Repairing the effects of a touchless carwash

B

BYUBubba

New member
So my wife recently decided to do me a favor since we are already topping 100 degrees in NorCal and she didn't want me to spend a Saturday washing the cars in the heat. (She really doesn't believe that I actually enjoy doing it!). She took my DD S6 through an automatic carwash. She did choose the touch free kind knowing about swirl marks. However, she did choose every option possible so it got hit with the spray wax and every possible chemical they use. All the trim around the windshield, mirrors, side windows and rear window is now discolored, not the vibrant black it used to be and has streaks on it.

What is the best product and technique to use to fix the damage and protect the trim moving forward?
 
Clean it with an APC and then coat it. Then you can run it through the touchless all you want without damage.
 
I would just re-wash it with a good car wash soap and see if you can remove the gunk those places give you..
I know the local Quack-a-Duck car wash here sprays a few colored things on the car before those long blue slap-a-car-strips go over it..
I would just try washing it again to see if you can remove the sprayed-on stuff..

Would always be a positive to look into getting a coating on it.
I have Detailed lots of Audi vehicles in the past - just beautifully put together awesome cars !!
Dan F
 
I have actually rewashed the car twice since the touchless fiasco without any success. The first time I used CG's Honeydew Snow Foam in an MTM foam cannon and the second I used Blackfire's Wet Diamond product. I also tried cleaning it with DP's APC without success. The paint is actually coated with OC Pro but apparently the guy I paid to do it skipped the trim.

If I can restore all the trim my next project will be to polish off the OC Pro, which wasn't done right, paint correct the swirls under the coating, and then re coat it with something myself like Blackfire's Crystal Coat.

First step thought is trying to fix that darn trim.
 
If this is the black painted trim, it should respond just fine to something like car pro eraser or a similar remover of grease, etc., from paintwork and trim, before it is coated..
If this type of degreaser does not work, I know that occasionally, there is some black trim that goes haywire and nothing but a certain chemical can restore it back to normal..
I have that certain chemical but its in my PODS containers in a warehouse and I could never find it easy without unloading the entire container.
I have had to use this product on a few BMW's that have a similar black trim around everything except the C-Pillars, and it got the color back to normal, but it was not the most pleasant experience I have ever had doing it..

It is too bad your guy did not coat the black trim to match the rest of the coated areas of the car..
Sorry it sounds like the vehicle was not finished properly before the coating was applied in the first place..

Im personally going on 5 years/18k miles on my '09 Black Grand Cherokee that still looks very, very, clear, glossy, and very little tiny light scratching, using the old Optimum Opti-Guard for professional use back in 2010..
I have done nothing this vehicle except wash it and drive it.. It still blinds you in the sun if you look into the paint and it reflects back into your eyes.. :)

If I can think of the name of that trim restorer, I will get right back to you..
Good luck with this !
Dan F
 
Thanks Dan! If it continues to drive me crazy I will just call you, schedule an appointment and let a professional fix everything! :-). It looks like you are just right around the corner of the lake from me.
 
I'd do the trim my usual way- Prep with Griot's Rubber Prep (yeah even the harder plastic stuff) and then coat with something like Ultima's Trim Sealant. If the trim is beyond the GG Rubber Prep I'd resort to abrasive measures, but I'd be shocked if that were the case here.

Eh, as I'm always posting, IMO EVERY Autopian oughta have a bottle of Griot's Rubber Prep on the shelf. Freakin' miracle product and I don't say that lightly.
 
Adam's APC or similar on a microfiber towel should make it look like new in a matter of seconds.
 
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