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I need help. Something pooped on the hood and side fenders of my Pepper White MCS. It was either a flowering tree or berry-eating birds. In fact, it almost looks like the inside of a flower--you know, the stamen part. It's this flourescent orange color.
Well, it baked into the hood and now I cannot get it off. Washing doesnt take it off. I tried bug and tar remover....no go. I tried rubbing compound on an inconspicuous area and it took the stain off but left some tiny scratches. I have a pretty large area from which to remove this stuff and I don't want scratches all over the place.
Any ideas on what I can use that is abrasive but will not scratch the clear coat?
Are there any chemicals out there that will remove the stain WITHOUT abrasives? I'm kind of new to the detailing process as I've never really had a car I wanted to keep as clean as I want to keep my Cooper.
To get you started on the path to detailing nervana (just a start) see this link: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...ad.php?t=37303
Below is a copy and paste from that link on scratch removal, that talks about the use of compounds and polishes. Rubbing compound is like coarse sandpaper. You can't get a smooth finished product using coarse sandpaper... you have to start with the coarse stuff to get the right shape and then progressively move to finer and finer grits of sand paper to remove the scratches caused by the more coarse stuff. You actually have to make the problem worse before it gets better.
I might start by trying claybar and lubricant (you can get detailing clay at your local autoparts store) to remove the stains. If that didn't work, I'd probably start with Finesse-it II or Scratch-X to see if it will come out. If the compound got it out, the Scratch-X will probably do a good job and will leave you with a better finished product than the compound.
Process of Scratch Removal (shallow – not through the clear or color coat)
The key to safe scratch removal is working with the least abrasive compound that is necessary to solve the problem. Whatever product you use, you want to work it on the surface for a brief bit, buff off the product, examine and repeat as necessary. If 3 or 4 rounds of this doesn’t solve the problem, it is time to move to a more aggressive product. Once you get the problem solved (or minimized to your satisfaction), you move backwards through the progression of products you just used… using less and less abrasive products to buff out the scratches caused by the last one.
Again, a full write-up of scratch removal could very easily morph into a huge document. Do your research and work slowly and carefully.
Here are my products (in Abrasive order):
Least Abrasive
Paintwork Cleanser (Sonus makes a good one)
3M Swirl mark Remover
3M Finesse It II
Scratch-X (Meguiars)
Fine-Cut Rubbing Compound
Medium Rubbing Compound
Rubbing Compound (I leave this one to the professionals and won’t let myself buy any because I’d probably do some damage
Thanks for the info. Right after I posted my plea for help, I met up with a guy who gave me some Zaino "Z-PC Fusion - Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover". It took the orange junk right off without scratching (or any I could see, anyway). I tried Meguiars Scratch-X on the scratches I created using the rubbing compound and it seemed to reduce the severity of them. When I have more time, I'm going to try your method as outlined as well as the Z-PC.
Would you reccommend Zaino Z-9 & Z-10 for cleaning and treating the panther black leather that I have in my MCS?
I LOVE the Zaino leather cleaner and even more so the leather conditioner.
My wife, who somewhat resents the time I spend detailing our cars, never complains about the time I spend on her car... not because it is clean, but because she loves the smell of the Zaino leather conditioner. It leaves the inside smelling like a Coach leathergoods store. YUM!
I do her SUV every other month. MINI leater would get it more frequently as it seems a bit prone to wrinkle... especially in summer months in the South.
