Black spots and marks on white paint

[vinnie07]

Partner has got a new car which is white I noticed after washing there are some black spots and marks that sit on the paint but not removed by washing.
It tends to be worse on the roof, being a Range Rover I suspect it hasn't always been best cleaned up there.
Is there a particular product (fallout remover etc) that would remove this or is it a full clay bar type job?
Cheers

[gt40steve]

I'd try a clay bar, they work really well in my experience.

It's surprising how much dirt / fallout etc. you can pull off of a 'clean' car.

[Aunty Pasty]

Could be tar spots. Tiny black blobs that may be slightly soft. Usually about 1mm i diameter.

[p4cks]

Yeah, they’ll remove with a clay bar (but get a clay mitt, they do the same job with about 20% of the effort)

[somouk]

Can be all sorts of stuff on the roof. Just needs a proper decon and will likely be fine.

[vinnie07]

I was unsure if it could be tar also. Sounds like I would be best using a tar remover and then clay bar/mitt.

Thanks everyone for your help

[IJWS15]

Tar, starts off black and goes dark brown as the grime sticks to it, the reason I will never have another white car - they look good when clean but are a pita to get clean.

[vinnie07]

IJWS15 said:

Tar, starts off black and goes dark brown as the grime sticks to it, the reason I will never have another white car - they look good when clean but are a pita to get clean.

This seems to be certainly what is on the roof from that description, there is a substantial amount on the roof whereas the body work elsewhere it’s minor specs scattered about

[PHZero]

vinnie07 said:

This seems to be certainly what is on the roof from that description, there is a substantial amount on the roof whereas the body work elsewhere it’s minor specs scattered about

I'd suggest using autoglym tar remover generously first before trying a clay bar.

Much easier!

[Belle427]

I would try something like this first, only clay if really needed.
https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/garage-the...

[vinnie07]

Cheers for your feedback guys. Seems a tar remover is a great place to start. As luck would have it I have noticed some Autoglym ultimate tar remover in my garage so I'll give that a go over the weekend first and see if that alone works. All advice greatly appreciated. Cheers again

[PHZero]

vinnie07 said:

Cheers for your feedback guys. Seems a tar remover is a great place to start. As luck would have it I have noticed some Autoglym ultimate tar remover in my garage so I'll give that a go over the weekend first and see if that alone works. All advice greatly appreciated. Cheers again

Best of luck. Despite my best efforts to clean the car thoroughly before using one, I found that a clay bar did more harm than good!

[vinnie07]

PHZero said:

Best of luck. Despite my best efforts to clean the car thoroughly before using one, I found that a clay bar did more harm than good!

I'm sorry to hear that! I'm trying to avoid it at all costs in this weather ha ha

[somouk]

PHZero said:

Best of luck. Despite my best efforts to clean the car thoroughly before using one, I found that a clay bar did more harm than good!

What damage did it do and what clay did you use?

[PHZero]

somouk said:

PHZero said:

Best of luck. Despite my best efforts to clean the car thoroughly before using one, I found that a clay bar did more harm than good!

What damage did it do and what clay did you use?

I used a Halfords clay bar. Probably user / a rookie error. It appeared to pick up very fine particles of grit and the likes, which then caused scratches to appear.

This was on a very clean car. Or so I thought. Perhaps it wasn't clean enough.

[vinnie07]

PHZero said:

I used a Halfords clay bar. Probably user / a rookie error. It appeared to pick up very fine particles of grit and the likes, which then caused scratches to appear.

This was on a very clean car. Or so I thought. Perhaps it wasn't clean enough.

Arghh sorry to hear that! I have used the Autoglym ones before and they seemed fine but I was looking at the Halfords clay bar this week for only £7! After hearing this I think I will steer clear of it!

[Belle427]

Get most of it off with a fallout remover and a good decon wash first is the preferred method before attacking with clay.

[vinnie07]

Ahh I see. I have never used the fallout remover first. I will have to look into fallout removers and purchase some.
My car was fairly new when I clayed it maybe thats why I got away with unknowingly missing this step

[Belle427]

Farecla used to do a clay mitt which I preferred as you could use it with your shampoo solution for extra lube and less marring.

[p4cks]

Belle427 said:

Farecla used to do a clay mitt which I preferred as you could use it with your shampoo solution for extra lube and less marring.

This is what I used, and should have done it ages ago as I once gave myself tendonitis using a clay bar