GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

My parking spot is right under a three and there's little things (I don't know how to call them falling down on my hood.So I washed my car today and it look like it does not want to be cleaned. Iwashed 3 times my hood and the marks still. It look incrusted in the paint.Anyone know how to remove this?

Is it sap or something? I would try using wax first. I know there are products specifically designed to remove tar, bugs and tree sap. I'm not sure what they are off hand though.

I took pics of what it looks like.

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And this is the "thing" who let those marks

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It looks like goo from the seeds or whatever it was that fell on the car. How long was it on there? If it wasn't very long, you should be able to remove it with a little work. It shouldn't be too bad.

Thought I read somewhere extremely hot water is bad for the clear coat...could be wrong though...I bought a peanut-shaped sponge at target that's a big sponge on one side, and has a scrubbing surface on the other side (similar to a pot scrubber). It is very abrasive, but does not scratch as long as the car and sponge are wet. I have found it very effective at removing tar, bugs, stuck-on dirt, etc. Worth the 4-5 bucks I spent on it...

What about goo gone? Or would that ruin the paint?

quote:Turtle Was makes a Bug are Tar remover also.. Tried it once. Didn't do jack.Granted, that was about 5 or 6 years ago...Also, if you do choose to use bug and tar removers, always always always check to be sure chemicals are clear coat safe!!! Most, these days, are...but there are still some floating around that aren't...

quote:If you can, avoid from parking under trees if you can.LOL!

We have, umm...treeish trees here. Honestly, not sure, we got lots. No maples though. But every spring and fall I get coats and coats and coats and coats of the yellow pollen ALL OVER MY CAR!!! It's horrible. I try to wash it off readily so it doesn't stain or leave nastiness behind...but it's not always possible. And my parking spot isn't negotiable, so I HAVE to park under trees...it's a lousy situations -- but if you can, go out daily and hose off the car...don't let that stuff sit and "ferment" longer than necessary...same with bird crap -- get the bulk of it off right away, but make sure to remove any residue as soon as you can, over time, it can ruin paint...

Looks like squirel Poo.

quote:Looks like squirel Poo. ROFL!

Yeha, I know he's serious...but the way he said it...quote:Looks like squirel Poo. is just too funny!

Trust me, it is not poo, otherwise I,d never touch it with my hands.I don't know how long this crap say on my car, could be 1 or 2 week... I don't know, and it rained a lot on it.

Still should be able to get it off...just need some elbow grease and a good, safe, scrubber sponge!

quote:Trust me, it is not poo, otherwise I,d never touch it with my hands.I don't know how long this crap say on my car, could be 1 or 2 week... I don't know, and it rained a lot on it.Hehehe. He said 'crap.'

ppg makes a wax and grease remover that may work....unfortunately i dont remeber the name of it....go to a body shop supply store and they might be able to help.....have you tried simple green, it seems to work on removing some of the weird sap i get on my car up here

Sub---don't panic. It looks like crumpled up leaves or flowers from a tree landed on the car and got wet. In either case, the stuff that falls off of trees and lands on our cars tends to turn acidic when it gets wet. What it looks like is the trees and rain combined to make a sort of "tea" on your car. And tea, as you may know, is rather acidic. It looks like it stained the clear coat on the surface. Use some polishing compound (NOT rubbing compound!!!) on the spots and they should rub off with an application or two. Then wax the areas that you were rubbing. Keep a good coat of wax on the car and it will prevent a lot of this stuff from happening.Also, from the pictures, I can see some very fine scratches and swirl marks in the clearcoat. I would highly recommend that you do a 3-step system and your finish would look great. The step 2 product in a 3 step system is a filler and a glaze that will hide those fine scratches and swirl marks and smooth out the surface of the clearcoat. Let us know if any of this helps you out and good luck!Also, some were wondering if Goo-Gone is OK to use on their cars. I will say that I have used it myself several times to remove dealership sticker residue, tree sap, tar, and stubborn bug marks. I can recommend using it for those types of things. It has never harmed my car's finish. But once again, it will also strip off the wax, so be sure to wax over any areas that you use it on after cleaning the vehicle.

I would recommend if you live in an area were trees and weather is a problem I would get a Diamond Gloss from Ziebart http://www.ziebart.com also a Link for store in Ontario is http://www.ziebart.baynet.net/diamond.html

Any luck there, Sub???

You might try blaming it on "Chemical Paint Spotting", if you don't have too many miles on the car yet.quote:2003 Pontic Vibe Owner's Manual, Page 6-68Chemical Paint SpottingSome weather and atmospheric conditions can create achemical fallout. Airborne pollutants can fall upon andattack painted surfaces on your vehicle. This damagecan take two forms: blotchy, ringlet-shapeddiscolorations, and small irregular dark spots etched intothe paint surface.Although no defect in the paint job causes this, Pontiacwill repair, at no charge to the owner, the surfaces ofnew vehicles damaged by this fallout condition within12 months or 12,000 miles (20 000 km) of purchase,whichever occurs first.

I bought polishing compound and wax and as soon I'll find time to do it, I'll try.