Little tiny stones sticking out of my paint.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by our1vue, Aug 12, 2013.

  1. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    I was washing and waxing my car and the doors the felt rough. I took a closer look with a magnifying glass and noticed that there were little stones stuck to the paint. My guess is that I got them when I went over a newly tarred road, but the stones are brown not black tar like . They are easy to remove with a fingernail, but there are tons of them on the door. A wet sponge doesn't remove them and neither does the wax applicator that I used to put on the wax. I hate to put on anything too abrasive since the paint under the stones is fine. I fingernail cleaned a small section and the finish was nice and smooth again. Any suggestions on what to "clean" off the stones with ?
     
    #1 our1vue, Aug 12, 2013
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Clay the car or affected area:

    Paint Clay & Speed Shine® Kit


    - Griot's Garage


    Of course you do not have to use griots garage clay, lube etc, I just linked to it as an example. Meguiers sells it as does other companies.

    You can google to learn more and even see videos of how to use it on YouTube.

    And they are not stones, at least IMO. It is usually rail dust, tree sap, tar specks or brake dust.
     
    #2 Paradox, Aug 12, 2013
  3. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    There is the Clay Bar method used by some with good reported results. Do a search here and on Google.
     
    #3 frodoz737, Aug 12, 2013
  4. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    Thanks for the quick responses. I'll look into the clay products. The strange part is the "stones" are only on the doors. The vertical surfaces (hood, roof etc) are clean. Also you can only see them with a magnifying glass. They sure are tiny and sticky.
     
    #4 our1vue, Aug 12, 2013
  5. mrstop

    mrstop PWR Mode

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    Tarminator works well if it is tar. Tar looks more brownish than black. You can also get little 'rust spots' which is often rail dust or other metals from the road. Claying will take care of that. I recommend getting the Megauirs clay kit from Walmart or an autoparts store.
     
    #5 mrstop, Aug 12, 2013
  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    We had tiny tar spots all over the car one time. I used Black Magic liquid wax, I heaped it on there thick and gave it a few minutes to soak and I did not wait for it to dry totally before wiping off with rag. Probably used half a bottle at least.
     
    #6 wjtracy, Aug 13, 2013
  7. CdotK

    CdotK Member

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    #7 CdotK, Aug 13, 2013
  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Hmm...

    I think if I was in your position, I'd almost want a professional to look at it. If they aren't removing easily and seem imbedded into the clear coat or paint, I'd be hesitant to try anything for fear of accidental or unintended further damage.

    If simple unobtrusive things like a good hand car wash isn't removing them?

    Well at the very least with any method you try- surely do a careful spot check. It might be as simple as clay barring the affected area. It's not a bad suggestion. But without pictures or any hands on ability to evaluate....caution in any approach should be applied.

    Good Luck.
     
    #8 The Electric Me, Aug 13, 2013
  9. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    A few posts are missing here. What happened?
     
    #9 Former Member 68813, Aug 13, 2013
  10. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    The things I described that clay removes are not removed by a good hand wash. That is why people clay their vehicles, it's not a huge thing using clay to be honest.




    No idea what you're talking about, nothing is showing as being removed.
     
    #10 Paradox, Aug 13, 2013
  11. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Sounds like you've never clayed before. Anybody can do it and you won't be able to damage the paint unless you don't use enough lubricant.
     
    #11 32kcolors, Aug 13, 2013
  12. CdotK

    CdotK Member

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    yeah claying your vehicle is simple.. i think my 2yr old can do it. Just make sure to re-seal the paint IE: wax
     
    #12 CdotK, Aug 13, 2013
  13. Cthehentz

    Cthehentz New Member

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    WD-40 works great on tar, try small area first though. The clay bar is as simply as it gets and remember to wax the car after your done With clay.
     
    #13 Cthehentz, Aug 13, 2013
  14. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    I replied to your post above about rail dust and embedded an image yesterday. Weird. Some glitch.
     
    #14 Former Member 68813, Aug 13, 2013
  15. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    I'm going to try and do a small spot with tarminator to see if it will unstick the stones and prove if it is tar or not. If that fails then I have a clay kit ready to try. On my past cars, I've had little particles stuck to the car, but usually they are
    removed when I apply the wax. Not this time. I'll update this thread with what happens. Thanks to you all
    for the help and suggestions.
     
    #15 our1vue, Aug 14, 2013
  16. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    The particles were tar ! When I sprayed the tarminator on them, you could see the tar running off the stones. So I tarminatored the 4 doors the the car is now smooth again. So I learned 2 things, one: tar is brown not black, and two:
    if you want to know how to take care of your prius, read/append to PriusChat :). Thanks again to all for the help and advice.
     
    #16 our1vue, Aug 18, 2013
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