Massive Black Dot Problem

I've got a white SL-2 with tons of black dots all over it - I thought
tree sap; my mechanic thinks bug juice from gypsy moths last year.
Our cars are parked under trees outside our house, and there is no way
not to have them under trees where we are.

We've researched and tried many products (well, my husband has).
Nothing he's tried has worked - perhaps one has, but it stripped the
paint in the process.

The mechanic, who isn't a talkative sort, referred to a product he
called "Aquasol." I believe that's what he said and how he spelled
it. He qualified: be very careful of the fumes; it's potent. My
husband doesn't seem to see this product, and he's quite proficient at
finding things. Anyone know what this might be? Or recommend
something else?

Our cars are in horrid states. He began picking at these dots one at
a time - imposssible, clearly. My husband says he'd like to get them
off once and for all, then put a good coat of wax on and take care not
to let it get this far again. (He's got a little silver Mazda in the
same situation.)

Any advice???

Thanks,
Jenny

 

My first thought was a clay bar, then I googled "clay bar sap" and came up
with some other interesting possibilities. You might check them out.

 

We use Aqasol on allot of spots at my dealership but you have to get it from
a commercial cleaning company supplier. You might go to a dealership and see
if they would sale it to you.

 

Try clay magic or a similar, the stuff is amazing. I've used it for years,
and it takes off everything. Rusted brake dust, sap, bird crap, paint
scrapes from other cars, tar, and paint overspray, to name a few.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

fyi:
http://www.clay-magic.com/

 

Can you tell me how to spell "Aquasol"? We can't find it, and keep
looking.

Re: clay bar: be says he's tried this, and didn't work.
I did the Google search another poster recommended "clay bar & sap."
my husband looked at the results and either all were clay bar type
products he's tried or other types of things he's tried.

Yes, we can open a store about now.

Jenny

 

Try Maquires or Mothers clay bar that shoud get most of the spots off. Once
clean, wash with maguires Gold, then wax with maguires Gold Class wax (no, I
work for neither, I just love thier products) then seal your paint with
Dupont Teflon spray wax.

If you are unable to park anywhere else, also consider a car cover. The
Teflon will stop anything from sticking to your paint, just wipe stuff off.

after that, just wash the car with the gold class then spray the Dupont
Teflon on with the car still wet, wipe and let dry then buff to a shine.
Youj can get these products from any autpo parts store and they are
inexpensive.

Cheers!
marx404
www.saturnofstuart.com

 

I hope I'm not being annoying, but this was John's response when I
emailed him the suggestion:

the big dot off.<

- Jenny

 

Thank you! ~ I hadn't seen this... I forwarded it to him.

Jennie

 

Its worth a shot anyways. I have had good luck with all of the affore
mentioned products. At last resort, if those trees are indiginous why not
stop by a local Saturn dealership and speak with a professional detailer?


marx404

 

Turns out he said he'd tried just that one - the brand that was
posted. My husband called a friend of his last night (a mechanic?
works with cars somehow) for an opinion and I believe left a message.

My dealership moved away--far away; they closed--but I can certainly
call the next closest one. That's a good idea. You should see our
cars - hideous. People even comment: "What is that on your car?"

Jen

 

(Jennifer)

I am currently working on an insurance claim right now for the same problem.
The person we insure has alot of black dots that actually sit above the paint.
If you scratch at them they will cause a pit in the paint . She isnt sure where
they came from . Initially blamed it as acid from the battery plant where she
works but I am sure thats not it .

I know we , as mechanics , used to use a product called "acrosol" which was a
solvent. I cant check the spelling since I am in the middle of replying to the
post.

For the claim I am going to write to wetsand the spots and see what happens. If
your husband has a buffer he could try and hit one of the spots pretty hard
with some 3M brand polish and see what happens. I would just try one spot at a
time incase it causes the damage .

 

(Jennifer)

Here is the product . Although its listed a product to help in tire traction
on this site its actual designed use is as a solvent. We used to use it to
clean up / spread / smooth uerathane sealers to fix water leaks.

http://www.geckermotorsports.com/shop/details.asp?prodid=AC-QT&cat=501&path=501

 

I would check with the local nurseries and see how you can eliminate the
gypsy moth larvae. I believe there are compounds that you can put on the
tree trunks that keep them out of your trees. Do you only get the spots in
the summer? If you live in an in an industrial area, it may be airborne acid
that is etching the paint, and that will happen year-round. You need to
eliminate the source before cleaning the finish, or it will right back.

 

If it is gypsy moth residue, which I doubt because I was very careful
to get it all off, then this wouldn't be an ongoing (or future)
problem. Gypsy moths have some sort of cycle - they come for two,
maybe it's three, years - anyway, they won't be here this year; cycle
done. Gypsy moths are a huge thing to themselves, and they need to be
treated each year, on time. First year I didn't, had a big problem
and was able to clean the car on time (poor trees though) - though
those caterpillars were quite hideous. Second year, treated sooner,
still a mess but I'm really pretty sure I cleaned the car well. And
these dots don't follow the same pattern as bug juice - the moths were
all over, but not like this all over - they were more randomly
placed. This is a car full of dots.

Yes. That's why I think it's from the trees.

No, I live in a beach town, a few miles from the beach in a woodsy
area- very much not industrial.

This is a good point. Is a good coat of wax not something that would
make it easy enough to wash off, if washed in time? I can't think of
how to eliminate the source other than to build a garage, which isn't
an option. There's the tarp option, once we get it cleaned, but I
can't see how whatever is coming from the trees can be stopped (well,
being i don't know what it is).

Jenny

 

This is John's response to what you wrote. He's a big goofball; he
reads ng's but doesn't post.

Our dots don't seem to leave pits when scratched off. We're lucky
there.

Ok. Basically the same thing Keith recommended, only he mentioned a
different brand called prep-sol, and yesterday I
bought yet a different brand called auto-prep to try. They're all the
same thing, just different brands.

I have some 3M polish that I tried using by hand, and it did work, but
it took a lot of rubbing. I was thinking that if
I couldn't find a solvent that worked, I would buy, borrow, or rent a
buffer and use the 3M polish.

 

Depending on how fast your cleaner/solvent evaporates, you may
find it helpful to let it sit for a little bit before rubbing it off. In
the first page for "clay bar sap" on google (yes, that again), they talk
about letting the solvent/cleaner (mineral spirits, alcohol, orange oil
cleaners, lard, bacon grease, whatever) sit long enough to soften up the
sap on your BMW before trying to rub it away.

 

I got suckered into buying an appearance protection package when I bought my
LW300. It was called AutoArmor or something like that. It actually has a
"guarantee" that nothing will stain the paint (clearcoat). So far, in three
years, anything I have gotten on it has come right off, but that seems to be
a characteristic of any good clearcoat. I think it is just a really good
silicone-based wax, but I am not sure. You may want to talk to Saturn in
your area to see what the product is and if it can be applied to an old
finish. If it was applied when new, you may have a claim.

Dana C. Rohleder
Port Kent, NY