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How to remove dirt and grime on paint?

6K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  deletedpenguin 
#1 ·
My girl just bought a used vw. It was really dirty so I gave it a quick wash yesterday. As I washing it, I noticed there was a lot of dirt and grime that seemed to be baked onto the paint, especially the roof. When drying it, certain parts of the car felt real rough to the touch. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wash or wipe it off. What is the best way to go about removing all that dirt and grime stuck on the surface? Would claybar fix all that? :dunno:
 
#2 ·
I would go for a 3-step prog. Strip, polish, seal. One of the detailing boys will give you an in depth answer, when they wake up. Its early yet.

If the cars not worth much you could just try T-cut if they sell that where y'all live.
 
#3 ·
Removing the grime by pressing hard while washing is unlikely to remove the grime and may cause damage to the clear coat. Without seeing the damage this is how I would approach the problem. First I would try a pre-wash treatment like Poorboy's World Bug Squash, this helps soften the debris and loosen it from the clear coat. Other powerful products that can remove grime are wd-40 mineral spirits, etc. but just make sure you thoroughly wash these products off the surface right after cleaning. Also don't use your regular washing mitt/sponge to do this cleaning. I let this sit on the paint for about 2 minutes and then begin washing the surface. If this doesn't work I would try clay bar. The clay bar is a great way to remove surface contamination that is really stuck on the clear coat. If this doesn't work an abrasive polish would be my last resort followed by a lighter polish. Typically the Poorboy's World SSR 2.5 and SSR 1.0 is a great combination that removes just about anything from the service.

Greg @ Detailed Image
 
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