Black spots on paint

C

cowboytruckn

New member
I am new to the forum. I have been in detailing for about 5 years now. I have a white Chevy Silverado and my wife drives a tan Dodge Nitro. Both vehicles have some type of black spots under the trim line behind the back tires and in the area between the front and back tires. My truck has had them for a while and I just assumed they were paint chips or something like that. The Nitro we just bought in August and I have been babying it for my wife so it looks good as well. It also has acquired those black spots.



On another forum I was told to try bug and tar remover with no improvement. I am an avid user of Mother's products and so far nothing I have used has brought them off. I have even used clay bars to try and remove it. They also mentioned Goo Gone but I will use that as a last resort. I would rather use something meant for a car's finish.



The only thing that has came close to working is a microfiber cloth, instant detailer, and a lot of elbow grease. You have to work so hard you are tired after removing three spots. Not all of them come off with this method and the ones that do go from black to brown before they finally dissappear and almost have a sticky feel to them.



My wife's previous vehicle was a black Jeep Liberty and I am assuming it had them but never noticed them because they blended in with the color. I also had a black Pontiac Firebird.
 
Sounds to me like it's road tar. I've had pretty good luck with bug and tar removers though. Have you tried a spray type b&t remover and letting it soak in for a while? Otherwise maybe a good degreaser soaked in might work.
 
I have these on my car and on my mom's car. They are on everything that is plastic. It isn't on the metal at all. I've tried everything. I used Zaino Clay, Mothers Clay, Sonus green clay, Menzerna Ip with green, yellow, and orange pads. Nothing worked at all. I guess the only thing that would work is a respray.
 
It could be artillery fungus which lives around mulch and wood chips. The fungus sprays their spores into the air, and they attach to close by surfaces. They can be a pain to remove and usually require some kind of mechanical removal, such as a pressure washer or plastic razor blade. The spots are usually very dark brown, raised, round, and the size of a pin head.
 
The bug and tar remover I used was a spray kind. The instructions said to let it sit for two to three minutes and rinse off. Follow that by washing with a high quality car wash. I used Mother's car wash so I know you can't get any better quality.



I tried that last weekend. I didn't really get to do much because it was getting ready to rain. I just had enough time to wash it and nothing else. Luckily I got the remover at Wal-Mart and you know they take back anything. I was able to take back a half empty bottle and told them it didn't work.



I have used a pressure washer at the car wash before using my regular washing technique and not just spraying the soap but still agitating it with my wash mitt. I guess I will try some Goo Gone and does anyone know where I can get a plastic razor blade?
 
Good news! The Goo Gone worked wonderfully. It took off all the black spots with little effort. I just had to put some Goo Gone on a cloth and wipe off the spot. I didn't have to use a razor blade or anything.



I read the ingredient list and it had the same chemical as the bug and tar remover. I guess the Goo Gone was just a lot more concentrated.
 
brwill2005 said:
It could be artillery fungus which lives around mulch and wood chips. The fungus sprays their spores into the air, and they attach to close by surfaces. They can be a pain to remove and usually require some kind of mechanical removal, such as a pressure washer or plastic razor blade. The spots are usually very dark brown, raised, round, and the size of a pin head.
Click to expand...



Bingo! I had this problem on both of our white cars and the spots would return the next day after I cleaned them off. The give away for me was that the spots were only on the side of the car that was facing our house and that is where the mulch was. It actually shoots the spores onto anything that reflects sunlight, and it can really mess up a car or the side of the house. They come off pretty easy when fresh but get much harder when they get older. They are also sometimes called cannon fungus. I removed the mulch and replaced it with lava rock and haven't had the problem since. Read about it here:





"Shotgun" or "Artillery" fungus, Mold and Mildew
 
This thread on artillery fungus was tremendously helpful. I have a white pearl car that my wife inadvertently parked near a load of mulch on a sunny day. Perfect analysis. Now I need to get to work....
 
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