HELP!!!!! I splashed through a puddle of wet concrete!!!!!

I know right where it happened, too! Right down the street from work there is a concrete plant. I'll be calling them on Monday, but I'm prepared for a completely unsatisfying conversation. Grrr.

I thought it was just mud, but I finally got a chance to wash Li'l Pepper today and it is definitely dried concrete. I think I'll be able to get it off the paint with clay bar and polish and such. But how the hell am I going to get it off the textured black bits?!?!? The rocker panels are covered, parts of the flares are splashed and the rear wheel well liners are coated. I can't imagine what it looks like underneath.

Any ideas????

 

WD 40 maybe? It will clean most anything off...beyond that I have no clue

 

So sorry to hear of your "misfortune." Be really careful with the claybar as the lifted concrete may cause some scratching on the surface (nothing a PC couldnt handle). Definatly call the company and give em a hard time.

 

Cement is soluble with acid. Vinegar should dissolve the cement. Cement is also very alkali so don't be surprised if it has "burned" the areas that it has contacted. Again Vinegar will neutralize this alkalinity so use liberally where ever you find cement splash. The good news here is it probably was just wash water from their concrete trucks so the cement will have been very diluted.
FWIW Just to be technical concrete is cement with sand/stones. Your drive way is concrete.

 

That's a little better than my suggestion was going to be. When I worked as a mixer driver, we routinely cleaned the hopper, chutes, and other parts with sulphuric or hydrochoric acid (whichever is in car batteries, it smelled the same). For sure nothing I would want to put on any part of my MINI! Vinegar is very mild acid, but I hope for your sake it works!

 

Yeah I was going to suggest Hydrochloric, but in very mild form which you can buy at Home Depot. It is call Muriatic acid but even then you would have to dilute it by 75% or so. Best to try the vinegar first then if need be try the Muriatic acid diluted 1:4 or 1:5. Oh and rubber gloves would be in order. I think the vinegar should work safer if not as quick.

 

i was going to suggest getting some matte black paint.

 

Thanks for the advice. The vinegar did the trick. Now, I just need to get Li'l Pepper up on jackstands and hit the wheelwells and underbody.

Gee, the guy at Griot's never suggested vinegar. Probably because they can't figure out how to charge 19.99 for a pint of 'cement remover'.

By the way, I do know the difference betweent cement and concrete. Considering the stuff was rinsed out of a mixer so I figured it would be 'concrete'? There weren't any huge stones stuck to my car...so, I guess you could call it concrete.

Either way, it may actually be removable!!!!!!

 

I would not under any circumstances even consider putting muriatic acid on a car, no matter how diluted. Have you seen what this stuff does to a concrete floor?

TJM

 

I'm so glad the vinegar did the trick!!!

 

wow thats good info. yes vinegar actually has a lot of acid in it. it isnt that harsh but quantity of acid is substantial. just like boric acid cleans out lye or any dangerous base from your eyes. its super mild, yet has a lot of acid power in terms of chemistry. You could try boric acid as well for the eyes, that too might work.

vinegar working though blew me away thats a great tip.

yeah griot's loves to figure out how to charge 19.99 for something plus 2.99 for a sprayer i like their stuff a lot but sometimes you gota know when to say when.

 

muriatic acid should not be sold in a store. this strange tradition of selling it to consumers is NUTS! that stuff will bore holes that will not stop in human flesh. youll need to go to a doctor and run your hands under a faucet before that for like an hour.

nuts stuff.

on a car? it will cause permanent rust damage and will not stop until you ahve a bubbles, huge hole and a destroyed car.

to wash it off 100% takes a massive amount of work. baking soda is a helper though. just dont be breathing the resulting reaction in. ewe.

 

Hence the recommendation for Vinegar.

 

The "Myth Busters" proved that Dynamite will do the job...

Sorry for the useless post...I've always wondered who runs into the buckets of paint I see spilled on the highway...

I feel for you though...once, I drove under an overpass while they were painting the bridge and at the next stop, I realized my whole Mini was covered with a billion tiny dried white paint

 

holy crap i saw that episode. that thing was INSANE...

 

I love how they made the Mixer disappear in a nanosecond...

 

That episode was replayed just last night. I think they used enough explosives!

 

and the noise was awesome!!!

 

Excellent idea! Thanks for sharing your great wisdom, MiniMaybee. We've put that one right into our official files o' knowledge.

-Heather

 

I like how when they went to check the carnage Adam said 'I swear I left it right here!'

 

hahaha, thats the best show on tv.


edit::: besides top gear, which is conveniantly not played in the U.S.

 

I would suggest a monster Fluffy towel is in order for that!

 

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