more help but with paint

[ian]

ive been going at the side of my car for some time now trying to get a lot of specks of white paint off. It is probably the previous owner driving through a wet white line on the road.
Ive tried t-cut and it doesent even seem to loosten the spots (although the other paint comes up great).
Does anyone know of any pastes, polishes etc that will help get the spots off, the best thing so far is to use my finger nail to get them off but i would be there for weeks doing that.

 

[RR]

Cutting compound.

I'm not sure if it's readilly available over teh counter so to speak, but I'm sure a friendly paint shop will sort you out. It's very abrasive and you will probably need a lambswool pad to apply it. Either that or get a bodyshop to polish it out for you with their buffer - it isn't a pricey job.

Make sure you get a god few coats of high quality wax over the top if you take teh cutting compound route, mind you T-Cut is equally evil.

 

[Anonymous]

paint splatters sown the side of the car is quite a common thing!
whilst rr is correct in saying cutting compound there are a few other things to try!
painstakingly long as it will take you can sit there and chip it of with your finger nails for one, you could use panel wipe / thinners to remove them, tar and glue remover will ofter remove them too as will fall out remover! if your feeling brave then you could use a clay bar to remove them along witht he fall out remover (which is what it was designed to do but with industrial fall out from the roads more often used on commercial vehicles and High milage motorway cars! hwich is why a lot of the coaches you see are painted a beigy colour to hide it!!)
Cutting compopunds come in various compounds much like wet and dry paper! coarse, medium corse, medium, fine and ultra fine! Your best bet would be an all rounder like Farecla G3, widely available through most motor factors and fair priced! usefull point though, with cutting compounds you dont need to use mauch of the compound at all! tiny pea sized blob on a damp cloth or polishing sponge and spray the panel with a water spray from a trigger bottle, most of the paint splatters will come off easily!
when your done with what ever you choose then make sure you get a coat or two of polish on the area you have been working on! (wax works as a sealant so no point in applying it over the top of a panel unless its been prepped propperly!)
t-cut is quite a harsh version of a compound and although widely recognised isnt as good as it should be! more often leaving more marks on the inflicted panels that started out with!
if your in the cornwall area then give me a shout as i have all the gear including machine polisher and would happily have a crack at it for you! Its been my trade for the past 11 years! (sharons husband here btw!!)

 

[Allan Wall]

re

I was going to say i had some intensive tar remover ages ago which took all the black tar bits off my car easily, not sure if it'd effect paint the same way.

but i'd be cautious of usign cutting compound and runining the good paint,

I've not used the clay bar but people who i know who have have said its amazing how smooth your paint feels after usign it.

 

[Buzz]

Clay bar woild probably work.
Its so wonderfully smooth after using it.

Try the intensive tar remover from autoglym first, then some meguiars quik clay. that should probably do the trick.

Buzz
The champion of the Bravo 1.4, and owner of a Bravo 1.8

Member Page

 

[Anonymous]

you stand a higher chance of b#ggering up the good paint with a clay bar than you do a compound!
the only way a compound will damage paint is if you are using a far to harsh a compound!

the clay bar was designed years ago for the removal of industrial fall out from high milage motorway vehicles! fallout fromt he road is basically tiny bits of the roads surface breaking off and sticking to the front and sides of the vehicle! also small particles of metal from slowly dieing exhausts etc get bonded to the car! the use of clay bars in the mainstream market has been jhelped by megs uk introducing it into what they saw as a gap in the market in the uk!
tjhe reality is that you only would need to clay your car once a year and if your cars properly looked after then chances are you wont need to clay it!
neither of our cars or any in my family have ever been clayed, and none of the meed it as they have all been looked after properly using good quality polishes and wax's and cleaned regularly!
the improper use of a clay bar can cuase clearcoat failure! resulting in the panel requiring a respray!
if used properly then they are extremely effective at removing bonded on contaminants from the paint surface such as fall out, tree sap, paint spots etc! which will leave you with a smooth clean finish, but using a proper proffesional compound will do pretty mucht he same thing with a lesser risk to paint damage from a in experienced users point fo view!

if you go to your local wholesalers then you should be able to pick up a tub of panel wipe / thinners which will remove the paint spots with ease for around £4!
intensive tar and glue will do the similar job too, but may require a few coats to get it off!

it very much depends on how much you want to spend and how involved you want to get with it and how much paint is on the panels!

 

[Anonymous]

simple. creditcar covers with a t shirt ( to stop scratches, and spray the card n rag with WD40 spray the paint with WD40 leave it to soak for a bit re-spray them and scrub.~


job done

 

[ian]

thanks for all the help.
I think i am going to start with the tar remover first and work up in strengh. I would perfer to try and use the weakest first incase it works and it is far easier to buy.
Ive only had the car for a short period of time and i am currently trying to get it right. The old owner (a copper) did not care for the car as much as me and it shows but i am a bit mad about cleaning it and getting it looking good.
Got a few things left on the list but then i might just bring it to a meet (if it is in the Midlands as i am in Brum)

 

[Matthew]

With the right amount of lubricant and the right technique (ahem!), I not not believe a clay bar will damage the clear coat.

It can cause fine marring however, but as most detailers clay the car before getting stuck in with a PC, that isn't a problem.

I have tried clay to remove paint spots before, but no luck there.

A good cutting compound with a PC (Porter cable buffing machine) will not damage the clear coat unless it is very thin. It will however remove a fine layer of the clear coat, reducing the appearance of scratches and removing any surface contaminants.

Just do what you feel most comfortable with, as learning about buffing machines and compounds, etc, can be daunting!

 

[Matthew]

-"do not believe"

 

[Buzz]

do not believe what? everyone is contradicting one another! lol
all thats missing is someone to champion T-cut and we have a full set of opposing arguments for every method!

Oh, and can i argue with anon over this:
'the improper use of a clay bar can cuase clearcoat failure! resulting in the panel requiring a respray!'
same goes for most methods buddy. and which is it? you NEVER need it doing, or it should only need doing once a year? If you've never used it, how can you advocate so strongly against it?

now? anyone want to suggest t-cut as the best method

Buzz
The champion of the Bravo 1.4, and owner of a Bravo 1.8

Member Page

 

[ian (wozza)]

Sorry to cause such an arguement, i didnt mean to, just get the spots of the car. Im keeping all the methods in mind although i feel cley bar will be the last one.
Oh, name change a little as i have just noticed another member using Ian all the time and i dont waant to start confusing stuff even more.