road "salt" stains\spots that wont come off?

hi you guys might know me from posting im new but i def go all out on taking care of my car. we got our first big snow storm where i live. lots of "salt" or whatever the stuff is they are using on the road now? i pressure washered it then took it home and did a waterless wash with wolfgang uber.

that was all fine, but i noticed some water stain looking things on the hood and a small panel right where you open the trunk in the back. i hammered the hood with detail spray and i seem to have got those off. its one of those things you only see in direct sunlight.

the small panel in the back had a bunch off little water spot/stains that WOULD NOT come off, i tried detail spray, all purpose cleaner, that exterior cleaner from mckees, finally i got annoyed and hit a small spot with scratchx and they still wouldn't come off really

i wish i had a picture to post but i dont have a smart phone right now. im sure i can buff these spots off but i don't understand what they are and why they are so hard to get off? anybody have any ideas. at first i thought it was the salt eating through the wax but if that was it they would have come off i would think?

what do you guys think?

Eldorado2k said:

You're talking about the Kia right? Little water spots that could pass for cheetah spots? I've noticed on 1 particular area of the trunk door I get marring when I clay it every time the same way. Looks like clay marring, but it could be mistaken for water sopts if I didn't know what caused it. And yes it's really hard to see unless you're 1 of us... Point is, are you sure it isn't clay marring? M205 on a microfiber applicator by hand quikly removes it for me everytime. Why by hand? Because it's only on 1 small area where it happens on the strip beneath the rear window.

Btw Im typing this on my phone with nitrile gloves on and it's a PITA! So I hope you appreciate my reply. Lol

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yes thank you, thats the exact spot that they are on, on my car. that rear strip underneath the window. they look like water stains and to be honest im pretty sure they just happened because im always going over the car with a fine tooth comb. they look like one of the spots where the road salt stains where but they just didnt come off like the other ones. i had them pretty bad on the hood to but those ones came off.

it looks like its eating through the paint. at first i thought it was just in the wax but these things are on there hard. ill try the 205, i have that, but like i said i just can not understand what caused these things? i have a lot of good wax on the car. i know i can hopefully buff them out with a machine in the garage but i dont understand why i have to take it that far you know what i mean? i hope its not something more serious

the only other thing i can think off is 2 days ago i went to a coin op pressure washer and rinsed the sides with the high pressure soap. i didn't realize it was bad for the paint. i wonder if that has anything to do with it. like maybe i didnt get it all rinsed off?

i'll tell you bro, i think the paint on my kia is absolute s h i t, there are chips all over the hood and front bumper. there's thousands of tiny little pit looking things everywhere. they look they are through the clear coat too. i might have to get ride of it before the paint really fails. i dont think it will last another couple years. i love the car but i think i just got a bad one. ive seen some other kias the exact same as mine and they dont have the same damage

it does look like cheeta spots too

Eldorado2k said:

You're talking about the Kia right? Little water spots that could pass for cheetah spots? I've noticed on 1 particular area of the trunk door I get marring when I clay it every time the same way. Looks like clay marring, but it could be mistaken for water sopts if I didn't know what caused it. And yes it's really hard to see unless you're 1 of us... Point is, are you sure it isn't clay marring? M205 on a microfiber applicator by hand quikly removes it for me everytime. Why by hand? Because it's only on 1 small area where it happens on the strip beneath the rear window.

Btw Im typing this on my phone with nitrile gloves on and it's a PITA! So I hope you appreciate my reply. Lol

Click to expand...

maybe it is clay marring that i didnt notice before. ill def try the 205 by hand as soon as i can. its only like 10 degrees around here right now, thanks bro its that exact spot you said too

Re: road "salt" stains\spots that wont come off?

Eldorado2k said:

Also keep in mind that a good strong coat of sealant can sometimes prohibit a polish/compound from being able to correct defects on the paint.. I know it sounds crazy because you're using polish etc. and that in itself should remove the sealant, but sometimes it actually has to battle to do so, and until it can break through you won't be able to correct defects.

I've seen that happen @Meguiars Garage where what turned out to be NXT paste wax wouldn't allow the DA to correct the paint. Eventually there was success, but it took some effort.


Sent from my iPhone

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thanks thats probably it i barley even rubbed the stuff in i just did a small spot to see if it would come right off. i do have 2x synergy and a coat of viking spritz on it for winter. ill just hit it with a machine when i get a chance. i do want to try your other suggestion with the 205 though or maybe paint cleansing lotion idk i have a bunch of stuff lol. thanks bro appreciate it