I made the mistake of taking my Carmon Red Cayman to a local hand car wash shop.

I had just moved to the Bay Area and my car needed a good wash. Unfortunately since I was in temporary housing I didn't have access to any facilities where I could give the car a proper wash myself.

Long story short I now have many tiny white spots covering my car. I believe it is some sort of spray wax.

What is the best product to rid my paint of this?

Quick detailer by itself doesn't work.

This is what I've had great success with: P21S Total Auto Wash 1 Don't use it as an everyday wash but as a safe wax remover. It is better I think than the Dawn dishwashing liquid recommendation. This is also a good read on various products: Car Care Specialties, Inc. - Your Source For Quality Car Care Products, How-To Articles and Product Evaluations.

Claying is a potential solution when there is extreme overspray but it is an abrasive that takes a layer of paint off the car and I just don't like it unless it is really needed however some folks don't mind using it often so if this becomes the last resort do your research on technique.

Assuming you don't want to strip the wax off the entire car by washing it, rubbing alcohol is an excellent spot wax remover. However, your spots sound more like they may be tiny paint chips rather than wax residue IF they don't rub away with a microfiber cloth.

__________________
Dan

Also did you park near a yard sprinkler? The spots could be the result of water beading and not being dried while the car is in the hot CA sun.

Its defintiely some sort of overspray, since you can remove the tiny spots if you rub them with your fingernail (not something I want to do!).

The spots are white and too tiny to be paint chip.

Thanks for the feedback.

In that case, do a normal wash & keeping the car wet, clay the area dipping the clay into clean soapy water to keep it lubricated. Alternatively, wash, dry & then clay using detailing spray as a lubricant. In either case, you'll need to re-wax afterward.

__________________
Dan

Quote:

Claying is a potential solution when there is extreme overspray but it is an abrasive that takes a layer of paint off the car...


Santa Fe,

You're joking, right? Forgive my incredulousness, but that statement is about the most misinformed as any I've read on this board or any other. I have used clay for the last 7 YEARS on my various vehicles, and have yet to experience anything remotely close to "taking a layer of paint off the car". On the contrary, my experience with clay leads me to the conclusion that it the best finish cleaner available, and leaves the clearcoat as smooth as glass. I own a Porter Cable random orbital with all the trimmings and it rarely gets used. I use clay maybe twice a year at most per vehicle, followed by multiple coats of Zaino etc.

This is not a personal attack, and I don't mean to bust your balls, but I must call b*llsh*t when I hear it.

Fretking

How do you think clay works?

There are only two ways to remove contaminants from the surface of a car. One is to use some kind of chemical which breaks down the dirt. Soap, which is a surfactant, and water remove contaminants chemically. Simple green is a chemical that will remove contaminants . . . . but I wouldn’t use it to wash my car. (Simple Green is fine on wheels and tires but not paint.)

The other way to remove contaminants is abrasion. You physically rub the contaminant off. The abrasive substance can be very mild to very harsh. A very harsh abrasive substance would be the powder cleanser that you use to clean your bathroom tiles. (Steel wool cleans by abrasion. So does sandpaper.) I wouldn’t use bathroom cleanser on my car’s hood! Clay – though a very, very mild abrasive – is still abrasive. It might take a while, but if you use it enough times it will remove paint.

Fretking see: Car Care Specialties, Inc. - Your Source For Quality Car Care Products, How-To Articles and Product Evaluations.
Yes I know if used correctly it cleans up the car but it is an abrasive.

MannyP: If you are still looking for a solution to the white spots, you might consider Griot's Garage Spray-On Wax, their Dried-On Wax Remover, or 3M Rubbing Compound.

It may seem counter intuitive but Spray-On Wax works very well to remove that last little bit of hand or machine applied wax as you buff it off. Griot's also has a product called Dried-On Wax Remover, which I cannot vouch for since I've never needed to use it.

When I owned a metallic black car, 3M Rubbing Compound proved to work great on the occasional water spot and bird dropping.

On another note; my two cents on using Clay, enhancements to what others have said in this thread.
1. A mild Clay is best used to help bring back a smooth paint surface when there are noticeable particulates to the touch. You can use your fingers for this test - you can go to the back of the hand test after you've clayed, polished, and waxed the car.
2. Use plenty of quick detailer as a lubricant when claying the car. Soap & water may break down the clay and therefore do not make for an ideal combination with clay.

__________________
'07 CS Speed Yellow

Claying is a potential solution when there is extreme overspray but it is an abrasive that takes a layer of paint off the car and I just don't like it [/quote]

SantaFe,

Where on earth did you get the notion that a clay bar "takes a layer of paint off the car"? Please answer this question. My take is that your arm would fall from all that rubbing and you still wouldn't get anywhere near removing even the remotest bit of finish. Deleting my earlier post on this doesn't change the fact that you are out of your element on this one. I'm not looking to pick a fight, but when I find misinformation disseminated in an internet forum to someone looking for useful, sound advice backed up by experience, but getting a response about a good, worthwhile product based on the fact that you "just don't like it", I am compelled to respond for the benefit of the original poster of the question. My 7 years of excellent results on a variety of vehicles on which I have used clay provide me with a solid basis for dissembling on this subject. By the way, I'd try Meguiars #9 on the excess wax before using clay. The Meguiars is an excellent cleaner that has the added benifit of not leaving any residue at all. I use it all the time in my business (guitar restoration and repair) on finishes as diverse as nitrocellulose laquer to shellac to catalyzed and two-part water-based finishes. It is a fine product for cleaning just about any painted or clear coated surface I've ever come across.

Don't take my critique personally.

Fretking

i ordered a dvd called 'buffing with confidence', and on the chapter about clay they say its the safest way to remove overspray as it doesnt take anything off the clear..

__________________
Build Date: 9/11/2007!

Fretking, you obviously know something about cleaners and polishes so let me ask a question. Would you use clay on your guitars? I wouldn't . . . . but I do use some of the Meguiar's polishes on my guitars. (I've got seven Martins. Just picked up a Brazilian rosewood D-35 from Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California. )

If clay is not used correctly it will take paint off. It is abrasive. If you have been working on fine finishes on guitars you know about polishes and waxes and how to use them but the average person who picks up a clay kit at Pep Boys can take actually damage the finish on his/her car with clay.

If I am going to prep a finish for wax I use HD Cleaner by Zymöl . . . but that’s just me.

Too much polishing of any kind will take the paint off of a car. (I took the paint off of a black Mustang GT that I once owned. )