Auto Detailing FAQs | Cleaning your exterior car mirrors

Adventures in Detailing visits a place to step…or at least wipe…softly.

Your exterior car mirrors are a place that will easily show damage if you are not careful.

When washing your car, make sure your wash mitt is sudsy (think lubricated) & go from top to bottom, have a separate bucket to rinse off or a protector in the bottom of the bucket so grit is trapped beneath it. Even if you use one (or more) of these “defensive detailing” measures, it’s still a good idea to use no pressure when you wipe over the face of the mirror. A little grit & even just a little pressure with your wash mitt can leave visible scratches on your mirror…which will appear once it’s fully dried. Make sure to keep your wash mitts & chamois grit free.

Do you have contaminants (like paint over spray) on your mirror face? Yes, it is okay to use clay bar to remove them. Make sure the area is lubricated with a spray wax or soap & water…& again, make sure your clay bar is grit free.

Do you have hard water spots on your mirror face? DO NOT USE A GLASS POLISH!!!! If you do, chances are you will be in the market to replace the glass. If the spots are light enough, you have two options:

• use a compound wax & rub lightly with a clean soft cloth or wax applicator until they’re gone,
• or use a chemical or acid based water spot remover (I do not wipe over this area at all, though you may be able to with a micro-fiber cloth, I have not had too…yet).
  • make sure the glass of the mirror is absolutely, completely cool to the touch (if its even a little warm, you may have problems). Also, if your mirror is old, especially if there is visible chipping around the edges & the silver backing is visible, you probably should not use this method. This increases the risk of the chemical seeping behind the glass & damaging the backing. It may look something like an oil slick after you’re done…& you will have to replace the mirror.
    • cover the mirror face completely with a damp chamois while working on that side of the car (if it’s in the sun {even a little bit}).
    • lift the chamois & touch the glass, if it’s completely cool, spray the water spot remover evenly over the surface & let it sit while continuing to work on that side of the car, revisit a couple more times if necessary (DO NOT let dry on surface)
    • spray off with water & wipe dry with your chamois
    • if there are still remnants of the water spots go over with your light compound wax (usually not necessary). Again, do not use pressure & apply with a clean soft cloth or wax applicator.
    • If your mirror seems to have a little haze on an edge or may have taken a very, very light amount of damage, you may be able to correct it slightly with Mother^tm aluminum polish. Again, when dealing with mirror faces, it’s a good policy not to use pressure.

You should now have a sparkling clean exterior mirror face.

As always, if you have any questions on this procedure, please feel free to drop me a line.

Please send any questions for future episodes of “Adventures in Detailing” to gavin@autodetailaces.com.

Thank you for tuning in…& see you next week!

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Auto Detailing FAQs | Cleaning Automotive Glass

Have you cleaned your car’s interior glass, then driven out into the sun & suddenly your clean glass is covered with horrible streaky wipe marks all over?

This week, Adventures in Detailing tackles a recurring problem for our “do-it-yourselfers”. How do we clean our cars interior glass & get “streak-free” results?

Supplies you will need: (available at practically any big-box or care care store)

• glass cleaner
• lint-free window rag or new, clean (washed once) terri-cloth
• new, clean microfiber cloth
• chamois
• a minimal amount of elbow grease

Procedure:

• park under a shady area where you will not be in other peoples’ way
• if your car’s interior glass is visibly dirty, go over all interior glass first with your damp chamois. This is especially important if there was anything greasy (like interior dressing) that has found its way to your glass
• spray your window rag (all rags folded into quarters) a couple of times, then go over the entire glass (or half if front windshield or back glass) quickly & evenly.
  • immediately flip the towel over (dry side) & go over the same area again. You should be able to see the visible streaks disappear as you take them into the dry side of your cloth.
    • it’s important to “erase” the glass cleaner streaks before they dry on the glass, or you will have streaks appear when you drive out into different lighting conditions
  • wipe over the entire area again with your microfiber
• spray once onto the damp side of your window rag & repeat the above on all windows
  • if any of your rags become visibly dirty, you may have to fold over to a clean quarter
  • your finishing rag (microfiber) needs to be dry (enough to remove any dampness remaining on the glass)

Procedure when you do not have a shady area:

• There are a couple techniques you could use here, but the one I would suggest if your front windshield & back glass is hot, would be this. Use only your microfiber clothes. Spray once on your microfiber folded in quarters (do not overly wet). Wipe over entire area. You should not be leaving any glass cleaner streaks behind, if you are, immediately flip to dry side & wipe over again. If your new side becomes to damp, refold. If you have to use more than one microfiber, so be it.

Problems with your exterior glass? Didn’t we already cover that one in a past issue? I’m pretty sure we did. Removing waterspots anyway.

Please feel free to give me a call if you need immediate assistance…& keep those questions coming!

Thank you for tuning in again. See you next week.

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Auto Detailing FAQs | A ‘Stained’ (Upholstery) Situation

Adventures in Detailing! performs a job off the beaten path…or a ‘stained situation’. (a small attempt at some “Rocky & Bullwinkle^tm” title humor, for those of you old enough to remember such things.) Then again we could just call it ‘Pants on the Couch‘ for those of you who like current popular music (I think).

Anyway, this week we got called in to do what for us was a relatively unusual job. Working on upholstery to be sure, but not in a car…rather the couch at a friend’s house! Well, we agreed to come over and have a look & sure enough, the skirt the young lady had been wearing had left a nice blue-black stain on the ecru colored couch. More specifically, on an arm rest as well as two vertical & horizontal panels. (We will not delve into how those may or may not have ended up there, thank you!)  She insisted that her skirt had never left marks on any upholstery before, but was mortified that it had…even more so, since it wasn’t my friend’s couch, but his female roommate (No, they are not in a relationship!)

We actually see similar situations every once in a while in the detailing business, though it’s most often caused by someone rubbing their belt across the seat as they get in and out (I think it’s even more likely that they use a shoe or belt polish of some sort to keep the belt leather dark. Just a guess.)

For most stains on a leather couch the procedure is pretty simple; spray on some all-purpose cleaner (test on a less visible section first), use a brush with medium-stiff bristles to scrub the stain, then wipe away any foam or residue with a clean teri-cloth or suck it up with a wet/dry or shop vac. If the stain is visibly getting darker or larger, stop immediately. This is most likely because the dye (color) has been rubbed away in this area & you are actually taking off more dye as you scrub. For car seats, you will find this most often on the drivers side front seat edge where your back & bottom first make contact with the seat, then slide across it as you get in and out. The dye tends to wear thin here over time & with repetition.

In this case, we first warned our friend about the possibility of needing to redye the couch, then set about to remedy the situation. First we tested the all-purpose cleaner, which we were already pretty sure would not work (but better to go from least aggressive to most aggressive) with no results. Then we upped the ante to using a solvent used to remove crayon, ink & gummy substances from upholstery. This gave us slight, but not great results. So we took it one step further & introduced some #0000 steel wool into the mix (make sure to keep the steel wool wet as you scrub). Luckily this tactic gave us what we were looking for, because if we had to go any more aggressive, there would have been about an 75% likelihood that we would go through the dye. As it was I could see that the dye was wearing thin where we had to work it the hardest. Of course, now we had a beautiful, clean ecru section of couch, while the rest was fairly…, umm, shall we say brown?

Anyway, the end result was a nice clean couch, a room mate sans high temper, & me with a kiss on each cheek by a beautiful young Italian lady & her equally stunning older (slightly) sister.     Pro Bono work may not make you ‘wealthy or wise’, but it can certainly be ‘healthy’ & most definitely happy.

As always, thank you for dropping by…& if you have any questions for us, please feel free to email or call.

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Auto Detailing FAQs | Should I use a water based Tire Shine?

Adventures in Detailing will cover a quick question today; “Should I use a water based Tire Shine?”

Although we are not a member of any environmental group, we do believe that it is a good idea to be good stewards of our environment.

Solvent based tire shines we have tested seem to last longer than their water based counterparts, however, if you do not have a water catchment system to contain any runoff or over spray, water based tire shines’ are more nature friendly. So for all you “home gamers” or do-it-yourselfers we recommend looking for the water based alternative. This does not mean you shouldn’t still be careful where you’re spraying your water based dressing. If you use a spray on tire shine, either put down a “drop cloth” around the base of your tires to catch the over spray or temporarily roll your vehicle onto your grass. Plants are a great filtration system for small quantities of this stuff. Also, make sure you wipe your tires down afterwards (before you start driving). If you don’t wipe them down, your tires will fling off the excess, some of which will wind up on the side of your car. These drops will be sticky, & once they attract dust, the results will NOT be pretty.

If you decide you cannot part with your favorite solvent based tire dressing, please use the precautions above to keep the stuff out of our waterways (this goes double for the runoff from removing brake dust as well).

Another option is to use a gel or wipe on tire shine. If you use a tire applicator, this will help to minimize product from reaching the ground & possibly finding its way out through our storm drain system directly to the ocean where it could harm our coral & fishy friends. Again, please remember to wipe off any excess with an old terri cloth.

If you have any questions about detailing or the detail industry that you would like “Adventures in Detailing” to tackle, please feel free to email me at gavin@autodetailaces.com.

|f you have more immediate questions, you may call me directly at 222-8000. Thank you again, & happy detailing.

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Auto Detailing FAQs | I’ve got spots all over my car. What can I do?

In this episode of “Adventures in Detailing” we will be tackling the problem of contaminant removal.

“I’ve got spots all over my car. What do I do?”

The first step is identifying your contaminant.

• Do you know where the spots came from?
• If you don’t, are the spots like rings? If so, they might be hard water spots, usually from sprinklers or another source of city water where the minerals have set into the paint.
• Are they rust colored? If the spots are industrial fallout, they will stand out the most on white paint & on silver you will probably be able to see them. On most other colors, you may not even notice they are there. What is “industrial fallout”? Either you’ve been under metal appliances or piping or there’s been some construction somewhere in the area & the cutting or grinding of metal has caused little metal particles to drift on the wind & find their way to your vehicle.
• Are they a different color? Colored spots are usually paint overspray, often from someone spray painting a fence or house or something similar somewhere in the area. The wind picks up or shifts & all of a sudden your vehicle is covered in spots.
• Did you park next to bushes or trees? Yellow or clearish spots could be pollen or tree sap.
• Are the spots black? If they aren’t black paint over spray and you traveled over a newly paved road, you could have tar on your paint, especially if the spots are located on the sides behind the tires.
• Is the contaminant white or yellow behind the tires or in the wheel wells? Is there just as much splatter as spots? Chances are this is road paint that you went over before it was fully dry.
• Are the spots irregular, hard & rough? Maybe off white or sand colored with maybe a little black speckle? This could be concrete, or cement if not hardened.

“So what can I do about them?”

Now that we (hopefully) know what they are we have a better chance at taking care of them expeditiously.

• Hard water spots? A store bought chemical wash (automotive water spot remover for paint. remember to follow the instructions**) is probably best. Though for light spots, you can probably get away with a white vinegar solution (maybe 50% vinegar/50% water) or a rubbing compound or compound wax. Tougher spots might require first the chemical wash & then a rubbing compound. If you can’t get it done with that combination, it’s quite possible your paint has actually been etched by acid rain or something similar. Consult a professional.
• Industrial fallout, paint over spray, still not sure what your spots are? Try the claybar with lubricant.
• tar-like unknown substance? try a degreaser first, then claybar, acetone (carefully**), & compound. If none of those work, consult a professional.
• sap? Try a sap removal product or a citrus cleaner. Step up to acetone if you need to.
• road paint? Try to peel it off or use claybar. If you have a lot or it’s too difficult I would suggest taking it to a professional. This job may take too long & the fumes from a strong solvent could be hazardous to your health. If it doesn’t peel off or come off easily with claybar, let a professional handle it.
• cement? This is the one that you are most likely to scratch your paint with. If you decide to tackle it yourself though, use some white vinegar to try to melt the lyme & break up the concrete. This could be a very time consuming procedure. You can also try to pick it off by getting under an edge & lifting up away from the paint. This is another one that I find most people will prefer to take to a professional.

Feel free to contact me if you decide to do any of these & need suggestions or directions.

As always, best wishes & happy detailing!

**Perform this procedure in the shade & neutralize the solution afterwards with soap & water and wipe dry. On a dark colored paint wipe softly when you apply the solution. It may still leave light scratches. Use a rubbing compound to remove the scratches.

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

This episode of Adventures in Detailing will tackle an issue that we find coming up in the Wahiawa area quite a bit; Red Dirt turning our carpeting & seats an ugly, dirty brown. So what can we do about it?

First of all, try some preventative measures:

• buy some rubber or plastic floor mats. A 4pack of generic mats can often be purchased at a big box retailer for less than $25. Many of these have deep enough ridges, you could even spill an entire can of soda in them without overflowing into your carpeting.
• consider fabric guarding your carpeting. Although, all the fabric protectants I’ve read information on seem to be made more specifically to guard against stains from beverage or food spills, I’m sure it couldn’t hurt.
• if you have fabric seats, consider purchasing protective seat covers.

“It’s too late! I’m in the military, I’ve been in the field & I’ve got family coming to visit. What do I do?”

Here are some of your options:

• Easiest: take your vehicle to your friendly neighborhood Auto Detailer. Do you mind if I shamelessly plug Auto Detail Aces here?
• Most expensive option: Get your vehicle reupholstered. If money is not an option, you can’t beat the results of a newly upholstered vehicle…unless you just shell out & replace the whole thing!

• Do it yourself option. Depending on the amount of red dirt you have in your vehicle & how long it’s been there you will need a few things & could use a few others:
  • hot water extractor? nice if you have one, too expensive to get just for this purpose. You might as well get your vehicle reupholstered!
  • carpet cleaner or all-purpose cleaner. You can probably get away with a gallon of Clean-all^tm or Safety Clean^tm, distributed by Auto Chem Systems, or RedHot^tm from Auto Magic. All of these products should be diluted significantly (probably about 10% solution & 90% water to 5% solution & 95% water). check the directions for the particular product you have purchased) with water, so you will have plenty to finish your entire interior & then some. Failure to dilute your product correctly could result in a stain of a different type. You should probably test in an inconspicuous area first.
  • spray bottle
  • shop vacuum or wet/dry vacuum. If you have anything more than just a little surface dirt, this is going to be a necessity.
  • pressure washer. Not a necessity, but if you have one it can make things a whole lot better for your removable mats. I would recommend probably about an 1800psi model. You can probably go up to about 2100psi or so, but you’ll have to be careful to keep the end far enough away to not damage your material. I have seen threads start to pop up to the surface from the misapplication of a strong pressure washer. Always use a fan tip or an orbital tip, never a pin point one.
  • carpet brush. A fairly stiff nylon brush usually works quite well.
  • a bunch of clean terri cloths. Some people like to put them through the wash once to get rid of the extra fuzz.

“So I’ve got my stuff, now what do I do?”

• if you have just a really light surface stain, spray the area a couple of times, scrub quickly with the brush, wipe with your clean terri & voila, it could be as easy as that.
• if your stain is a little more deep set, try this instead:
  • spray enough into the stain to saturate the area
  • scrub vigorously. You should get some brown foam coming up from the area.
  • use the shop or wet/dry vac to suck up the excess foam. If you did not get one, use a terri cloth to wipe the foam away from the area. Fold the foam into the cloth or wipe it off into your yard (don’t worry, it’s biodegradable, though I would water the area afterwards, just to be sure)
  • repeat the first three steps until the foam is coming up completely white instead of dirty brown. Vacuum the area as dry as you can & wipe over with your folded terri cloth (the cleaner the better)

“I thought I got rid of the stain, but I came back a little later & it was brown again! How did that happen?”

Unfortunately, underneath the fabric is a layer of foam or other material which is necessary if we want to be able to vacuum little bits of debris from your carpeting, or have something comfortable to sit on. If we have dirt in that foam layer, when the fabric above it dries, it sucks up that dirt & makes it look brown again.

“Okaaay. So, what can I do about it?”

If the stain is in a removable mat, take the mat out, place it on a firm flat surface where the run off will be caught by plants or grass, then pressure wash (or if you don’t have one, use a garden hose, scrub, hose, repeat) it out. If you have dirt remaining in your removable carpet, you should see the runoff have a brown tinge. Continue pressure washing in strips from one end of the mat too the other until the runoff is as clear as possible.

if your stain is not on a removable mat, or you failed to get all of the dirt out of your mat, try misting some cleaner into a clean terri, wipe lightly over the area you previously cleaned (after it dried & the dirt stain came back up). You might be able to get it looking better by just lightly cleaning  the surface & not getting the deeper areas wet at all.

“I tried all that…& it does look better, but it’s still there & I can’t stand it. Is there anything else I can do?”

There are a few other things you can try. You can purchase an aerosol carpet dye. Find one that is as close to a match as possible to your existing fabric color. Follow the directions. They will probably be something like this: Clean, let dry, spray on, work into the carpet with your brush. Spray some more. Let dry.

The problem with this is that it is quite likely the next time you try and clean the area, you will take out the carpet dye as well.

If it’s still to unsightly for you to bare…sorry, looks like you’re back to reupholstering again.

Thank you for sitting through another episode of “Adventures in Detailing”. If you have any questions that you would like us to visit here, please email us at gavin@autodetailaces.com with your question, please also mention a “question for Adventures in Detailing” in your email. If you have a more immediate question, please feel free to contact us directly.

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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.

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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!”

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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.

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• 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”.

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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.

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