Cleaning the car this weekend, wiping the engine bay, I first noticed some white residue and when wet was "soapy"... nothing was leaking, and it wasn't from the washing the car since all the residue was dry under the bonnet before and after I washed the car.

Could it be coolant or wiper fluid? The car was recently serviced, they messed with the washer dip stick (it was all twisted up), I'm thinking someone was horsing around, splashed the entire engine area, now left with the mess.

Is there any immediate problem if I were to just leave it and wipe it down over the next few car washes?

Maybe unrelated, but the strut tower, when I was rubbing the painted surface hard, some of the paint was going away leaving a lite tan color... car's silver.

 

not sure what you got on there, but you can make a SimpleGreen
solution in a spray bottle (50/50 with water), spray into your paper
towel and wipe all that off.

sorry to hear about that strut tower... but yah, you're not really suppose
to rub all that hard. Ive heard about that all too many times.