weird, cement-like kickup - need suggestions please

Z

z4zen

New member
Good morning/afternoon everyone,



My brother has recently taken receipt of a 1994 Ford Thunderbird that only has 28,000 miles, original owner. The car itself is in great shape, but there are some paint issues that I wish to help him out with.



I'll attach 3 images to show you what I have to combat. The owner lived in a "high construction" area. Although the car was garaged, they did manage to drive over some sort of cement like glue/paste that has sat on the paint probably for over 2 years!



I'm hoping someone/everyone might have some suggestions on what I should try ------ my course of attack is currently to try some clay, but this stuff is so caked on there I can actually pick at it with my nail and (with some pressure) pick part of it off. (I hate to think what it's doing to the paint underneath.) :nixweiss



My bro was going to try some comet or baking soda, or was just going to live with it... I hope that I can help him out. Please review the attached pics and let me know what you think... thanks!



attached -- side view from afar
 
and finally... the rear quarter panel kickup (with some dirt near the wheel). This stuff splattered all the way back to the taillight. Luckily for him, it's only only one side of the car.



Thanks again for everyone's input!!!
 
Concrete is a PIA to remove......I would not try the clay since I do not think it would work well on such large chunks of concrete or the stuff it does pull off will scratch the paint.



I would look into some sort of product that dissolves concrete....Let me think about this and dig a little.
 
it's my best guess that's it's some sort of cement that was kicked up, got a little wet, and left this mess as a result... maybe someone here has seen a similar residue before.



I won't be working on the car until this weekend, so I'll try to brainstorm some more as well. Thanks again. :)
 
home depot sells stuff that says it can get concrete off stuff. DON'T GET IT!!! It eats through everything it comes in contact with. It is so stong, some stores stoped selling it because it spilled and ate some shelving (news letter myy bro brought home from work had story).
 
alrighty, so I had the chance to wash the car and use some distilled vinegar on the areas with trouble. It "barely" made a dent after going over the area, soaking the area, etc for a few minutes at a time.



Looks like I'll need to try something a bit stronger. Do you think I could use my orbital PC in this situation???



Ugh!!! :nixweiss
 
I would go by a local body shop and inquire about the best method to remove whatever is on the area. It has been there a while so another day will not make a difference. Do Not try drastic measures yet until you inquire about info from a body shop. Sorry we at autopia can not give you a definitive method but it is hard to determine what this blemish is and mis-info may create other problems. :(

Good luck. I am sure they ( body shop) can remedy this problem. :wavey
 
Same thing happended here, I got some pro advice, I'll try to remember it all.



Get a water based cleaner, something like EF Hi, Simple Green etc... somehow let the fluid sit on the area with cement for 1 hour. It may need more time.



Get the plastic blades people use to smooth out window tint and remove the top layer of the cement, the cleaner should of made it soft enough.



It is very possible you cannot remove the entire blob if it is thick, you need to resoak the area again for another hour or more.



After everything is removed you will notice a stain where the cement once was, this is one side effect of the polymers, yes there are polymers in todays cement. You need to wet sand the area down, since it's the bottom on the car you can wet sand a little more. A professional has recommended starting with a 320 grit and working your way up until it can be compounded to a good shine.



Sorry to hear it happended... don't worry you arn't the only one.
 
Spray it down with WD-40 and let it soak in for about 30 minutes, use a plastic scraper like the one mentioned above. Once removed, clean the area well, and wax.
 
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