Unkown speckles on black paint

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vertico

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Hi everyone,
It's been a while since I've been on here but I recently picked up a Black raven Cadillac CTSV coupe!

The car is in great condition but after further inspection it has the "speckles" all over the paint on the front/top of the car. They are very fine, at first i thought they were tiny bits of metal but now I think it might be clear coat over spray.

I've attempted to clay them off but they still remain. Does anyone have any suggestion on what I might try to remove them? The paint on this car is excellent except for these tiny spots!

I tried to get the best pic possible, if I get a better pic i'll follow up with it.

Let me know what you think.


a6d0365d78650a998b9f332297676828.jpg



If you look just above the light reflection in the pic you can see the speckles:

58f885f3e29d593e98679d14c79a7700.jpg
 
Pretty hard to see the speckles, but what I see, or looks like...bird tracks.

I'm sure it is probably an illusion, but what is 'that'?

Bill
 
1st of all, nice Cadillac. Love the black paint.
As far as the speckles, are you sure they're not on the roof of your garage and not actually on the car? Lol. That was just a joke because of how good the reflection is.

Kinda tough to make a call from that pic being a bit far away from the spots, but my 1st guess would be that maybe they're bird poop etchings.

So there's no swirls on that paint? You bought it in that condition?


Sent from my iPhone
 
We havent had sun out in a while, it's been very rainy here in GA but should clear up in a day or so.
Here's i think a better pic:


3d1f17ee6c06df741e2e6c5b88a6ea3f.jpg


One thing i just realized, i was able to remove one of the speckles with my finger nail by scratching it gently. Interesting that thats possible but clay bar didnt get it

The paint is in pretty good condition but does have some swirls on it. After i figure out what to do abut the speckles i plan to hit it with some light cut

I'll keep trying for a better picture as well.

Here we are!...
68f3a6ad87d650249f05bcf936b784ca.jpg
 
Tar .... industrial fallout ...

Have you tried to clay the surface ??? Have you done a Iron-X remover product or wash ???

I would try those areas personally ....
 
I've tried to clay and was not successful.

I should have specified earlier, the entire roof is covered in them, the hood had some, the side of the car has them but much smaller and not nearly as bad.

I think you're right, it must be fallout from parking near something.
Could this be from parking at the airport for extended periods of time? We have an international airport here in ATL and i know it's bad for paint but never seen what it does to black paint.


I certainly will try the iron x
 
I finally see them.
I would try the Fine/Med. grade Speedy Prep Towel. This 1. If it's overspray, I've removed it looking just like that very easily with this towel.

b5de38828f8dedd89499dc8cd541b7d0.jpg


I like that 1 because it's strength is in between fine and med. I've also used the Med grade Speedy Prep Towel and worked great every time before it finally gave out.. Just use plenty of claylube.

I wouldn't bother with the fine grade towel as it's probably pretty weak. I've got 1 I ordered from China and didn't work worth a lick on even light contamination. Blame it on being a knockoff or whatever, but IMO I blame it on it being fine grade and it was a waste of time compared to the Med grade.



Sent from my iPhone
 
If it's white it's likely paint overspray from something, you, your neighbor, everbody is spraying paint these days on their houses, fences, etc. Or it could have happened industrially (commercial building painting/roofing at the airport or your job). Oh, you said you just got the car--could be from anywhere.

It's good that you can get it off with your fingernail; that means it's likely not road paint, epoxy, or polyurethane. If you are lucky it's house paint; I would try some mineral spirits. If that doesn't work perhaps you have to adjust your clay/clay substitute to something more aggressive.
 
Awesome, great ideas

So in order i'm going to try:
IronX
Nanoskin fine-medium towel
Nanoskin fine DA pad

Are mineral spirits safe for the paint? Sounds too harsh no?

I've got everything on order. After xmas is over i'm going to go to town on it.
I'll post up my results when done!

While i'm at it i'll try to get a before pic of the swirls that are there. This paint is amazingly deceiving for black paint, under most light it looks super glossy but when the sun hits it JUST right it's swirl city. Previous owner clearly ran it through automatic washers.

OT but on a side note the interior is in great condition as well except the center console is made of gloss piano black plastic that shows a ton of swirls. I picked up a 3" backplate for a drill that i'm going to try to use to polish it back to normal. It's crazy how badly scratched it is! I can see finger nail marks from people adjusting the volume on the radio


ea47c8d1f8fd19e01ab87bd78a76811a.jpg



Once i get these two things fixed up the car will be in near perfect condition!
It's a weekend warrior only so it will live in my garage 99% of the time
 
I just found some very similar specks on my paint as well as on the (what I assume is the plastic) piece on the trunk of my mustang. However, I can't get it off with my nail and I'm a little worried about using clay on the plastic part.
I look forward to seeing your results.
 
Sorry typing from my iPhone.
I'd start with clay and a good clay lube. Sonax makes a good bug/tar remover and then there is the trusty Tarminator. Yes mineral spirits are safe, if you can find odorless you won't have to deal with the nasty VOC's.

As always do a very small section as a test spot. When done with the aggressive Decon, including iron x, give her a nice wash. Be prepared to do some light machine polish of the entire car to remove any marring then follow up with a nice LSP.

Please follow back and let us know how you make out.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
My guess is they are tar or some type of paint overspray. IME, clay will not remove either.

Simply get some REAL mineral spirits (not the fake white stuff), put a little on a towel and try to wipe one spot. If it works - repeat on all affected areas. Mineral spirits should be safe on all factory paint.

A better alternative would be Tar X by CarPro, but I'm guessing you don't have that on hand.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
It might be tree sap and/or aphid poo. Kind of looks like my daughters car in fall after parking under a birch tree.

I used germ x( which of course contains IPA) to see if it would dissolve it last year.

I would try and take the interior bezel off, then polish and seal.
 
QUOTE=BillE;1449954]Pretty hard to see the speckles, but what I see, or looks like...bird tracks.

I'm sure it is probably an illusion, but what is 'that'?

Bill[/QUOTE]

Tooo Funny
 
vertico said:
One thing i just realized, i was able to remove one of the speckles with my finger nail by scratching it gently. Interesting that thats possible but clay bar didnt get it
Click to expand...

What clay did you try to use that didn't work to remove the contaminates?

If the overspray contamination is anything stronger than household latex paint then you might need a more aggressive clay or clay alternative to remove it from the surface.
 
Looks like tree sap, popping off with fingernail sounds like sap, it may have been waxed or sealed over as well, I'd use a da and cut compound and follow up with polish, if it were in my garage and I went with what I have that would be menzerna 400 on lc orange, follow with menzerna super finish 3500 on a white. The clear should be fairly hard on the caddy, I'd probably test a few spots maybe with just the sf3500 and a couple pad options to see if that would get it first.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
I'm gonna guess tree sap too.

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Pretty easy guess, Atlanta, GA = tree sap (pine tar). I lived there about 6 years, now currently in S.GA. There are some very good Detailer's in the Atlanta area (also a good many Geeks). Maybe one of them might offer to help? You need a Rupes Nano to correct the interior panels without creating more swirls. Nice looking Caddy by the way!
 
vertico said:
I've tried to clay and was not successful.

I should have specified earlier, the entire roof is covered in them, the hood had some, the side of the car has them but much smaller and not nearly as bad.

I think you're right, it must be fallout from parking near something.
Could this be from parking at the airport for extended periods of time? We have an international airport here in ATL and i know it's bad for paint but never seen what it does to black paint.


I certainly will try the iron x
Click to expand...
I don't think iron X will help you here.I would try a aggressive clay bar.chemical guys black clay is the best cuts quick with no marring.Ag deosnt sell it anymore so maybe megs red will do.
 
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