What is this gunk?

zesty-man

zesty-man

how do ya like it?
hey, i was just taking a look at this car that im gonna do next week, and i was wondering, what is this stuff thats on the door the car? from what i can see, its sort ofsticky. im wondering, should i take it off, or leave it on? maybe it might be for the car's door, because i cant really see a way that something like that could build up after a while. but im not too sure what to do about it. anyone have any ideas? the car is a toyota camry LE (not sure what year)


edit: forgot to add, from what ive heard, this car has been pretty much neglected. when i felt the hood, the paint was dead, so im gonna spend a longgg time on this one. anyways, heres a couple pics
 
Could it be some type of corrosion protection due to your saltwater exposure?
It doesn't seem like Toyota would have that sloppy of an assembly procedure unless they had a pretty good reason. Maybe the dealer was suppose to remove it when prepping the car.
Can you look at another Camry of close to the same age to see if it has the same stuff on it?
I would probably remove it. Any protection it was likely to provide would only be needed in the thread area where bare metal might be exposed to the elements. It can't be of much value on the painted areas and it looks terrible.

Charles
 
white lithium greese

that right there is white litium greese that has collected dirt and disclored, it was sprayed when putting those blots in I would have to say. Probably had some bodywork done that required removing and installing the door.

I would recomend hitting those spots up with a good heavy degresser and a brush then washing with some soapy water following with a dry towel.
 
hmm, ill look into if she had any body work done on her car, that involved taking her door off. the critical mistake that i made was probably not checking the other doors to see if they had that stuff too.

next question, whats an example of a heavy degresser?
 
It's kinda oily and waxy right... and might be a little crusty??

That stuff is Cosmoline, Transit Coat, or some in the midwest might know it as "Rust Proofing." It's used to protect vehicles from rusting -- in this case, while being transported in the hull of a container ship. See the "J" as the first digit in the Vin -- the vehicle was made in Japan, and thus with 99.999% accuracy it arrived in the US via boat. If you look at the bottom of the doors, way down under the door panels (ya know that place where many detailers miss) you might find some there dripping out of the door drain holes. You might also find it on the motor, the undercarriage, and in the cracks in the trunk area. It will come right off with a little kerosene or some thinner... and needn't be replaced. If you use the thinner, it is a good idea to wax it when your done. If it's been there long enough to harden, you might want to try a nylon scraper to remove the thickest parts first.

Happy Detailing
 
well, i can tell you that its very oily, but not crusty. so, the idea is to grab some kerosene and spray it on... then, do i take it off with a crappy terry towel or something? gee, thanks doc. (ive always wanted to say that)
 
Hi zesty-man,

From the looks of the pics I have seen that before...on my Toyota 4Runner. It is some kind of lubricant that Toyota or other service garages use when customers bring in their cars for service. I have used "Goo Gone" and a old mf towel or terry towel to remove it around the sprayed area. I recommend throwing out the towel afterwards. The "Goo Gone" should remove it and any wax on the paint in the surrounded area so you definitely want to follow-up with a coat of wax on it.

"Goo Gone" can be purchased at Longs Drugs.

With Aloha,
Ranney :)
 
ah, perfect. i was thinking i wanted to get rid of an old mf towel, and i guess this is the best way to do it. ill try looking into the goo gone thing at longs. would i find that in the car care isle, or somewhere else?
 
Hi zesty-man,

It should be by the car care isle or the small hardware section they have. If you can't find it, there should be someone at Longs Drugs that should be able to help you find it.

With Aloha,
Ranney :)
 
hmmm, thanks for the help again. heres my plan of attack

goo gone with terry cloth
repeat with crappy mf
rewax with NXT and a good mf :)
 
does anyone know what to do to get that yucky black stuff out of the tight spots that i cant reach? i awlays have problems with around the door part, beause theres always a place that i cant seem to reach, no matter what angle the door is at. also, should i try using the quick detailer on that, or should i go with soap and water?
 
zesty-man said:
well, i can tell you that its very oily, but not crusty. so, the idea is to grab some kerosene and spray it on... then, do i take it off with a crappy terry towel or something? gee, thanks doc. (ive always wanted to say that)
Click to expand...

Actually, instead of spraying it, wrap a towel around your finger and apply the kerosene or thinner to the towel then wipe the infected area. **POOF** your cured.

In the crack areas that are hard to get, try using the corner of a towel that has been wetted with the desired removal material. Let the product do the work, not your muscle.
 
zesty-man said:
does anyone know what to do to get that yucky black stuff out of the tight spots that i cant reach? i awlays have problems with around the door part, beause theres always a place that i cant seem to reach, no matter what angle the door is at. also, should i try using the quick detailer on that, or should i go with soap and water?
Click to expand...
Something that works for me is a 1" or 1-1/2" paint brush and either APC+ or a QD depending on what I need to remove. It should work with kerosene, too. I put a few wraps of plastic electrical tape around the metal sleeve of the brush so it wouldn't scratch anything. Cheap & easy, just like me. :)

Charles
 
hmmm, well the good news is that i went out and bought the goo gone. but now, i gotta go out and maybe buy some kerosene...
 
Hi zesty-man...

I guess the Goo Gone didn't work for you. Okay...the kerosene should definitely take it off.

With Aloha,
Ranney :)
 
Ya might just skip the kerosene and pick up some thinner... although it's stronger it's cheaper, readily available, and will cure a plethora of detailing ailments... :)
 
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