Weird white dots.

[Bonzi]

I don't know if it's Meguiars' wax that is causing the problems but these white small dots that are incredibly hard to remove are appearing everywhere (particuarlly the bonnet area). In the past three months i have waxed my car 2 times, the first time there weren't that many amount of white dots but yesterday it has increased after the second time i waxed it. I bought the car 3 months ago and its 14 years old. These dots weren't there. I use to park near trees where leaves and **** would fall but now i garage the car. The dots are really small and the amount of scrubbing and waxing etc and it does not budge. Any ideas? Is it tree sap?

[ZoranC]

Re: Weird white dots.

Any ideas? Is it tree sap?

Is that original paint or there is a chance car was repainted before you bought it?

[Bonzi]

Re: Weird white dots.

I don't know if its the original paint. So far there hasn't been anything of significance to make me believe that its been repainted. So the white dots is a sign of a repaint? :| The paint color matches the color code that is near the VIN etc.

[benhui86]

Re: Weird white dots.

take a picture..... hope its not the dreaded clear coat failure..... what car is it? some cars during that period of time have a tendency of clear coat failure.... GM products especially i think....

[ZoranC]

Re: Weird white dots.

So the white dots is a sign of a repaint?

No, just trying to get an idea of paint's history if one is known so whoever tries to help is better informed.

[Bonzi]

Re: Weird white dots.

take a picture..... hope its not the dreaded clear coat failure..... what car is it? some cars during that period of time have a tendency of clear coat failure.... GM products especially i think....

BMW E36. I'll try taking pictures (don't have a digital camera, might have to borrow one). Anyway it doesn't look like a clear coat failure. If this: http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/7A/60/we...iling/5/6e.jpg is anything to go by.
Also, the weird thing is the small dots appear to be on the bumpers as well which is strange.

[Sergei]

Re: Weird white dots.

It might be aphid honeydew. Do a google search on the background. I just had a massive infestation on my car - twice. I first thought it was tree sap. I did a wash and clay and got rid of it. I then parked my car, away from trees that produce sap. I got billions of micro dots all over the place. Aphid infested trees are the problem. Aphids excrement this sugary excrement called honeydew. The other indicator is ants on the ground. Ants love eating aphid excrement. Anyway you treat aphid honeydew just like tree sap.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Weird white dots.

Dark color 14 year old paint.....how well was it maintained by the time you acquired it? I'm thinking there may not have been much, if any, wax on the car when you got it 3 months ago. So, you washed and waxed it and then some of these tiny white dots started showing up. Then you waxed it again and now there are more white dots. Right?

Here's what I think: over the course of 14 years that car picked up a bunch of tiny stone chips on the front bumpers and on the bonnet. I'm not talking about the sort of chip that is noticeable from 10 feet away, but rather very tiny nicks that you almost can't even feel. Now you add a wax that dries white (you didn't specify which wax you are using) and it fills in these little nicks. Problem is, when you wipe off the wax you can't wipe what's gotten down into these nicks so it remains behind and looks like little white specs. If the car hadn't been waxed much in the year leading up to your acquisition of it, then these little nicks wouldn't have been so noticeable.

I had this exact situation on my 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata when I bought it in 2004. I determined the above description to be the problem when I noticed I could spray some quick detailer on a spot and go over it with an old toothbrush - that got rid of the white spec. Of course, it isn't practical to do this on each and every little white spec. I have seen people recommend going over the affected area (bonnet and bumper) with a high pressure spray to blast the wax out, but I haven't tried this myself. The problem seems to have minimized since I've started using very thin layers of Meguiar's M20 or M21 on the car.

[Bence]

Re: Weird white dots.

If they are on the front bumper and the hood, maybe you just run into a construction/road paint cloud... Check the headlights and all surrounding areas.

Are they above-surface or below-surface defects? Can you pop them off with a plastic razor blade or a fingernail?

[MaximusZTS]

Re: Weird white dots.

The3 fist thing that popped in to my head was overspray. Do you have a someone around you that might be painting something?

[SL1CK]

Re: Weird white dots.

No, I know what he means because some parts of my car got them too after using Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. It's like these little small white dots and they are in groups and even using your nail to try to take ONE off doesn't work, and if it does work, it requires some passion. I tried claying them off but they're still there, don't know what they are.

[MaximusZTS]

Re: Weird white dots.

The only time I have had something like this happen was after useing some #83 it left some white dots on the paint work I did not mask off. But it wiped off pretty easy. So I dunno.

[Bonzi]

Re: Weird white dots.

Dark color 14 year old paint

yep, its greyish-black.

.....how well was it maintained by the time you acquired it?

If the headliner sagging, barely changing the engine oil, spark plugs that haven't been changed in 15 years (to quote my mechanic), no service history is anything to go by the previous owner hasn't done any 'maintenance' to it. I bought it at an auction at a really cheap price, so i can't really complain.

I'm thinking there may not have been much, if any, wax on the car when you got it 3 months ago. So, you washed and waxed it and then some of these tiny white dots started showing up. Then you waxed it again and now there are more white dots. Right? Here's what I think: over the course of 14 years that car picked up a bunch of tiny stone chips on the front bumpers and on the bonnet. I'm not talking about the sort of chip that is noticeable from 10 feet away, but rather very tiny nicks that you almost can't even feel. Now you add a wax that dries white (you didn't specify which wax you are using) and it fills in these little nicks.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Problem is, when you wipe off the wax you can't wipe what's gotten down into these nicks so it remains behind and looks like little white specs. If the car hadn't been waxed much in the year leading up to your acquisition of it, then these little nicks wouldn't have been so noticeable.

Maybe i shouldn't of waxed it :| The car was spotless when i got it. I don't think the owner took much care of it perhaps a polish, wash here and there but apart from that there wasn't much care taken. I'll be using thinner wax next time? hmm any ideas? from here: http://www.meguiars.com.au/product_2...Protect&show=1

Of course, it isn't practical to do this on each and every little white spec. I have seen people recommend going over the affected area (bonnet and bumper) with a high pressure spray to blast the wax out, but I haven't tried this myself. The problem seems to have minimized since I've started using very thin layers of Meguiar's M20 or M21 on the car.

:\ grrr...this is driving me crazy. Is there any other way to get it out? I have 3 options i guess(?)

1) Take it to the self-serve car wash tomorrow and try the method you suggested (spraying it with a high-pressured spray).
2) Will i have any luck with Meguiar's Clay?
3) Using a detailer: http://www.meguiars.com.au/productde...subcat=&show=2 on *every* little spec. Will this damage my paint?



By the way this is the wax i used:

'Cleaner Wax Paste'

http://www.meguiars.com.au/productdetail_2006.php?seq=79&category=CAR%20CARE&subcat=Paint%20Care&subsubcat=Polish%20and%20Protect&show=1

[ZoranC]

Re: Weird white dots.

:\ grrr...this is driving me crazy.

Could you please post up close pics if possible? It really would help in helping you as "one picture is worth thousand words".

[Bence]

Re: Weird white dots.

Try to remove them with straight IPA.

But it is VERY easy to tell if they are on the paint, or you can feel a broken-up, discontinuous finish (aka; hole).

If they are removable (above-surface discoloration), then fine, but if the are just simple paint chips, then use touchup paint, wetsand it and restore the (close to) original state.

Simplest method: use a rather useless colored wax to dye & hide the white spots temporarily. But this is truly the last thing.