Reddish Brown water spots - acid rain?

[jbum]

I just wanted confirmation from people who have seen the brown acid rain spots discussed on this board. Here is the picture of my white civic and it`s been getting these spots all of a sudden lately.







Are these from acid rain? They do not look like tree sap (not sticky at all)... hard to get out unless I use a tooth brush or clear coat cleaner. They don`t come off with a normal car wash.



Thanks!

[Accumulator]

jbum- WElcome to Autopia!



If they`re not rust-blooms (ferrous contamination), then they`re some *other* kind of contamination.



I`d use clay to get `em off, rather than scrubbing with a brush. You might like that approach better than the paint cleaner.

[jbum]

Wow, I finally got around to getting the "Clay Magic" kit. I know I`ve read numerous accounts of people saying what a miracle a clay bar is but I wasn`t truly convinced of the effectiveness of it.



When I run my fingers on the paint, I feel so many wedged/embedded specs of "stuff" and they feel like they`re in there very tight. I wasn`t able to knock them loose with my fingernails. I surely didn`t think some small piece of clay bar could pull them out.



Well, I just tried it on a small patch on the hood of my car. WOW!!! I don`t know how it works but it WORKS. I am CONVINCED!



And the lubricant spray actually smells good! Sorry I just had to share this with everyone.



Thanks for all the suggestions.

[BigJimZ28]

I am glad it is working for you

I think you made the post about "clear paint"

and I told you like 3-4 times to clay

[jbum]

:woot2:



Yes, I remember reading your posts. Well, thanks to everyone at autopia... my car isn`t perfect but it`s pretty close to the "new car" smoothness.



So from what I know about clay bars, it appears that they essentially shave off the embedded contaminants. So it`s normal to still see some of them embedded in the paint but you just don`t feel them as much or at all? My car is white so I can still seem some if I look carefully.

[Accumulator]

jbum- Glad to hear it`s working and yeah, clay works by shearing off the contamination. Yeah, sometimes you can`t quite feel it with your hand but the clay will still get it.



White is a PIA when it comes to stuff like this, so you might want to try claying again and then using a good paint cleaner.



If the clay doesn`t do it (or if the problem "comes back") then you need to step up to the deconatination systems (e.g., AutoInt/ValueGuard`s "ABC" ).