HELP!!! - Looks like poppy seeds on my car exterior

HELP!!!! I have a 2005 Nissan Altima 2.5S with a silver exterior. I moved to Richmond VA recently. I park my car on the left side of the driveway. To the driver's side there is a holly tree, some form of pine trees (long thin needles), and some form of oak trees. There is also a mulch bed that is years old.

My car is covered in these little black dots that look almost like poppy seeds on the surface. However, they are very difficult to remove. After getting it off there is a reddish dot left under it that needs to be really worked out. I've tried "Krud-out" with my gas pressure washer as well as regular Turtle Wax car wash. I then tried using some scratch remover. This worked but only with a lot of pressure being put on the car by me while rubbing out the little seeds.

I am not sure what these things on my car are but I am very interested in trying to get them off the car. Is there anything anyone can suggest to try to get these off a bit easier on my own. If not, do you think that any professionals would be able to do it for me (I would prefer to do it myself).

I should add that the amount of these seeds is increased on the drivers side and there are significantly less on the passenger side. Plus - my wife's car is parked on the right side of the driveway and doesn't have any of these on her car (she has a white car).

I just detailed a brand new Lexus IS350 that the owner has only had for about three weeks. Same exact situation. Little dark colored pin head size dots scattered on the hood and front end of the vehicle.

I have run into this same problem at this same customers house with other vehicles. We have come to the conclusion that the problem is coming from the mulch, since they are also appearing on the lower part of the siding of his house.

One thing you can do to safely remove theses dots is to use some bug and tar remover along with a mild cleaner polish. That will work especially well on removing that reddish residue left behind under the dot.

You may also want to consider changing that mulch bed over to pine bark chips.

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As stated, tar and grease remover; mineral spirits, alcohol or turpentine.

Regards
Bud Abraham

Hmmm.

The mulch? I would say that is the case but the mulch has been there for years before I even moved here and the previous owners never had the problem. It is very flattened and dry so I would find it odd that it would be coming from mulch. The same mulch is on the other side of the driveway where my wife's car is parked and it is not on her car. I recently added a new bed of pine bark chips in the front the driveway but these dots were onthe car before that.

I will give the bug and tar remover a try.

Bud - wouldn't mineral spirits or turpentine damage the car's paint finish? I apologize, I don't know much about this.

Sounds like tree sap... consider clay.

Malco has a product cleverly named "Sap Sucker", and it works quite well. The primary ingrediant is isopropyl alcohol. We use a 1:1 mix of iso and water.

Good Luck!

Jim

If it was easy, everybody'd be doing it!

Rocky:

No turpentine or mineral spirits are not a "paint thinner" they are solvents and typically solvents will not damage paint. They could have some negative effect, possibly on the plastic trim, but that is not absolute either.

Many compounds, polishes and waxes have mineral spirits in them.

Turpentine is great on conifer tree sap.

Regards
Bud Abrahams

box elder bugs! use elbow grease. good luck

Small black specks (dots):
These resemble asphalt (tar) spots but could be the spore of artillery fungus (Sphaerobolus) they look very much like tar spots and are usually about 1/10th-inch in diameter. The term artillery refers to the fact that the fungus actively uses energy to shoot its spore masses, sort of like cannon (an artillery piece). It is a fungus that lives in wood-based mulch, the spores are usually shot only a short distance (several feet) but the wind can carry them for longer distances.

They can be removed by using a chemical paint cleaner (Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner or Klasse All-In-One) or plastic razor blade to scrape and remove the spot. If the affected paintwork is not neutralized any remaining acid residue will be reactivated each time it comes into contact with water.

Here is a link to the complete information.

[www.personal.psu.edu]

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Gentlemen-
Just when you think you've seen everything, nature brings out the heavy artillery. This a new one for me. I'm wondering if steam cleaning or hot water would work. I bet some sort of enzyme or something that eats organic matter would work. I'd try a degreaser on a small area and see what happens.
Doug

Bud and others :
Regarding the use of turpentine or tar remover, Honda advises, " Check the body for road tar, tree sap, etc. Remove these stains with tar remover or turpentine. Rinse it off immediately so it does not harm the finish. Remember to re-wax these areas, even if the rest of the car does not need waxing."
The key words here are " RINSE IT OFF IMMEDIATELY ". That might be the prudent thing to do with any chemical used on paint.

Ford advises, " Do not use...strong detergents that are high in alkalinity. These can damage your vehicle's protective coating and paint."

Doug

Definitely try a Clay Bar such as Magic Clay or the Turtle Wax version. This used with a basic spray finish detailer as a lubricant should do the trick w/ much less elbow grease.