Removing mulch spores from paint?

[hunter1]

Hi
what's the best way to remove mulch spores for my car's paint.

thanks

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Removing another cars paint from bumper?

Hi
what's the best way to remove mulch spores for my car's paint.

thanks

Mulch spores? Do you mean small chips in the paint?

Any chance you could provide some pictures or a more detailed description?

I also moved this into a separate topic since this has nothing to do with removing paint transfer

[Murr1525]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

Is it like mold?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

I was thinking like Murr. Mold spores?

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

Mulch Spores or they are also called Arterial fungus.

You can use a bleach / water mix try 3 : 1 first If that wont cut it 50/50 is ok.

It shows up on house siding and mostly on white and light colored cars.

Penn State did a study on this.

[Murr1525]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

A regular car wash, clay, paint cleaner wont remove them?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

Mulch Spores or they are also called Arterial fungus.

You can use a bleach / water mix try 3 : 1 first If that wont cut it 50/50 is ok.

It shows up on house siding and mostly on white and light colored cars.

Penn State did a study on this.

I stand corrected. I learned something new today. Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

[SHYNEMAN123]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

I stand corrected. I learned something new today. Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.

The 1st time I ran into it was on a white corvette and 5 homes on the same street had mulch delivered with in 2 days of each other.

I called a friend of mine at GM to see if he had ever heard of it and he wanted to know which bar I was at so I could buy him a beer.

[ClarkWGriswold]

Re: Removing mulch spores from paint?

It is called "artillery" or "shotgun" fungus. Nasty stuff, comes from mulch. Yet another good reason to keep a good coat of wax on your car.

[TOGWT]

Artillery Fungus

Small black specks; these resemble asphalt (tar) spots but could be the spore of artillery fungus (Sphaerobolus) they look very much like tar spots and are usually about 1/10th-inch in diameter. These sometimes feel like they are in the clear coat, when in fact they have more than likely been covered with a wax or sealant.

The term artillery refers to the fact that the fungus actively uses energy to shoot its spore masses, sort of like cannon (an artillery piece). It is a fungus that lives in wood-based mulch, the spores are usually shot only a short distance (several feet) but the wind can carry them for longer distances.

They can be removed by using a chemical paint cleaner or plastic razor blade to scrape and remove the spot.