I just had a look at the car again, and it doesn't seem like spores anymore. Or bug poo for that matter.

Those would be bigger I think, these are tiny. These actually looks like little burn marks . Like the car has been sitting outside when there's a fire nearby, and little bits of hot ash landed on the car, and burnt into the paint.

I just bought this car three months ago (2003 GPW, $26,300 - the price seemed really good at the time, now I have to wonder... ), and before that it's been sitting at the dealer lot for a year and a half.

I can't be sure about this though, so I should probably have a professional have a look at this. Any ideas?

 

Oh well, I don't really know for sure. Perhaps I should have my car professionally detailed, and see if they can remove that crap. If not, I'll go back to the dealer.

 

Are these spots only on horizontal surfaces (hood/trunk)? If so, I'd guess that your car has tree sap on it. I live in Rochester, NY with alot of oak trees in my yard. In the fall, the trees are attacked by moths/caterpillars. The trees then "bleed" tree sap on my cars from the bug damage.

You don't see it immediately, because it's clear. Over time (a few weeks?) the sap turns black and looks like the cars were sprayed with a fine black mist. When you run your hand over the spots, you can feel a slight bump.

This stuff is tough to get off without a solvent or polishing type compound. I've found the easiest method is bug/tar remover, then a coat of wax.

If this is what you have, don't sweat it: It'll come off and won't damage your paint. BTW, I have a white car, which really shows this stuff up in time...

Good luck.

 

I've used a citrus degreaser to wash the entire car. I've heard that it can be used to remove bug/tar. In fact when I first bought the car, there's a small tar mark, which it removed easily.

Some of the spots seem more brown than black, thought they are mostly black. And I notice some marks on the side of the car as well, though I believe it's mostly on the horizontal surfaces.

I'll try taking a picture, but I'm not sure it'll come out right.

 

If it is indeed fungus spores, washing with bleach will kill the spores or fungus. Good luck.

 

check your neighborhood.. maybe somebody spilled some of their biology expirament on the car. "neighborhood punks" are evolving..

clay bar that thang, G.

 

Fungus on the car. This is a first, but never say never.

Perhaps you can gat a prescription for Flagyl (anti-fungal) and feed it to your car via the gas tank, 500mg tablet, twice each day for 10 days. On the other hand, you can use a topical anti-fungal. There are many topicals available over-the-counter ie. Monistat (what a woman uses for a yeast / fungal infection). JK!

Seriously, a couple of cap fulls of bleach diluted in a bucket of water should take care of any fungus. Good luck!!

 

Warren J...you are right, fungus does not need light to grow. It does need moisture and "warm" temperatures though