When I bought my car I swear that I didn't see any defects in the paint and now I'm noticing things, it'* probably been there and I just didn't notice. I just took the car through a wash today and was checking it out after to make sure eveything was alright and came across these grey streaks on my bumper that looks like somebody else might have scraped across or something and little spots that look gold in color, similar to rust spots. The spots are real small, but I'm not sure if their rust because I even have some on the plastic bumper. Anybody have experience with these problems and know what they are or how or if they can be gotten rid of? I also have a spot of clear coat coming off.

~Dave

If the clear coat is coming off, you will need to take it to a body shop and get it re-painted.

If there are scuffs and scratches, get yourself a good polish or scratch remover (not wax or sealants). The polishes are abrasive. I had someone ding my door last fall and left a big white spot and a small dent. I polished it out and you can hardly even tell there is a dent there.

the clear coat i've already had an estimate on to repaint and the scuff I'm a little less concerned about because I think a buff will take it out. I'm more concerned with the tiny yellow spots that are randomly on the paint.

It could be anything ...

I would try polishing it out and see how it goes.

I was planning on getting the car fully detailed by a Pontiac dealership n a few months when it gets above 10 degrees here, should the dealer detail techniques get it out?

If they are good, then yes. A full detailing usually includes a polishing or compounding.

If so than it'd be worth $130

what you have is whats called "industrial fall out" happens to people that live or work in or near Industrial areas or train tracks. they're little flakes of metal that fall onto the paint and start to dig in and rust.

to get rid of it i would suggest a Clay bar. Followed by a good waxing ( to help protect) and also more frequent wash'* (at least once a week)

I'm not about to do clay bar in this weather, hope it'd be fine to wait till it warms up. I'm not really near anything industrial I don't think. I do know that the first owner lived in Jersey somewhere and then moved up to some town in New York that I think is in the Adirondack mountains.

I'm with PeterG, that should come out with a clay bar. They call it industrial fallout, but that'* not necessarily what it is. It could be something like brake dust. My wife and I both owned white cars at the same time a few years ago, and that stuff drove me crazy, so I swore never to get white. Even on our blue Mountaineer I see it on the lower portion of the truck which is a gold color.

If you are willing to spend $130 on a detail, I would advise not to go to a dealer. Dealers are notorious for doing crappy details. I would suggest going to www.autopia.org It'* a detailing website with tons of excellent detailers that can do amazing work. I would try to locate someone in your area on that website. Otherwise if you are interested in doing it yourself, for about twice that much money you can buy a polisher and all the necessary products to do it yourself for years. Just join Autopia and start reading.