Auto Detailing FAQs | How do I get rid of red dirt stain from my car?

“Adventures in Detailing!” will break this down into a two part question, because it’s very different if you are dealing with the interior or the exterior of a vehicle.

Today we will deal with the outside.

Have your ever had or noticed a vehicle, especially a vehicle that is supposed to be white, but it has brown “red dirt” stain all over it (maybe from the Wahiawa area as an example)? You wash your car &…you still have a car that looks mostly brown below the windows! What do you do?

Well you have a few options:

1. find a detailer you like & pay them to remove the contaminant.
2. get your car repainted (if you’re made of money-this is probably the second to last option I would take)
3. get a new car (in most cases the last option I would take)
4. use a chemical wash to remove the stain
5. high speed polish your vehicle

For those of us who are budget conscious, this is most likely your preferred option. You will want to use the same methods & precautions you would use to get rid of hard water spots from your paint.

• perform this treatment in the shade
• use a respirator or disposable cloth mask & of course do not intentionally breath in the spray or fumes from the product
• stay away from any silver or chrome like trim (that is usually actually plastic), shiny black plastic pieces or side mirrors. These are very easily damaged & should probably be done by a professional.
• do not let the solution dry on the paint
• have a bucket of soapy water handy to neutralize the solution as soon as you’re done.
• wear gloves

How to perform this treatment:

• wash your vehicle first to remove all loose dirt & grit
• if your car is white or silver you may use a shop rag. If it is a dark color, use a clean microfiber cloth.
• make sure the metal is cool to the touch. If you are now in the shade, but your car was sitting out in the sun for a few hours, the metal could still be very, very hot. This could speed up the chemical reaction greatly & give you a stain of a different type. You do not want to give yourself more problems than you already have. Cool the metal down first by running water over it, or just wait until it is cool to the touch. You want it to be cool, not just warm, cool.
• try a section or panel that is lower to the ground, if you notice anything reacting funny, immediately go over with your soapy water to neutralize the reaction & check with a professional
• dampen your rag with a solution of  one of the following:
  • red dirt stain remover
  • liquid hard water spot remover (for automotive paints)
  • diluted spoke & wheel cleaner (you can buy it in bulk to make it cheaper, though usually one 16 oz. spray bottle would be enough for a vehicle with even a bad case of red dirt stain). Dilution should probably be about 30% chemical & 70% water, though you can vary the strength depending on your situation
• use a small circular pattern when applying the solution (except along edges, of course). you want the solution to do most of the work. Especially on darker colored vehicles you do not want to apply any pressure. Your vehicle can show scratches.
  • work one panel at a time
  • make sure to re-dampen your cloth with the solution fairly often, taking maybe about 10 seconds or so to cover the entire panel once or twice, then reapplying more solution either to your cloth or spraying directly onto the panel. (be sure your overspray doesn’t dry on an area adjacent to where you are working)
  • besides the change in color, it is quite possible you will notice a change in texture as you are wiping the paint. If at first you have some resistance, & then your cloth begins to glide over the surface, this is a good sign that you are removing the contaminants on the surface of the paint.
• if your car is completely in the shade, you may be able to go on to another panel & let your solution continue to work for you. However, it is important to remember not to let the solution dry on the paint. Neutralize it with your soapy water or rinse it down with a garden hose & chamois it dry.
• do the lower panels first. This will minimize the chance of “runs” showing in the paint if you are not careful & have drips of your chemical solution trailing down the sides later.
• This solution can be used for your side & rear windows also. Again, make sure not to let the solution dry, and when you are done, rinse off & then dry with a chamois. I would suggest using a glass polish for your front windshield.
• when you do the roof, make sure your arm is above the surface you are treating, or you are using a shirt you don’t mind throwing away later. Your shirt sleeve could develop a whole in it, probably when it next washed.
  • do half the roof at a time, wiping off with a damp, soapy chamois. Do not spray the chemical directly off until you have wiped off the majority of it or it’s possible to develop little grooves running down the sides of your vehicle.
• when you are done, wash & dry the entire vehicle.
• …& you’re done! Your car should now be free from surface contaminants like minerals from hard water spots & red dirt stain. If you have other contaminants, like industrial fallout, paint overspray, light tar, light tree sap, & very light cement overspray, it should be a lot easier to remove as well with a clay bar as these contaminants should have been “softened up” with this procedure.

Thank you for your attention, please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.

Share This

Auto Detailing FAQs | I scuffed the paint on my car against a wall. Do I need to go to a body shop?

Thank you for joining us in another episode of “Adventures in Detailing!”

So you got a paint scuff by rubbing your car up against a wall, post, or other vehicle & you’re worried it’s going to cost you hundreds or depending on the location & the make & model of your vehicle, possibly even thousands of dollars to get your vehicle looking new again. Well, the answer is a definitive…maybe, & maybe not.

The first thing to do (assuming this was a light scrape & not anything that caused structural damage) is look at the damage under good lighting & evaluate the following:

1. is the color of the scuff the same color as the material you scraped up against?
2. do you see exposed metal or plastic (like most bumpers nowadays)
3. can you put your fingernail into the damage or is it smooth or actually raised above the rest of the painted surface?
4. has the area that was scuffed been repaired/repainted before?

As far as your vehicle is concerned, #1 is actually a good thing. It means that for at least that portion of the scuff, there is contaminant on your paint & not damage in your paint. That part should be a quick, inexpensive fix…as long as you know that #4 is not in play.

In the case where you know there has been damage done (#2 & #3) to the paint of your vehicle, you have a choice. You should probably clean up the area first (I’ll tell you how in a minute. Keep your pants on!) & then decide whether you want to use a little touch-up paint (see last week’s article) or take it to a body shop for a repair (The repair could also be a quick, single stage spray & blend or a full repair; sand, fill, primer, feather, base coat, blend, & clear coat).

So what is this “quick clean up” I’ve been teasing you with? Well, assuming your paint is in good condition & not a second hand, single stage paint job (in english that’s spelled “repainted”) in that area, you can

• make sure you are in a shaded area (do not do this in direct sunlight)
• make sure you are in a well ventilated area (or if you are going to use this for an extended period use a respirator)
• wear gloves
• get a clean (not necessarily new) terri cloth
• buy some acetone or similar solvent at an automotive, hardware or paint store
• have soap & water & an applicator or old chamois nearby

Procedure:

• put some acetone on the terri. make sure not to spill any (especially on anything you consider valuable) & wipe over the scuff with the acetone. (If you have a dark colored car, wipe over it lightly). if the damage appears to be getting larger, rather than smaller, stop immediately & take it to a professional to evaluate.
  
• in most cases you will see the contaminant (color matching the material you scraped up against) wipe write off.
• immediately after wiping repeatedly with the solvent, wipe over the affected area with your soapy chamois (or other cloth). Soap is a base & will neutralize the solvent.
• you may also see any scratches you have in the paint temporarily disappear as you wipe over them with the acetone. this means you should be able to work on them with a rubbing compound (or high speed polisher) & reduce or even possibly completely remove them
• some scratches may be deeper in places than others. reduce what you can, but be aware that some of these scratches may be through the clear coat & you will not be able to get rid of them

If you still have scratches, chips or gouges remaining, you are back to deciding whether to go the inexpensive route & add a little touch-up paint, or call someone who can do a repair for you. At the very least, you’ve probably made the damage look a lot less extensive & quite possibly reduced the cost of your repair bill.

Thank you for again joining us in our continuing episodes of “Adventures in Detailing!”

Share This

Auto Detailing FAQs | I’ve got chips in my paint. What can I do about them?

Thank you for tuning in to our continuing episodes of “Adventures in Detailing”!

Today we are continuing on from our previous articles on Where paint chips come from, Can anything be done to avoid them & protect your car’s finish, & Is it important to fix them?

So, changing tenses here. Now I know where they came from, but what can I do about them?
First, let’s make sure we have our terms defined.

• A paint “chip” is where the paint has been visibly removed from your vehicle. You can (if big enough) place a fingernail within the chip & feel the difference in height where the paint is missing. They are often about 5mm or less, except in the case of door edges. Especially if the vehicle is often parked next to a rock, brick, or cement wall.
• A paint “scuff” or scrape is larger & will be covered under a future episode.

The most economical way to take care of a paint chip is through “paint chip repair”(PCR). If cost is never an option for you, then make good friends with the best body shop technician you can find, but for most of us “regular guys” who are trying hard to watch every dollar & often still wonder where all our money went at the end of the month PCR is your best option.

For the do-it-yourselfers: (please only try this on your vehicle or with the owners permission. If not, take it to a professional.)

• The first thing to do is locate your manufacturer’s label. For most newer vehicles, this will be located on your driver’s side door jamb. If not there, it may be under the hood, in the glove box, or in the trunk. If you don’t see it fairly quickly, you can check your owner’s manual for its location or call the dealership with your VIN# & they will be able to help you out (they will likely know the paint code & if not, should be able to direct you to the manufacturer’s label).
  • The paint code is usually a 2, 3, 4, or even 5 digit combination of letter &/or numbers often (but not always) following or under the letter PC, EXT or Color.
  • Below is a manufacturer’s label for a Ford Truck. The Exterior Paint Code is YZ.

  

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• This Manufacturer’s Label is for a Nissan Versa. The Paint Code is K23.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Second, see if your local Walmart or auto parts store has the touch-up paint in stock. If not, you may have to get it from your dealership.
• Like most detailing functions, it is probably best for you to perform PCR out of direct sunlight.
• Now that you have the paint, clean the area of the chip. This is best done with a wax & grease remover if you have it, but if not just make sure the area is clean & thoroughly dry before you get started. DO NOT clean with a silicone or waxy substance, or your touch-up paint will have difficulty holding to the surface.
  • If the metal in the chip is rusted, it’s important to grind out the rust first. This is best done with a Dremmel^TM or similar tool (though a rust eraser will be okay for the exposed metal) & you may have to widen the chip, especially if you see little cobweb like “spider legs” of rust radiating out from the chip under the paint. Unfortunately, this is going to make the chip larger & look worse, but the main goal is to retard rust from continuing to spread under the paint of your vehicle.
• Shake the touch-up paint for at least 60 seconds (more if it’s old) to make sure it is completely mixed. This is important for all colors, but especially so for metallics & pearl tones. Even if you are able to get all of the residue within your touch-up paint fully mixed, it’s still possible that your touch-up paint will not provide an exact match. Under any paint code, there may be a number of alternate formulas listed which will be slightly different from yours.
• Apply the paint to the chip with either a paint stick or dauber, or a very fine soft paint brush.
  • The rollerballs that are often included with the touch-up paint are often good for paint-chip application (if you have removed the little {usually orange} insert, press the tip down lightly in the chip & the paint will begin to seep out); the brushes that are included are often good for door, hood & bottom edges (a QtipTM may also be used).
  • If your touch-up paint has become old, hardened or goopy, you can try thinning it with a couple of drops of color reducer, though for most of you who don’t have color reducer or thinner lying around, it might be best to just get another tube of touch-up paint. You should put some of the goopy paint in a plastic bottle top & then add a couple drops of the reducer. Adding it directly to the touch-up paint will cause the rest of your paint to harden, making it virtually unusable for future use.
• For many of you, this will be good enough. For those of you who want to try to make it look better, however, here are a couple more steps you can try.
  • Get a plastic straight edge (maybe a plastic razor blade scraper or old credit card), a soft rubber straight edge, some color reducer (optional, unless your paint is old, hardened or goopy), & most importantly, some excess paint remover.
    • If your chip is on a flat surface, like your hood. Add a drop or two of reducer to the paint in your mixing cap & mix it well. (It should be thin & runny like the consistency of water.)
    • Fill the chip so that it is level. Try to contain all of the paint within the chip. If you succeed in this, allow to dry…& you are done. If not, allow to dry, then wipe over with the excess paint remover & a microfiber cloth until the top layer resoftens. Scrape lightly with your plastic straight edge (*** see below) to remove the excess paint. Alternate between wiping with the excess paint remover & the straight edge until the excess is removed.
    • If the chip is on a flat surface perpendicular to the ground, like a side panel; do not overly reduce (not too runny). Fill as above. It’s okay to have a little blob or bubble (paint not air) effect & a bit of overrun around the edges when you start out. Let dry & remove as above.
    • ***IF YOU HAVE A DARK COLORED VEHICLE. A dark vehicle will show scratches much more easily. If you have a dark colored car, you might want to forgo the plastic straight edge. Instead do it this way.
      • Fill the chip so it is level. If necessary, immediately wipe over with your soft rubber straight edge, spreading the excess in a thin layer over the surface of your vehicle (DO NOT do this if you don’t have excess paint remover). Allow to dry. Then wipe over with the excess paint remover & microfiber cloth until the excess paint is gone.
    • If you remove too much of the paint, don’t worry about it, just do the process over again.
  • Another option for the budget conscious perfectionist:
    • Get some clear touch-up paint as well as your base color.
    • Apply the base(color) first as above, not filling the chip all the way level, or immediately after applying, wipe over the area with a soft rubber straight edge (this usually removes a small amount from the chip. again, DO NOT do this if you don’t have excess paint remover). Allow to dry (10 minutes is good in most situations, some paints may take longer).
    • Apply the clear coat with a new or cleaned & dried applicator. Allow to dry.

Thank you again. Comments, questions & personal experiences are welcomed. Please no language that you wouldn’t want to use around your mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, etc.

Stay tuned next week for another episode of “Adventures in Detailing”.

Share This

Auto Detailing FAQs | I’ve got chips in my paint. Why is it important to fix them?

Many aspects of Auto Detailing are an “appearance thing”.  Paint chips for the most part are a necessary evil. If you drive, you will have paint chips. (For why this is the case, please see last week’s article.) So if I’m going to get more of them anyway, should I do anything about it? The answer of course is yes, but with caveats, depending on where the chip is.

Chips that are down to the metal, again most often on your hood & door edges, are ones you need to pay attention to. If you don’t, rust can set in & start to eat away under the paint of your vehicle. If the chip is near the edge of the weather stripping near your windshield or other glass, it’s even more important to get them taken care of.  It will be a whole lot more expensive to have to take out & replace your glass in order to fix the rust once it’s set in & spread. Better to catch it early, then wait until you have rainwater turning your car into a personal swimming pool & have a major project on your hands.

On the other hand, if your chips are on plastic parts, like most bumpers nowadays, it really comes down to your personal preference. They may be unsightly, but they probably won’t be getting any worse. (If you’ve had a second hand paint job & your paint is peeling, that’s a different topic altogether.)

Thank you for perusing this short article on “Adventures in Detailing”. Next week, we expect to get a little more hands on with the ins & outs of Paint Chip Repair. See you then!

If you have any questions, please feel free to pay us a visit.

Share This

Auto Detailing FAQs | I see chips appearing in my paint. Where did they come from?

Chips will most commonly appear in your hood & your door edges.

Chips in your hood will most commonly come from large trucks in front of you on a freeway or practically any vehicle on a gravel road kicking up little rocks from under their tires. That’s why they are often referred to as “rock chips”. Unfortunately, rock chips are pretty much standard fair if you have a car. If you drive, sooner or later your hood will have some chips in it…& usually sooner rather than later.
Chips in your door edges are usually from someone who doesn’t care as much about the car as a new car owner, opening the door into something hard; like a rock or cement wall, garage or fence.

So what can you do about them?

• Well, you can try to avoid them. If you are getting close to a big rig, try to ease off the gas pedal & give yourself a wider margin in-between. Of course, you could also choose to buy a truck with a hood that is well off the ground. You will rarely see any chips on these…& that’s assuming you can see the top of the hood in the first place!
• If you have to park near a wall give your kids a verbal warning to be careful when they open the door. If you have a passenger try to make sure whenever possible that your door is the one closest to that oh-so-dangerous malevolent wall monster.
• Another option is to try to protect your car from those paint-seeking pebbles.
  • I’ve heard that some people try to market paint sealants for this purpose. Whereas paint sealants tend to be polymer synthetics that bond to the paint for long term protection, I have never seen one effective enough to keep a high velocity rock from marring the surface of a speeding vehicle.
  • So can you protect your paint? The answer is yes, though this answer is definitely not for everyone.
    • One way is to purchase a bra for the front of your car. Upside: good protection from rock chips. Downside: often scratches paint & may leave a change in shading if you are parked outside all the time. Something like the tan lines you probably have on your own body if you spend any time out in the sun.
    • Another is a clear film that can be placed on hood & bumpers. This gives a lot more resistance, but can be penetrated by a really sharp impact or scrape. It also is NOT invisible & will often “grab” wax residue along it’s edges.
    • As far as door edges, it’s possible to buy plastic door edging, though I’ve often seen cars come in with the glue melting right out of these door guards, creating a mess before they finally fall right off.

• So, I’ve already got them (rock chips)…What do I do now?

Unfortunately, I’ve run waaaaayy over my space allotment, so tune in to a future weekly episode of “Adventures in Detailing…& related subjects.

Share This