White paint specs on my black car :(

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EM1_Chris

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Hey guys,

I am new on this forum. I've been hand detailing my car since I have owned it and have never had any major issues with removing scratches/contaminants from the paint. On top of doing a full detail on my car every couple of months, wax every month, I always use Meguiars quik wax or quik detailer every 3-5 days to keep my paint looking clean.

Just today, I noticed that there are white tiny paint specs on my paint. They are all over the car. They must have gotten on the car recently because I surely know they weren't on my car 3 days ago.

It just rained in my area yesterday so I discovered these specs after I washed my car today. I immediately freaked out when I saw them so I busted out my clay bar and tested a panel to see if it would remove the specs. Nothing really happened since the specs were still there after I clayed. Perhaps I didn't clay long enough?

I then tried 3M rubbing compound on the same panel, that didn't work. I then tried speed glaze (Meguiars 80) on the same panel and that didn't work.

The only thing that works that will take off the white specs is using my fingernail. They don't take much effort to come off though. Sort of like taking light bird poop off of a waxed surface.

The only thing I can think of where they came from is from my college campus parking garage. They are renovating it and I noticed they are using paint to repaint the parking garage beams so maybe it's over spray. However, I try to avoid the areas where they do the renovations (they do them one section at a time) and park on the top floor away from everything.

I don't know how I should move forward as to how to get rid of these tiny white specs. What do you guys suggest? A stronger clay bar? The one I have now is only a regular Meguiars clay bar.

Thanks,
Chris
 
I did a clay and seal job on a brand new car one time at the local car wash and while claying I noticed little white specks like you are describing. The car had less that 300 miles on it. I called the customer to let him know I would have it longer than I thought and he hit the roof and said he was getting into the pocket of the dealership for these spots, which he did.

The next car I detailed I looked over real well and no spots. I started the job by going to the local car wash and bucket washing it and rinsed with the DIY wand. When I began to clay the car I noticed these spots again and i know that they were not there before so they were coming from the car wash itself. Point being it's hard to say where these specks can come from.They too were very difficult to clay off.

I think what you have may require a little more elbow grease Combined with a medium grade clay. The white Meguiars clay that comes in the smooth surface clay kit is very fine grade clay and takes a lot of rubbing to get the results obtained from a medium clay.

I have used an APC mixed around 10 to 1 as a clay lube to remove these type of specks with great success.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! Do you guys have any experience with the products you mentioned? I checked out both products, they seem pretty good.

One other thing, the paint on my trunk and rear bumper is pretty new (got rear ended like a month ago), would it be ok to use those products on new paint that isn't "cured" yet?
 
EM1_Chris said:
Thanks for the suggestions! Do you guys have any experience with the products you mentioned? I checked out both products, they seem pretty good.

One other thing, the paint on my trunk and rear bumper is pretty new (got rear ended like a month ago), would it be ok to use those products on new paint that isn't "cured" yet?
Click to expand...
Did your paint guy give you a time frame for curing of the paint? If not I would give him a call and get a curing time from him. I have used a lot of bug squash and would think that it would not cause any trouble but I would talk to the paint shop first to be safe.
 
tuscarora dave said:
I did a clay and seal job on a brand new car one time at the local car wash and while claying I noticed little white specks like you are describing. The car had less that 300 miles on it. I called the customer to let him know I would have it longer than I thought and he hit the roof and said he was getting into the pocket of the dealership for these spots, which he did.

The next car I detailed I looked over real well and no spots. I started the job by going to the local car wash and bucket washing it and rinsed with the DIY wand. When I began to clay the car I noticed these spots again and i know that they were not there before so they were coming from the car wash itself. Point being it's hard to say where these specks can come from.They too were very difficult to clay off.

I think what you have may require a little more elbow grease Combined with a medium grade clay. The white Meguiars clay that comes in the smooth surface clay kit is very fine grade clay and takes a lot of rubbing to get the results obtained from a medium clay.

I have used an APC mixed around 10 to 1 as a clay lube to remove these type of specks with great success.
Click to expand...

Interesting about the car wash causing the specs. I really don't know how this stuff got on my paint but my best bet would be my college campus parking garage. It's very irritating knowing the specs are there.

What type of clay bar would you suggest for a medium clay bar? I currently have the white one that you mentioned.
 
I believe the body shop told me a month? The paint is BASF Glasurit 2 stage base and clear. It's almost been one month.
 
That is good paint anyway. You should be good at a month with Bug Squash though I wouldn't risk using adhesive remover this soon.. Clay magic Blue has a bit more bite that the Megs white clay for an over the counter choice. If you will be buying here at auto geek I suggest waiting to see what the other members say about it or start a new thread titled "What is a good medium clay bar?" I have never bought clay online other than a brand that they don't offer here.
 
Alright, thanks! I am planning on ordering stuff by the end of the week at least. I'll see what other members have in mind in the mean time or search around other threads.
 
BASF Glasurit ......I would give 90 days........NO QD on it.NO wash and wax! If u use anything on it go with meguiars NO7 ONLY!

As far as the white spots...try a test section with baby oil!!!!! If they come off with ur fingernail that easy it may be drywall joint compound from sanding!!! not sure but its worth a try!!
 
Thanks for the heads up on the paint. I'll give baby oil a try.
 
What do you guys think of Optimum All Purpose Cleaner diluted 3:1? I used Optimum's products before (ONR) and was thinking of giving the all purpose cleaner a shot. I am not going to use it on my new paint but on the rest of the car where the white spots are evident.
 
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