lol, you're confusing me. I met that the 3 original pictures make them look like rock chips. They in fact are something on top of the paint. Up close and before claying they appear to be tar or rust colored. If the clay magic blue bar I'm using is effective at knocking them down, they look...
After looking at those pics I agree they look more like rock chips than something sitting on the paint. here's one more pic I had, that I think shows it better:
I hope I don't catch hell for saying this, but I would suggest giving Brown Royal by Flash detailing a try. I've used Sonax and it's great, just not noticeably better. Brown Royal is $18/gallon and its applied diluted depending on finish of wheels your treating.
Detailing a 2009 Mazda 6 and I'm seeing spots on the paint after clay treatment, mainly in problem areas on rocker panels and wheel arches:
This is after two passes with the clay bar. Here's a closer shot:
and the closest shot:
Am I wasting my time thinking I can remove these prior to...
I have this foam gun from hd an find it works pretty well. You don't need to turn the valve all the way open to get a good soaking of foam. When I do have it open it went through it's 8 ounce capacity quickly.