it`ll sorta dissolve the clay but you can still do it), and let the "B" dwell for a good long time to do its thing. It IS acidic, but it isn`t all that strong. If it doesn`t work, well...:sosad . I doubt that continued polishing will remove the spots (at least permanently) since they really are little spots of rust.



As MegaMan said, a good protectant will help seal the finish and retard the return of the spots.