Help: gray spots on white paint
 

I've owned my PW Z for almost 2 months now, and since the time of purchase, I've washed it twice, so my car has never been incredibly dirty. The fender areas are usually the dirtiest places on the entire vehicle from dirt splash. My wash removed the dirt, but there are still gray spots that don't come off! The paint is still smooth over these gray spots, and there are no raised edges. I also don't have any swirl marks yet.

How do I remove these ugly gray spots?? I tried Meguiar's polish and it doesn't work.

Did you try Claybar?

Pics would be helpful..

No, I didn't try clay bar. From my research, I read that claybar was only for stubborn grit on the paint that you can feel with your fingernails. The gray spots I have aren't raised. They look like they've been incorporated into the paint! Right, I will post some photos.

If it doesn't help with claybar first you might need to get it polished out by a professional with a Rotary.

The stains may have sunk through the clearcoat which nothing could really help with

Hopefully not, but I would clay and polish follow with wax

Thanks guys!! :tiphat:

Any recommendations on clay bars?

The Mothers one is great, just wash your Z again and then use quick detailer+claybar over the area and it should help.

I have some pretty bad stains on my hood from parking outside, so I know all too well what works and what doesn't :(

Thanks a lot guys!

Here are a couple photos of the gray spots. Let me know if seeing these pictures changes your recommendation in any way. Thanks again!

I'm that afraid given the location of the damage it might be due to road debris hitting your car.

If that's the case there will be nothing you can do :(

Try the Claybar and if doesn't work have a professional take a look at it

meguairs have a "gold class" bug/tar remover - that should make it come off.

Make sure you wax the spots afterwords though as that product also strips wax

Clay bar is not likely to have an impact on it if you can't feel it at all. I think the bug and tar remover is a good idea. You could also try a mild compound on it. A good compound can do wonders with marks on your paint.

Like Harry370z said, always follow up what you do with a new coat of wax on the area.

For the record, clay bar will ONLY remove surface contamination. It's not going to pull anything out of your clear coat.

Get a doctor, it's the measles.

Oh no wait, it's road debris damage.

If it was road debris damage, you'd feel it when you ran your fingers across it.

Dang... maybe manufactures defect then?

if it catches your nails it can be road grime (clay bar will help) or paint chipped (only touchup will help).

i use RC car motor spray to remove tar and oil based grime, but cleaner wax such as the one from Mother's can take away tar and mildly polish the area too. GL.

I have the same problem. OP, did you figure out how to remove the spots?

It is most likely dirt being trapped in the nicks in the clear/paint caused by road debris (gravel). On lighter color cars such as white it will first appear as a grey spots getting more and more black over time. Treating the spots with a cleaner will remove the discoloration for a short period of time. The only other option is to add touch up paint or possibly reclearing the whole panel.

I don't believe this is the problem, as the spots are larger than just a nick, with some spots 5-7mm wide. They appear on body panels of the car with and without a clear bra. There is no surface damage to the paint/bra where the spots appear, and the surface of the spots is flush with the paint/bra. Any idea on what products to use? I think it's safe to say I can rule out a clay bar.

Any idea on the cause? Road grime? Some sort of poorly formulated detailing fluid? Acid rain? I'm in SoFL, and to reiterate, I have gray spots on white paint.

Try P21 paint cleaner

I am guessing P21 will not work on the clear bra? Are there any clear bra stain removing products?

If I am understanding you correctly you are not getting grey spots on paint as the OP posted way back when. Instead you are having an issue with your the edges of your clear bra and dirt build up, correct?

If the clear bra was installed correctly then the dirt is not trapped under the edge of the clear bra. I am not sure the best method to remove dirt buildup on the edges of the clear bra without potentially hurting the paint in the process. A bit of elbow grease in the trouble spots during the wash or take a microfiber (after a wash) and use some quick detailer and your finger nail to go along the edges to try and lift the dirt. Again that isn't going to be great for the paint.

Maybe include some pictures of what you are talking about to help troubleshoot.

Sounds like road grime buildup to me in both the OPs and the latest situation. I would try some Adam's APC to see what effect it has on breaking it down.