Yellow spots on surface of my car
 

After washing it today, I noticed there's leftover small yellow spots on the surface of my car. It seems stuck there pretty good.

Are these bird droppings, bugs, pollen, etc? I even tried liquid dish soap and it didn't come out.

Google or search around here for "rail dust"

Also don't put liquid dish soap on your car.

I image searched "rail dust", and those spots look nothing like what's on my car. I'm pretty sure it's something else.

If it's the same as what I get on my car, I think it's bee droppings... I clay bar the spots that don't come off with a normal car wash and then put a quick coat of wax on that section. If you have a good coat of wax on your car on they usually come off real easy.

Pics or it didn't happen.

It's really hard to photograph because the yellow is a bit translucent, and my car is white colored.

Without pictures it's impossible to say.


My money is on rust spots. Clay barring will remove them. They're most often caused by brake dust. Probably the only reason you notice them is because your car is white.






Also dish soap wont harm your car in any way. It's a degreaser though, so if you have wax on your car it will remove it,

I know exactly what you're talking about. I've had them on my SWP before (just a couple of spots). I washed the car the best I could, but they wouldn't come off. However, the next time I went to wash, they were gone. Someone else on the forums said the sun takes them off with time, which is what I believe happened to me. Give it a couple of weeks in the sun and I bet they'll be gone.

(Oh, and try to minimize parking under trees!)

Right. Assuming your car was bought new in WA, it was discharged from a ship in Portland and trucked to Seattle so has never been on a train.

I'm guessing tree sap that most car washes won't touch. If so, it'll take a good quality fine polish and random orbital buffer for the best outcome or a gentle claybar treatment followed by protective wax.

Sounds like bug poop. I get 5 or so daily where I work. With wax already on the car, most will come off with ease. Some will leave a yellow mark, but usually disappears and fades with time in the sun.

it's sap.

put some APC (All Purpose Cleanet) on it, let it sit for a couple minutes, dab it with a microfiber towel and repeat.
it'll come off

I be in the tree sap camp.

I suggest you see if alcohol will remove them.


humfrz

I purchased my car brand new in Sept 2013 and never clay barred my car, or any car ever. On the upcoming one-year mark, I'll try it out, in between the car wash and the wax.

I'll likely just look for a bunch of How-To videos on YouTube. Seems legit.

Pollen I reckon!

Clay bar should remove it whatever it is.

I'm going with bug poop as well. I've found these on my car while parked outside less than 30 mins. Given the spot I was parked at there really is no other explanation. You have to get them off quick! I've had a couple that were left to fester for a while and experienced the same issue you describe, a yellowish spot about 1/4" in diameter on my white paint. My car is Opti-coated and while regular washing would remove the material in question the tinted spot remained. Clay bar helped fade it to almost unnoticeable. Over time they have either faded out or I just plain forgot exactly where to look for them.

maybe this ?
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct...os/hy-wheels31

Nice article, come to think of it there are trumpet vines growing adjacent to my driveway. They attract swarms of bees:( Oh well, I'm willing to cut them some slack given that without bees life on this planet would more or less cease to exist.

yeah it's bug poops. i get that on my SWP as well. if you use compound it gets off but you have rub it real hard. like others said, seems like it goes away in several days later when it's exposed to sun

What kind of trees have you been parking under?

I live in Northwestern WA state and I've learned not to park near the small Maples that everyone likes to plant in parking lots. I once left my motorbike in a spot slightly overhung by a maple for maybe two hours, and it took me at least that long to clean all the little sap drips off. These sap drops are evil and can even blow on a breeze. They're real small, maybe 1/32" in diameter. Luckily, my bike was a copper '03 SV1000S and I cleaned it that same day, but I have a feeling that if left they'd be capable of staining a clear coat. I take extra care to park away from the parking lot maples now.

A coworker tells me he has the same problem with the pines that overhang the driveway where he rents. He made a conscious decision NOT to buy an AP2 S2000 until he moved because the pine sap has RUINED the clear coat on his little red '90's Civic hatch.

As was already mentioned, don't use dish soap.

I'd probably do a paste-wax every weekend until those stains go away, but that's just me personally, I have an unreasonable fear of taking power-tools to my car.

Try not to park under a tree especially if its raining or look like its about to rain. Clay bar then wax helps but sun will remove it in a few days.

I used to use claybar, but just tried a Nanoskin towel the other day. WAY faster and last longer too! But i'll still keep a clay bar for small areas or when there's a tough spot.