Sticky patches all over car after washing and waxing

Hey all,

I`m really stuck and frustrated. I spent the time to completely clean my car including polishing and waxing to finish. A week or two after the clean I started noticing the spots all over my car and they quickly collected dust as seen in the photos. I`ve washed the car with just water a few times since the initial complete clean and its just constantly collecting dirt in these small patches all over the car including the windows, its like there just sticky patches and the dirt sticks to the surface in these spots. Even after washing and drying I can see these spots all over the car, they are a different color to the paint surface, I`m not sure what the problem is and I really need some help?

Thanks, Liam

https://www.autopia.org/forums/attac...id=34341&stc=1https://www.autopia.org/forums/attac...id=34342&stc=1

Looks like dirt/pollen/water spots

Use a quality car soap and wash/dry properly and see.

Welcome to the Forum!

Adding to what Ron said, if it`s sticky there could be tree sap stuck on the paint as well. If after washing and drying the car (always use a quality car wash soap, not just water) you still have clearish sticky spots, that`s sap.

I`ve had luck with Poorboys Bug Squash as a pretreat on affected areas (let soak for a minute or two before washing as normal). Bug Squash is diluted 3:1 water:product, so a bottle will last a long while.

read up on the 2 bucket method for washing cars - will save your paint from additional scratches and swirls.

Post back with questions - We are happy to get you sorted out!

Nick

Liam1234- Welcome to Autopia!

As suggested, first do a thorough decontamination to get the paint truly clean.

You might want to quit washing with just plain water, it`s lack of lubricity/encapsulation (and modest cleaning abilities) probably contributed to all that marring (so soon after polishing too :( ).

The way you have the issue on the glass tells me it`s not related to the polishing/waxing as I assume you didn`t do those processes on the windows.

Liam1234 ----
Welcome to the Forum !

All the info above^^^ is perfect !!!

Sorry you are having difficulty with the finish after you did the work...

If you want to, please tell us what your process was to get your car all detailed, so we can have a better understanding, ok ? What products by name, did you use, what was the media you used to apply the products, etc...

Then, tell us where you park the car, during the day and evening please, so we can help you get this figured out..

There are not any trees dropping sap at this time of the year (where there is a cold winter) that I know of; except possibly some huge pine trees, that I have seen in the Pacific Northwest, that were capable of dropping sap most anytime - worse during spring and summer..
Dan F

OP: You title states they are sticky spots, but in the body of your post you mention the dust sticks to the surface like it is sticky. How do those spots actually feel to the touch?

To my eyes, they simply look like areas where dust or pollen have collected in the water spots which then dried on the surface. All of the advice provided so far will take care of them and prevent further marring of the paint.

What wax did you use on the car. From my experience waxes will hold on to any surface dust much more than sealants or coatings. They look amazing, but it comes at a price.

Thankyou all for your responses.

Some more info:
I`m from Australia so I`m still in summer and the car is parked on the street, I try and avoid parking it directly under trees.
The surface isn`t sticky to touch I was just stating that dust seems to stick to certain areas, it is more of an oily surface if I touch it
The products I used, Meguires wax, microfiber towels, chamois cloth, some sort of polish (can`t remember which one), clay bar.
I didn`t wash it soon after completing waxing, water washing was a couple of months after.

From your feedback I tried washing the car using Meguires wash and wax. it is now a day later and the car looks free from the spots which I am very relieved about. I have a few questions moving forward though:
When drying the car with a chamois cloth after the clean it picked up black stains (definitely not brown dirt stains) does anyone have any idea what this is and if its possible its doing something to the paint or wax. And also when washing the car with soap and a microfiber sponge will this slowly remove the wax with the wiping motion?

Thanks again :)

Liam1234- IF your Drying Media gets soiled it`s because the car`s still dirty. Yeah, really... sorry but you`ll need to resort your wash regimen if you want to fix that (I suspect that the long time between washes doesn`t help, I wouldn`t go long unless you *KNOW* you can get away with it).

Much as I despise chamois (well, compared to today`s Drying Media, they were OK back in the day and I did use them until the mid-late `80s), it won`t just "turn brown" unless it picks up some kind of contamination that should`ve come off during the wash. Wax coming off won`t do that. If the paint`s going bad you`ll have different (and probably pretty obvious) issues, and it won`t ever really get much better with redoing (at it appears to do).

Good wash shampoo and decent wash techniques shouldn`t do too much to the wax (if *that* is good too).

I think you oughta....let`s see...

1) get different/better wash/dry materials and products (get some better shampoo)
2) get modern MF Drying Towels
3) wash more frequently
4) use a decontamination product (e.g., clay) and then some kind of Paint Cleaner/All-In-One to get the paint truly clean
5) use a different/better Last Step Product (i.e., wax or sealant)

I myself would want to sort out whatever`s causing all that visible marring, but I`m kinda fanatical about that :o Probably more important to figure out what`s going haywire with your Maintenance Wash. Hey, it is *NOT* easy! It`s not just you/your situation, it`s simply a big challenge no matter how easy some [individuals] try to make it sound.