Mystery pitting in windshield and paint - ideas?

Just got off work and drove home, and noticed a bunch of what I hoped were droplets of sap on my windshield. Got home, got out some windex, and nope, they are pits in the glass.

They weren't there this morning. My commute is only about 3 miles of city surface streets, with no opportunity for impacts like this, nor did I hear anything unusual.

Called my colleague who parks next to me, told him to go out and look at his windshield (which he had replaced not long ago). Yep, pitting. Checked the paint on my hood - same damage.

At work we both park facing a heavy equipment rental company, with a ~7ft wall between us. I've never seen anything move or park on the other side of the wall other than things like forklifts and scissor lifts, maybe a cherry picker. I am not able to see this area while I'm working, so I have no idea what they were up to today.

So what the hell would cause this kind of damage to a parked vehicle, on two surfaces that are angled fairly differently? What could they have been spraying over there that traveled at least ~10 feet and still had the velocity to pit my glass and paint on both a sorta-vertical and nearly-horizontal surface?

It's not like this is a major issue. The windshield is annoying to look through, but I've had worse. The paint damage you wouldn't notice if I didn't point it out. But still, I feel like this isn't cool.

Needless to say we'll be having a chat with the manager in the morning, but I thought I'd see if any of you had any ideas what I should be looking for. Doubt if they clean their equipment with a hydrofluoric acid spray...

 

any pictures ? were they sandblasting something ?

 

I'll get pics in the light in the morning, but they just look like typical tiny pinpoint pits. Which is what is weird to me. I expect pinpoints on the surface of impact, like a windshield at speed, but they are also pinpoints - not long scratches - on the horizontal hood.

No idea what they were doing - couldn't see the space during the day, and they were closed by the time I got off work. Will have a chat in the morning.

 

You never know around heavy equipment.

A bit off topic but a funny story nonetheless.

One day after breaking down my above ground pool I took the metal to the scrap yard. While I was unloading my trailer I saw the excavator crushing and moving steel 55 gal drums. I turned my back on the excavator to grab a piece from the trailer and I heard an explosion and felt debris hit my back and watched debris hit the rear windshield of my truck.

Instinctively I hunched over ground and covered my head. After aasecond or two I turn around and the heavy equipment operator looked like he just shit himself.

I see a crushed steel 55 gal drum and a huge V shaped clearing on the ground from the hole. Turns out he crushed one with the cap still on. Well, yeah, that cap flew the f**ck off like a bullet and took a bunch of shrapnel along with it. That could have seriously killed me, or worse, messed up my truck. All the debris wiped off the rear glass but at first I thought it was embedded in the glass.

I expressed my feelings through a few screams and hand gestures. He apologized and I jokingly told him he owes me a new pair of underwear.


Sorry for the rant, I hope you figure it out and they make it right.

 

Geez, yeah, kinda puts my little pits into perspective.

Just checking, though, since your avatar doesn't say where you are: you know this is America, right? You just missed primo lawsuit opportunity!

I'm kidding - I don't want any unnecessary legal crap - we do too much of that already. As long as whatever was in that drum doesn't give you cancer or a tail in 20 years...

 

Un-diluted Superclean/purple degreaser. If sprayed and left too long will do that. My dad did that accidentally.

 

I wasn't trying to compare, haha. My truck and I went unscathed. Your post just reminded me of the sight of pieces metal on my rear glass.

Haha, yeah I hear you. My wife would've had a good case if he killed me. That'd be a messed up way to go...

I would assume your incident had to be chemical or debris. Any cameras you can review?

 

Woah, that could be it. I think I have seen them spraying their equipment to clean it when it comes back in. Good info to have, thanks.

I don't think so from our side - all the ones I've seen point towards our building / doors, but I'll check. They may have something covering their lot, I'll ask tomorrow.

 

Sounds like they were grinding, when you do any kind of grinding it will burn into your glass and can do it at a good distance. Any pictures?

 

I would have to agree with ZPMAN, Sounds like grinding, will melt glass and paint. Can you feel anything on the paint?

-Jason

 

Maybe some welding splatter.