Weird white dots.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Weird white dots.

its really wierd that im reading this...today i just washed my car, and after drying i noticed tons of white spots everywhere ! i thought they were all miniature rock chips ! i got so mad! i picked at with my finger ever so gently and it came off. i dont know what it was..but a clay bar took it right off the paint..strange.

We've had people call a day after claying and waxing to complain that the claying didn't last long, which is sort of an odd statement to begin with, but in the end it turned out to be tree sap mist. Not the kind of tree sap that leaves pencil eraser sized blobs of sap, but the very fine stuff that you can only see at certain angles (but you can sure feel it). Of course, this usually ends up happening only on the horizontal surfaces of the car, unless it's fairly windy in which case one side of the car can be covered too. But it almost never covers the entire vehicle.

I have a new hypothesis.

The white wax spots on my car is probably just wax sitting in little indentations in my paint. They aren't obvious at first because the coat of wax is thick (the whole area is smooth), but as the wax wears off with time, it exposes the imperfections. I believe this isn't geometrically possible (there's no reason why the wax surface would be rougher inside the indentations), but that's the best I can come up with.

This would explain why they appear with time... Still not sure why nobody else has this problem, though...

The only "little indentations" your paint should have would be very small rock chips in the hood. These can be so small that you don't even notice them, until you finally break down and use clay, a paint cleaner and then wax. The wax gets into those tiny little nicks and dries white, making them quite noticeable against dark colored paint. You may not see these for a day or two. It also sounds as though you applied the wax far too thick - at least "thick" is a term that is never associated with a proper wax application.

The streaking you mentioned is very unusual. When you consider that, no matter how heavy you apply a wax, or how many coats you apply, it leaves behind a film that is only a few nanometers thick. It can't just later on bunch up and leave streaks - it isn't physically possible.

Do you have any pictures of either of these issues? How old is the car and what sort of condition is the paint in?

[cryptopath]

Re: Weird white dots.

I have a new hypothesis.

The white wax spots on my car is probably just wax sitting in little indentations in my paint. They aren't obvious at first because the coat of wax is thick (the whole area is smooth), but as the wax wears off with time, it exposes the imperfections. I believe this isn't geometrically possible (there's no reason why the wax surface would be rougher inside the indentations), but that's the best I can come up with.

This would explain why they appear with time... Still not sure why nobody else has this problem, though...

[speed3blackmica]

Re: Weird white dots.

its really wierd that im reading this...today i just washed my car, and after drying i noticed tons of white spots everywhere ! i thought they were all miniature rock chips ! i got so mad! i picked at with my finger ever so gently and it came off. i dont know what it was..but a clay bar took it right off the paint..strange.

[cryptopath]

Re: Weird white dots.

You know, I believe this is something to do with Meguiar's wax.

Backstory: I bought a tin of Meguiar's Carnauba Wax, and used it on my black car. It went on pretty thick the first time (I guess that's the first time it got any wax), and then I buffed it all off.

Before: When I was done, the car looked great. No white spots. (Some staining though, more on this later).

After: A few weeks later, I started finding little white spots of wax on my car. They look ridiculous. I can remove them with my fingernail, but I'd rather not do this all the time. I also find white streaks of wax, as if the wax decided one day to bunch up and form streaks.

So from this I conclude that it may have something to do with weathering / an effect that develops over time. I also find that I notice them after I go over pollen with a duster. Could the duster be scratching the wax up? Or maybe removing the pollen makes the white spots stand out. From what I've tried, I can't tell. I just don't like the white spots.

I'm rather disappointed by Meguiar's Carnauba Wax. It stains trim, and leaves random white dots. If anyone knows what it is or how I can avoid it, please let me know.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Weird white dots.

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:

1) You're best chance outside of using a toothpick to dig it out

2) No

3) Not really, you'd be better off with a toothpick and dig it out or a pressure washer and force it out with water. Neither are great solutions.

Welcome to Rock Chip City.

[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.

[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".

[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

[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.

[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.

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

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.