Help me out here, PLEASE!!

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-08-2003, 03:14 AM

I have a black '01 Blazer Xtreme. When I bought it new, of course it was like a mirror, nice deep black color. But now, it has these little white specks all over the roof and now starting to appear more and more on the hood.

What the hell could it be? I doubt it's paint overspray, that would be easy to get off and if it was paint, it would be all over the truck. I run my hand or finger nail across them and the surface is bumpy because of them. It feels like they are little metal flakes dried UNDER the clearcoat.

I've tried washing them off, waxing them off (Meguires), a Mother's Clay Bar, Goo Gone.....none of this stuff worked.

I don't live near an airport but I frequently drive through construction zones (damn Florida highways, they'll never finish) could this be a problem? I wouldn't think so otherwise I would have had this problem with the 4 previous black cars I've had over the years.

Any ideas on what it could be and anything else I can use to try and remove these white specks? All help appriciated. Thanks.

quamen · 02-08-2003, 09:09 PM

You have a case of mayfly (fish fly),ash spots or a combination of a bunch of chemical fallout. If u had a pic i could assist u better. tell me how u clayed bar the surface? if this didnt do anything, you will have to move up to a more agressive cut cleaner, followed by a polish and then a wax. give me more info and ill help u out.

rich's auto mobile detailing

SC_Jimmy · 02-09-2003, 12:29 AM

Are they painting any of the bridges right now. I would guess its paint overspray from bridgework. That paint sticks better than anything I have ever seen. Seems more like an epoxy than a paint.

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-09-2003, 02:47 AM

Thanks for the replys.

I don't remember them painting anything (bridges, etc) but that's a possiblility.

I'm on a friends computer right now, but Sunday I will take some pics and post them on here before I go to work. Maybe that will help you help me a little better.

I'm hoping I can get rid of this problem myself. I really don't want to go to the dealer and get a paint job. It's just like an accident fix, the vehicle is just never the same afterwards.

I'll get those pics on here ASAP.

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-09-2003, 06:32 PM

As for the clay bar, I just followed the directions on the box: spray a small area of the vehicle with the included spray and lightly rub the clay bar in a overlapping back and forth motion. I did that and I could hear some stuff scraping off, but these specks didn't come off.

A couple of pics are HERE

Take a look and tell me what you think.

Also, I just remembered I used to cover the car with a car cover a while back, maybe some of the car covers fibers got imbedded in the paint??? I don't use a car cover anymore as I only did that when I was driving another car to work to save miles on the Blazer, but I sold that other car so I use the Blazer everyday now.

I can scratch these specks with my fingernail, but only the white comes off, the scratch in the paint stays there (like if you were to take a razor blade and "cut" a small line in the paint, that's what it looks like when i sratch the white off.

Let me know what you think, thanks.

quamen · 02-09-2003, 08:15 PM

trying to help you out the best i can, but pictures can just do so much. What i see in that picture seems like alkaline spots. These are caused when minerals or chemicals in the water are left behind on the finish as the water dries. when they are settled does it look like a white film resembling salt deposits? how do u wash ur vehicle? this stuff is cause by harsh water. those spots seem like the only way ther coming out is to be finessed out. If u tried a clay bar, and that did nothing try one more thing. Like i said defects have to be cut out of the paint going through a little bit of the mils in the paint. there is just so much u can do by hand becuase u can not generate enough heat with the pressure and how fast ur hand can work, where a rotary buffer can. the only other thing i can reccomend for u to try before u take it to a pro, is meguiars heavy cut cleaner i believe number 4 on ther professional line. it remove deeps swirls, severe oxidation and alkaline and acid rain etching which i think u have a alkaline problem.

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-10-2003, 01:15 AM

Thanks for the info, quamen. I know you really can't get too much out of just a couple of pics, but at least you were able to see the problem. Those pics are very close up (lens about 1-2 inches from surface), so they are small specks, but there is thousands of them on just the roof, and less on the hood.

So you suggest Meguires products? I'll go to PepBoys or AutoZone in the next couple of days and see what they have as far as cleaners. I've also seen that Mothers has a 3-step (or something like that) process, too...is that as good as Meguires? I use Mothers to wax my rims once a year and they come out nice. Which is most recommended, Meguires or Mothers? I used to use Zymol because I heard alot of good things about that product, and it sucked bad. I hated that s***.

I've never had this problem before, that's why I started thinking maybe it was the car cover I used to use because I've never used one of those on my other black cars and I didn't have any problems with them. And the car cover touched the roof (and a little bit of the hood) the most and that's where there is most of them. But then, it could be anything, I guess. The cover, chemical fallout, construction, acid rain (I don't know if we have that here) dew, fog, alkaline spots like you mentioned, tree crap, bird crap, the Xtreme south FLA heat.....

Thanks for the help. Like I said, I'll see what I can pick up at the store and use it, and I'll let you know on this post what happens.

quamen · 02-10-2003, 10:46 AM

those marks are serious on the paint. both meguiars and mothers have the same 3 step process which will not correct that paint condition. ur most likely looking at the cleaner/polish and then wax application 3 step for mothers. u need a heavy cut cleaner. a aggressive cleaner that will actually remove a very fil mil of the paint to get down there and correct the problem then smooth it out nicely with the polish and wax. It might be hard to find a product that im talking about, since most stores just carry your basic, cleaning, not deatailing line of products. number 4 of meguairs line a heavy cut cleaner. u may have to go to a more proffesinal shop etc. check it out though at the store u never know. I spent more money then most people alive HAHAH on detailing products. I will buy only meguiars products, I REPEAT ONLY meguairs products becuase they are simply the best. if it is not meguairs it doesnt go on my vehicle period!!!

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-10-2003, 11:32 PM

Well, I just got back from PepBoys and AutoZone. I bought their 3 step Deep Crystal system, the paint cleaner (step 1), polish (step 2) and wax (step 3). And of course, the Quick Detailer (can't forget that).

As for the specks, I bought 3M Perfect-It ll Rubbing Compound Fine Cut. It's all they had. What do you think about this stuff? Like you said, there likely not to have any of the professional series stuff and they didn't. But, this bottle says Professional Formula.

I don't know, I'll try this stuff tomorrow. All I know is that I DO NOT want a new paint job, so hopfully this 3M stuff works....besides, it was pretty expensive.

sweetnlos10 · 02-10-2003, 11:39 PM

you can order direct from meguairs online

quamen · 02-10-2003, 11:50 PM

well it is a fine cut, i dont know if it will work. i doubt it sorry,but hey ya never know. those scrathes from the pics seem more of a heavy cut compound is needed. but it is always better to go from least aggressive to most. so let me know. 3 m are pretty good products. but not as good as meguairs. the main differnce between meguairs products and other products is that there unique in there breakdown. most products stay just as aggressive as start to finish where meguairs breaks down nicely to start to correct the problem the more it is worked. hard to explain but hope it works

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-12-2003, 01:58 PM

Well, well, I just got back from the dealer (needed to get my tires rotated) and I figured it wouldn't do any harm to show them the specks on the car and see what they say. I told him it almost looks like when the car was painted, before the paint had dried, lint settled on the roof and hood. But, like I said eariler, the specks were not there when I bought it, they gradually started to appear. Anyway, It turned out NOT to be my problem (like I thought, I don't neglect my paint) and they are going to repaint the affected panels under warranty! (The paint on every panel except the hood and roof is still perfect.) Awesome! They said, and I'm hoping they are right, that I won't be able to tell the difference between the new paint and original paint.

Also, the service manager said this isn't the first time he's seen this problem on an S-Series truck. I never had a problem like this on my black '98 S-10 I used to have. It's my dad's S-10 now with 90,000 miles on it and STILL nothing as bad as mine. But, each car is different.

I did return that expensive bottle of 3M Rubbing Compound (which, by the way, didn't work) and bought some more Meguiars products

and a nice new tall shelf to store my line of Meguiars cleaners. Whatever I can't find in the stores, I will get online like "sweetnlos10" said.

Well thanks for all your help, quamen. I'm glad this problem is finally resolved at no charge to me. The painting will take approx. 3 days and will start Monday. At least this gives me a nice new paint job (again) to keep clean.

As soon as I get the truck back, I will do a full detail (wash, cleaner, polish, wax, etc) and take some pics and post them on my website www.geocities.com/chevyxtremefx which is down right now. I needed to update it but now I have to wait till I take some new pics.

quamen · 02-12-2003, 11:08 PM

as soon as u get ur truck dont do anything to the paint whatever u do. no wax, polish etc. just wash it
ull hurt the paint

ChevyXtremeFX · 02-13-2003, 12:19 AM

Yea, I'm sure that's what they'll tell me. I just hope it comes out good and no noticable differences.

97S10SS · 02-14-2003, 10:34 PM

Your not supposed to wax fresh paint for almost 3 months. I still havent waxed my shaved tailgate yet and I got that work done a long time ago.

quamen · 02-14-2003, 10:55 PM

man wait at least 60 days is recommended. 30 days is the least but i wouldnt do that. the waxes are formulated to seal the surface, and then they trap solvents in fresh paint and stop the curing process. when that happens,the paint actually stay soft and is can be easily hmm.... susceptible to rapid abrasion.

2001_S-10_4x4 · 05-06-2003, 10:46 AM

ChevyXtremeFX -- I just bought the Quad Beam relay kit from KC HiLiTES the other day...the colors of the wires don't match what I have in my truck....Was it the same way for you? Or did Painless Wiring give you better instructions that KC sent with mine? E-mail me at mrweller21@yahoo.com

Thanks!

02-08-2003, 03:14 AM	#1
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Help me out here, PLEASE!! I have a black '01 Blazer Xtreme. When I bought it new, of course it was like a mirror, nice deep black color. But now, it has these little white specks all over the roof and now starting to appear more and more on the hood. What the hell could it be? I doubt it's paint overspray, that would be easy to get off and if it was paint, it would be all over the truck. I run my hand or finger nail across them and the surface is bumpy because of them. It feels like they are little metal flakes dried UNDER the clearcoat. I've tried washing them off, waxing them off (Meguires), a Mother's Clay Bar, Goo Gone.....none of this stuff worked. I don't live near an airport but I frequently drive through construction zones (damn Florida highways, they'll never finish) could this be a problem? I wouldn't think so otherwise I would have had this problem with the 4 previous black cars I've had over the years. Any ideas on what it could be and anything else I can use to try and remove these white specks? All help appriciated. Thanks.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-08-2003, 09:09 PM	#2
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	marks You have a case of mayfly (fish fly),ash spots or a combination of a bunch of chemical fallout. If u had a pic i could assist u better. tell me how u clayed bar the surface? if this didnt do anything, you will have to move up to a more agressive cut cleaner, followed by a polish and then a wax. give me more info and ill help u out. rich's auto mobile detailing
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-09-2003, 12:29 AM	#3
SC_Jimmy Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 655 Location: Columbus,Ohio User is: OffLine	Are they painting any of the bridges right now. I would guess its paint overspray from bridgework. That paint sticks better than anything I have ever seen. Seems more like an epoxy than a paint.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-09-2003, 02:47 AM	#4
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Thanks for the replys. I don't remember them painting anything (bridges, etc) but that's a possiblility. I'm on a friends computer right now, but Sunday I will take some pics and post them on here before I go to work. Maybe that will help you help me a little better. I'm hoping I can get rid of this problem myself. I really don't want to go to the dealer and get a paint job. It's just like an accident fix, the vehicle is just never the same afterwards. I'll get those pics on here ASAP.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-09-2003, 06:32 PM	#5
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	As for the clay bar, I just followed the directions on the box: spray a small area of the vehicle with the included spray and lightly rub the clay bar in a overlapping back and forth motion. I did that and I could hear some stuff scraping off, but these specks didn't come off. A couple of pics are HERE Take a look and tell me what you think. Also, I just remembered I used to cover the car with a car cover a while back, maybe some of the car covers fibers got imbedded in the paint??? I don't use a car cover anymore as I only did that when I was driving another car to work to save miles on the Blazer, but I sold that other car so I use the Blazer everyday now. I can scratch these specks with my fingernail, but only the white comes off, the scratch in the paint stays there (like if you were to take a razor blade and "cut" a small line in the paint, that's what it looks like when i sratch the white off. Let me know what you think, thanks.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-09-2003, 08:15 PM	#6
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	Akaline spots trying to help you out the best i can, but pictures can just do so much. What i see in that picture seems like alkaline spots. These are caused when minerals or chemicals in the water are left behind on the finish as the water dries. when they are settled does it look like a white film resembling salt deposits? how do u wash ur vehicle? this stuff is cause by harsh water. those spots seem like the only way ther coming out is to be finessed out. If u tried a clay bar, and that did nothing try one more thing. Like i said defects have to be cut out of the paint going through a little bit of the mils in the paint. there is just so much u can do by hand becuase u can not generate enough heat with the pressure and how fast ur hand can work, where a rotary buffer can. the only other thing i can reccomend for u to try before u take it to a pro, is meguiars heavy cut cleaner i believe number 4 on ther professional line. it remove deeps swirls, severe oxidation and alkaline and acid rain etching which i think u have a alkaline problem.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-10-2003, 01:15 AM	#7
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Thanks for the info, quamen. I know you really can't get too much out of just a couple of pics, but at least you were able to see the problem. Those pics are very close up (lens about 1-2 inches from surface), so they are small specks, but there is thousands of them on just the roof, and less on the hood. So you suggest Meguires products? I'll go to PepBoys or AutoZone in the next couple of days and see what they have as far as cleaners. I've also seen that Mothers has a 3-step (or something like that) process, too...is that as good as Meguires? I use Mothers to wax my rims once a year and they come out nice. Which is most recommended, Meguires or Mothers? I used to use Zymol because I heard alot of good things about that product, and it sucked bad. I hated that s***. I've never had this problem before, that's why I started thinking maybe it was the car cover I used to use because I've never used one of those on my other black cars and I didn't have any problems with them. And the car cover touched the roof (and a little bit of the hood) the most and that's where there is most of them. But then, it could be anything, I guess. The cover, chemical fallout, construction, acid rain (I don't know if we have that here) dew, fog, alkaline spots like you mentioned, tree crap, bird crap, the Xtreme south FLA heat..... Thanks for the help. Like I said, I'll see what I can pick up at the store and use it, and I'll let you know on this post what happens.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-10-2003, 10:46 AM	#8
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	3 step etc those marks are serious on the paint. both meguiars and mothers have the same 3 step process which will not correct that paint condition. ur most likely looking at the cleaner/polish and then wax application 3 step for mothers. u need a heavy cut cleaner. a aggressive cleaner that will actually remove a very fil mil of the paint to get down there and correct the problem then smooth it out nicely with the polish and wax. It might be hard to find a product that im talking about, since most stores just carry your basic, cleaning, not deatailing line of products. number 4 of meguairs line a heavy cut cleaner. u may have to go to a more proffesinal shop etc. check it out though at the store u never know. I spent more money then most people alive HAHAH on detailing products. I will buy only meguiars products, I REPEAT ONLY meguairs products becuase they are simply the best. if it is not meguairs it doesnt go on my vehicle period!!!
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-10-2003, 11:32 PM	#9
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Well, I just got back from PepBoys and AutoZone. I bought their 3 step Deep Crystal system, the paint cleaner (step 1), polish (step 2) and wax (step 3). And of course, the Quick Detailer (can't forget that). As for the specks, I bought 3M Perfect-It ll Rubbing Compound Fine Cut. It's all they had. What do you think about this stuff? Like you said, there likely not to have any of the professional series stuff and they didn't. But, this bottle says Professional Formula. I don't know, I'll try this stuff tomorrow. All I know is that I DO NOT want a new paint job, so hopfully this 3M stuff works....besides, it was pretty expensive.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-10-2003, 11:39 PM	#10
sweetnlos10 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 334 Location: bel air md User is: OffLine	you can order direct from meguairs online
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-10-2003, 11:50 PM	#11
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	cleaning well it is a fine cut, i dont know if it will work. i doubt it sorry,but hey ya never know. those scrathes from the pics seem more of a heavy cut compound is needed. but it is always better to go from least aggressive to most. so let me know. 3 m are pretty good products. but not as good as meguairs. the main differnce between meguairs products and other products is that there unique in there breakdown. most products stay just as aggressive as start to finish where meguairs breaks down nicely to start to correct the problem the more it is worked. hard to explain but hope it works
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-12-2003, 01:58 PM	#12
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Problem fixed (for free)! Well, well, I just got back from the dealer (needed to get my tires rotated) and I figured it wouldn't do any harm to show them the specks on the car and see what they say. I told him it almost looks like when the car was painted, before the paint had dried, lint settled on the roof and hood. But, like I said eariler, the specks were not there when I bought it, they gradually started to appear. Anyway, It turned out NOT to be my problem (like I thought, I don't neglect my paint) and they are going to repaint the affected panels under warranty! (The paint on every panel except the hood and roof is still perfect.) Awesome! They said, and I'm hoping they are right, that I won't be able to tell the difference between the new paint and original paint. Also, the service manager said this isn't the first time he's seen this problem on an S-Series truck. I never had a problem like this on my black '98 S-10 I used to have. It's my dad's S-10 now with 90,000 miles on it and STILL nothing as bad as mine. But, each car is different. I did return that expensive bottle of 3M Rubbing Compound (which, by the way, didn't work) and bought some more Meguiars products and a nice new tall shelf to store my line of Meguiars cleaners. Whatever I can't find in the stores, I will get online like "sweetnlos10" said. Well thanks for all your help, quamen. I'm glad this problem is finally resolved at no charge to me. The painting will take approx. 3 days and will start Monday. At least this gives me a nice new paint job (again) to keep clean. As soon as I get the truck back, I will do a full detail (wash, cleaner, polish, wax, etc) and take some pics and post them on my website www.geocities.com/chevyxtremefx which is down right now. I needed to update it but now I have to wait till I take some new pics.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-12-2003, 11:08 PM	#13
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	truck as soon as u get ur truck dont do anything to the paint whatever u do. no wax, polish etc. just wash it ull hurt the paint
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-13-2003, 12:19 AM	#14
ChevyXtremeFX Darth Vader Age: 31 Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 90 Location: User is: OffLine	Yea, I'm sure that's what they'll tell me. I just hope it comes out good and no noticable differences.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-14-2003, 10:34 PM	#15
97S10SS Black SS Age: 26 Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5,787 Location: Seattle Washington User is: OffLine	Your not supposed to wax fresh paint for almost 3 months. I still havent waxed my shaved tailgate yet and I got that work done a long time ago.
	[Reply w/Quote]

02-14-2003, 10:55 PM	#16
quamen Registered User Age: 27 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 607 Location: User is: OffLine	paint waxing man wait at least 60 days is recommended. 30 days is the least but i wouldnt do that. the waxes are formulated to seal the surface, and then they trap solvents in fresh paint and stop the curing process. when that happens,the paint actually stay soft and is can be easily hmm.... susceptible to rapid abrasion.
	[Reply w/Quote]

05-06-2003, 10:46 AM	#17
2001_S-10_4x4 Eatin Fords-$hittin Mopar Age: 31 Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 178 Location: Redfield, SD User is: OffLine	ChevyXtremeFX -- I just bought the Quad Beam relay kit from KC HiLiTES the other day...the colors of the wires don't match what I have in my truck....Was it the same way for you? Or did Painless Wiring give you better instructions that KC sent with mine? E-mail me at mrweller21@yahoo.com Thanks!
	[Reply w/Quote]