Dried up clear dots
 

Hey guys. I just washed my car 2 days ago. Now.. I have clear dots like dried up syrup all over my car. You can't tell unless you look at it closely. They are the size of a period.

Anyone know what those are and how to get rid of it easily? Currently, I have to use my fingernail to get it off.
I used optimum no rinse wash and wax to wash it.

Tree sap. Good times.


Go buy a clay bar kit. That will take them off. And to avoid it in the future, don't park underneath the trees.

Did you dry it with a towel? If you let it air dry that leaves water marks.

Where do you park your car? Under a tree, next to a lawn with automatic sprinkler?

Water marks aren't like dried up syrup though.

Its not water mark.. I did indeed dry it with a towel after every panel I cleaned. where I park is not under a tree.
Its literally everywhere on my car. Windows, door , trunk, hood.
When I try to remove it with my fingernail, it leaves a glue like residue.

I did remove most of the windshield dots with a windshield cleaner but that required a lot of force. I'm wondering how I can remove the dots on the paint.

I'm scratching my head on what it is..

It is tree sap. Not necessarily picked up just by parking under a tree. It's blown around. It's all over the place.

Remove it with a clay bar.

I'm not too experience with clay bar. Is there other way to remove it similar to a self hand car wash?

Clay bars are designed to remove things like sap or hardened bug guts or other contaminants on the paint that a normal wash wouldn't be able to remove.

They're very easy to use, they're just tedious. Go to autozone and pick up a clay bar from a brand you like (Maguiar's, Mother's, etc...), a bottle of quick detailer, and some microfiber towels. Spray some detailer onto a small area as a lubricant, pass the bar over that area a few times, and wipe it off. You'll feel the contaminants being removed, because the bar will slide more and more smoothly over the paint. Keep the area lubricated with the detailer, and work in one small area at a time.

When you're done, then wash the car.

Yeah clay is really simple to use. Buy a clay bar kit from any auto parts store. It will have the instant detail spray in the kit to be used as lube. Spray the panel and wet the clay, then let the clay glide across the panel, be sure to not exert force on the clay - let it's own weight do the work. Keep the panel and clay lubricated. Once the panel feels smooth (I typically lightly drag the palm of my hand behind the clay to assess the paint surface) wipe the panel down with a clean microfiber. Repeat on all panels.

I see. Thanks. However , the problem with clay bar is that I have probably a few hundred of the dots... Thats going to be very very time consuming...

You'll be surprised how quickly it will go.

Something like this would go pretty quick - relatively speaking.

https://sites.google.com/site/b34tbox/tree1.jpg

That is exactly what I have. My potato camera doesn't capture it.. :(
Do you recommend any brand of clay bar??

It'll only take you an hour or so, I clay barred my whole car with triple the time spent on the one side (drove over a freshly painted line, had white paint splats EVERYWHERE). Put on some music and you won't even notice how long it has taken.

Do these stuff etch to the paint? If not, I'll remove it later so I don't have to redo it again during the pollen season. The only thing I need to clean off asap is my windoes. So much glare at night.. I still wonder how these thing get stuck to my car and not my beater..

I would get it off ASAP. It might not etch but it could stain. Really no telling what it might do and I wouldn't want to sit around and wait to see what it might do.
Some real good advice above about the clay, one thing I will add, while claying after each small section knead the clay real good so as to always be using a clean side of the clay. I just keep folding the clay in on itself and then flatten it out to a small pancake and do the next section.
Oh and you can clay the glass also.

Damn pollen season sucks. I'm just afraid these dot will reappear the next morning after I wash it. As for the glassi got everything off. I used a window cleaner.

This:laughabove::laughabove:

I'm no where near trees. No idea how it got on my car. :(

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyexam3o_KA"]How To Clay Bar - YouTube[/ame]

This is how you claybar right?

Wouldn't this swirl the paint?

That's why you use the detailed spray as lube and don't crush the shit out of the clay bar. And the clay is more of a synthetic polymer than clay, it's designed for this purpose.

Just get some good car soap and water, use it as lubircant for clay bar. Spray wax is great but it can be costly after awhile.

Here...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRwgnhCgwJE&list=PL96D52AF54166C886&index= 21"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRwgnhCgwJE&list=PL96D52AF54166C886&index= 21[/ame]

In truth, clay bar does cause little swirls on your clear coat. But they're so small that you won't notice them. If you get serious...you'll eventually get to compounding, paint correcting, etc etc.

Clay can mar the paint but really depends on how aggressive the clay is. Megs clay is pretty mild. A little marring is a lot better than sap (or whatever it is) all over the paint, and like DemOOn said "If you get serious....." but watch it, detailing can get addicting and obsessive! Check out Autogeekonline, anything you could ever want to know about detailing is over there.
What color is your car?

Silver

What do you think of this clay?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-...y-Kit/16386193

Damn this is frustrating. Seems like my paint is getting mar or fk'd either way. :|

That'll be perfect. Follow the instructions that come with it, and you'll be very happy with the result.

Some tree sap comes off just washing normally, some does not. Wash first anyway. Most clay kits come with spray bottle of clay lubricant and a microfiber towel.

I have used that clay many times and it is pretty mild. I've used it on soft black Honda paint and didn't notice any marring.
You said you have ONR, it makes a great clay lube. Mix it 3:1 with water (1 part ONR:3 parts water) in a spay bottle and keep the paint and clay really wet at all times. Knead the clay often to always be working with a clean piece of clay. You will be surprised how much other contaminates come off.
Your car is silver so the only thing you should notice is nice clean shiny paint when you're done.
Clay will also remove any wax so when you are done give it a good wash to get rid of any clay residue then a good coat or two of wax or sealant.
And show us pics of the shine when you are done!

I just rewashed my car today. 80% of the dots came off.
I used a plastic bag to feel contaminates... My car paint felt like sandpaper.. I clayed my whole car, cut some corners.. My car paint feels like smooth glass... Ok maybe there is still some contaminates left but I didn't bother to remove it.. The weather is burning hot.

Took me 2 hours to clay my whole car.

ONR + Half attempted at claying (No scratch or marring)
My eye actually hurts looking at the car when the sun is out now lol.

http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/sa...=recent&page=1

It's like a silver glass mirror. sorry for bad grammar. on phone

Paint looks Great!!! Nice reflections! Did you wax it?

Most people don't realize how many surface bound contaminates are on their paint that won't come off just by washing and waxing. Those contaminates really dull the shine and by claying you can get rid of them and get the shine back.

Yep. There are the steps I took.
1. Pre Rinse
2. ONR
3. Clay
4. Spray with water
5. ONR again
6. Detail Spray - Meguiar ($5 at walmart)


I say I removed 60% of the contaminant in the paint using clay bar.. Was too hot and tired to go the extra step.
Again: Bad grammar, on phone.
My ONR = Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax

My car just got out of the shop (was in there 3 weeks getting a fender fixed), and it has these dots on it. Veddy interesting.

If you continue to have a problem with these spots getting on the car, I'd recommend looking into having a coating put on the car. Opti-Coat, Americoat, CQuartz, etc. A coating will help to prevent any staining/etching if the sap has to stay on there for a while before you can clean it off and will also make cleaning it off alot easier as it won't stick as hard.