Adventures with an E430 (long)

C

Chinkzilla

New member
Ok so my mom gets home today and asks me to clean off her mirror and windows on her front left side. Unfortunately the world's most sinister water spots reside there!



I remember someone saying to try white vinegar, so I put some on a rag, wiped the water spots with it and let it sit for a while. I then took a 50/50 water alcohol mix and wiped it off. This worked to a certain degree, the newer water marks had come off with ease, the older baked in ones seemed unaffected! I then decided to try toothpaste, as I had heard it's effective for cleaning glass. While it made the mirror that was in the worst condition really shiny, it did not help the water spots much.

So I got out the clay bar. I had already done 5 cars with this particular bar so it was pretty much on it's way out. Tried soapy water but the bar kept sticking so I used QD on the glass. WOW this worked REALLY well, but made my clay bar filthy. So with the glass clear and spot free, I was left somewhat unsatisfied.

I decided to tackle some of the baked on tar and sap on the roof of this white car. Especially two HUGE blobs of sap on the roof. I used the clay bar and managed to take most of it off. Kneaded the bar and proceeded to try for about 10 minutes to level off the sap without sucess. Alcohol and a terry, made a slight impact. Tried vinegar without much success.

I got out the mother's paint cleaner and attacked. I managed to remove all the sap that I could see or feel. What was left behind REALLY pissed me off. There were two distinct BLUE spots where the sap was. WTF?! Nothing i tried could get these stains out. Very irritated.



It's too dark now, but I will have pics tomorrow. This car is in sorry shape. Only 2 years old but barely cared for. The paint is not badly swirled, however that's because it was rarely washed. It sits in an office park everyday in the hot sun in close proximity to birds and trees that drop some pretty evil things on it.

Next week I'm going to have at it with a full exterior detail and see if I can't get the paint back into respectable condition. Then I'll Klasse it for some high durability low maintenence protection.



Any comments and advice are welcome!

-D
 
well, sounds like you handled this OK. A couple suggestions for next time:



1) For sap and tar I like 3M Adhesive, Tar and Wax remover. You can get it at auto parts stores or even at Walmart. It'll take off sap blobs in two seconds. Same with tar specs. Then wash or QD the area and you're done. No need to waste clay.



2) Water spots are a problem. Your steps are fine but I usually use a polish like SMR or FI2. Just wipe on and wipe off. Even on mirrors this works. I used Meguiars #2 Fine Cut Cleaner on cars all the time to remove hard water spots. No problems.
 
Thanks for the tips..



1.) I have a bottle of TW (ugh) tar and bug remover. But after hearing how horribly corrosive that stuff is I was afraid to use it on her paint. I will try the 3m product.. What was REALLY strange is that after the sap was removed the paint underneath is stained blue... anyone know what causes this and how to remove it?



2.)These were the water spots from HELL. She parks next to a sprinkler every morning with very hard water. The hot california sun then proceeds to bake these into the paint and glass. I was afraid to haze the glass with the SMR, but I might try that next time. The clay worked awesome though.



thanks again :)
 
bretfraz said:
well, sounds like you handled this OK. A couple suggestions for next time:



1) For sap and tar I like 3M Adhesive, Tar and Wax remover. You can get it at auto parts stores or even at Walmart. It'll take off sap blobs in two seconds. Same with tar specs. Then wash or QD the area and you're done. No need to waste clay.



2) Water spots are a problem. Your steps are fine but I usually use a polish like SMR or FI2. Just wipe on and wipe off. Even on mirrors this works. I used Meguiars #2 Fine Cut Cleaner on cars all the time to remove hard water spots. No problems.
Click to expand...



Bret, Is the 3M stuff as effective as the EF Tar Remover?
 
Prinz,



I don't know because I've never used the EF stuff. But I can vouch for the 3M stuff - its great.



Chinkzilla,



A little TW bug & tar aint gonna hurt nothing. Use it sparingly and remove residue ASAP. If you're afraid of the TW then stay away from the 3M stuff too. It's just as bad. But it is effective and won't harm your car if you use it correctly.
 
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