Mud vs. Clearcoat

So, I was off-roading yesterday afternoon and got into some black, sticky, organic mud. I didn't have a chance to get my truck washed last night, so I went this morning to take care of it. Once I got it dry, I noticed spots in the clearcoat where the mud was. All over the hood, front fenders and doors. The mud appears to have etched the clearcoat I've got a little bottle of some fairly abrasive compound, and that seems to work, but I'm going to need a lot more. It takes quite a bit of elbow grease to get the spots out, and I'm worried about rubbing through the clear coat. What's the best way to go about fixing this, and does anyone have a compound they could recommend?

 

clay bar.

 

I use mud as my clearcoat

 

Will a clay bar take out etchings in the clear coat? I thought it would just remove dirt from the surface?

 

My guess is that the mineral content in the mud etched your paint. Kind of like hard water spots.

First thing to do is to throw out your compound. Nasty stuff. Takes off way too much paint.

Use a high-quality micro-abrasive polish like Meguiar's M205, SYSTEM ONE X3, CSI Cut N Polish, or one of the Menzerna polishes.

In any case, it will be a lot of work without a buffer.

 

Yeah, I think that's the case. I tried some polish without a buffer, and didn't get very far. My arm is going to fall off by the time I get it buffed out if I do it by hand.