Hand buffing residue/scratch on new car??

[Setec Astronomy]

Sounds like it was a factory paint defect, as Bill D suggested earlier a photo would help. So if you now can't see the "spot", and you're left with the scratch, sounds like, as you said, you need a mild polish to work down the scratch a bit so it doesn't bother you. Just be careful, people say the Mazda paint is crazy thin these days, the last one I worked on was a '99, so I'm no help.

[raysaint]

I don't think it was a factory defect because the original spots were raised and I could feel them; seemed to be hardened tar/sap or who knows what. So we'll see what spring brings, if the spot residue becomes visible again, I'll try buffing out with a mild abrasive polish.

[Setec Astronomy]

You can have a raised defect, all it takes is for a piece of crap to get in the paint during the process.