Advice on handling black Mercedes with severe paint contamination?

[Bluestrike22]

Like a good, kind son, I promised my mother that I`d stop by and look at the her Mercedes-Benz. I almost of wish I hadn`t. She had taken it on a bit of a road trip, and at one point got stuck behind a truck that was apparently leaking something as it drove by cluelessly. Or more likely, multiple somethings. From how she described things to me at first, I expected some severe tar deposits. How wrong I was.

As the photos show, it`s pretty nasty and covers nearly every forward-facing surface (front bumper and trim, headlights, hood, top of the fenders, A pillars, windshield, the roof forward of the sunroof, and mirror housings). It`s also all over the grey and chrome plastic trim on the bumper.

Initially I washed it and followed up with Gyeon Tar and Iron, washing again after each step. The Iron pulled out a lot of red-colored contaminants that had been mixed in with everything else and were most noticeable on the glass. I didn`t pull any of it off by claying with my Nanoskin sponges, but I`ll try again after picking an actual clay bar that`s a bit more aggressive. Nor did a 50/50 IPA mix affect anything.

The debris is definitely on the surface of the paint, as my fingernail does catch on the edges. Not like it would with a scratch, and there are a few of those mixed in to give me a good point of comparison. Also, I can see through some of the specks to the black paint underneath.

So I guess I have two questions. First, any ideas on what these deposits might be? It kind of reminds me of paint overspray, but my mom`s confident that the truck wasn`t spraying anything, so that`s probably just a result of the velocity when it hit the car. Second, any suggestions for approaching this mess? It`s probably one of the worst examples Ive seen.

 

[Lonnie]

Looks like paint overspray, but depending on the paint type since you`ve tried different car-care products on it, leads me to believe it is most likely a solvent-based paint or coating, not something soluble in water. If it is a chemical, it may etch the vehicle paint if left on for any length of time or parked in the hot sun.
Try to clay it off first or use clay-substitute mitt, then follow with a polish. The last resort is using a plastic razor to scrape it off, which I would highly refrain from doing and it would be viewed by most here as a very unintelligent (AKA dumb) suggestion, unless you have some experience and ability in doing so. There is a big difference between butchers and surgeons, although both cut meat, so to speak. You can inflict some serious damage on paint by aggressive scraping, even with plastic. I frown at vehicle owner`s who use their finger nail or a credit card edge to remove hardened small globular contaminants from their vehicle`s surface, but then again, I am hypocritical of myself, as I have done both in a moment of Obsessive-Compulsive Detailing.

 

[Stokdgs]

Welcome, Bluestrike22 !
Sorry this had to happen to your Mom`s car .. What year Mercedes ??

Its hard, Mercedes black paint. I would see what a little Mineral Spirits on a Q-tip on a spot not easily seen, would do.. They sell it at Home Depot in a small metal can..
I also believe it`s some sort of paint because it stuck so hard to the vehicle... I suggest the Q-tip because good Detailers always try the least aggressive most safe thing first, and go from there...
If it turns out to be paint and is removed by M/Spirits, then that will be much simpler.. Just try to keep it away from all rubber, vinyl, etc., trim pieces, because again, we are trying to be the least aggressive and safe here..

When you find the solution and if you need help with the paint correction if that is the next step, we all have lots of experience..
Good luck with this..
Dan F

 

[TMQ]

If all else fails...Try paint reducer.

Go to your local body shop and see if you can get some paint reducer.

Tom

 

[Stokdgs]

If all else fails...Try paint reducer.

Go to your local body shop and see if you can get some paint reducer.

Tom

Hey Tom !
Hope all is good with you guys !
Yes, acrylic enamel reducer will work great if the paint is enamel based, but it may take it off anyway no matter what it is..
I still have a metal gallon can of this from way back, way, way back, made by Dupont..
Dan F

 

[Surly]

IMO - if I were trying this I would experiment with different removal chemicals on the glass. it`s easy to see if you`re successful and doesn`t have clear/basecoat to damage. If you find a chemical that works on the contaminant, then you can test in an inconspicuous spot anywhere on the car (not just where this contamination is) to see if it affects the factory paint negatively. (Though to be clear, if I wanted to remove it from the glass I`d probably just use a razor blade. It`s a good place to test though). As others have said - be as conservative as possible with the chemicals.

 

[TheMeanGreen]

I suggest Duplicolor or Rustoleum Grease & Tar Remover in conjunction with a pressurized steamer with an injector tip, mineral spirits as a last resort. The steamers can be found on Amazon for less than $60, just make sure it has a good number of positive reviews; Bissell does make one.

 

[Mike lambert]

Try 91 percent alcohol and a plastic razor blade gently. Then you’ll certainly have to do correction.and I certainly don’t think plastic razor blades are a dumb idea, now that guy on you tube that does it with a metal blade, that’s different!LOL!

 

[Bluestrike22]

Ok, so I made at least some progress with a combination of tedious mineral spirits q-tip applications, thoroughly washing it to get it all off, and following up with multiple passes with clay. It`s still there and clearly visible, but a little bit less so (there`s definitely etching left behind, though). I`ll take a few photos tomorrow in the sunlight.

At one point, I did try an aggressive clay bar on a small section of the bumper to see if it`d be more efficient/have a better effect. There`s a photo of that clay after multiple kneadings on a small ~12x6 inch area. I`ve seen dirtier clay, but (1) not after so small a section and (2) not after chemical decon. The photos definitely don`t the contamination justice. I didn`t use the more aggressive clay after that because the marring was just too much, which turned out to be a very good decision. Because afterwards, I took out my paint thickness gauge. At some point (factory, dock, or dealer when it was used as a demo car for ~6k miles), a good bit of clear was removed from the hood.

The hood readings were kind of scary (mean 107.28μm, min 79.1, max 126), so I wound up taking a few extra. For comparison, the mean on the various door jams is 114, right up against the hood ornament is ~126-130, and door panels are around 130-140μm. The lowest measurements are within about an inch of the hood`s front edge, along with a very low patch on the bottom right. That patch doesn`t show any visible signs of early clear coat failure, but it can`t have much more than 10-15μm left. I could tape those areas off and avoid them altogether, but that`s also where the problem is most noticeable. Even for a very light correction with M205 on a medium B&S foam pad that avoids those areas altogether and doesn`t try to correct other defects, there`s a very small margin of error here.

So while I haven`t done a test panel yet because of these readings, I figured I`d update this thread. Am I wrong in thinking that a respray might wind up being her best bet?

 

[Bluestrike22]

Try 91 percent alcohol and a plastic razor blade gently. Then you’ll certainly have to do correction.and I certainly don’t think plastic razor blades are a dumb idea, now that guy on you tube that does it with a metal blade, that’s different!LOL!

This worked pretty well on the grey and chrome-colored plastic trim pieces. Claying had zero effect whatsoever on them.

Welcome, Bluestrike22 !
Sorry this had to happen to your Mom`s car .. What year Mercedes ??

Its hard, Mercedes black paint. I would see what a little Mineral Spirits on a Q-tip on a spot not easily seen, would do.. They sell it at Home Depot in a small metal can..
I also believe it`s some sort of paint because it stuck so hard to the vehicle... I suggest the Q-tip because good Detailers always try the least aggressive most safe thing first, and go from there...
If it turns out to be paint and is removed by M/Spirits, then that will be much simpler.. Just try to keep it away from all rubber, vinyl, etc., trim pieces, because again, we are trying to be the least aggressive and safe here..

When you find the solution and if you need help with the paint correction if that is the next step, we all have lots of experience..
Good luck with this..
Dan F

2017 E300.

 

[Stokdgs]

Bluestrike22 --

Great progress ! Glad you found a process and it has helped remove that gunk ! Super job !
Great job of drawing the Hood and showing the measurements !

You still have pretty good Total Paint Thickness, so not to worry except be very careful around the edges where the microns seem to be lower..

What I always do is quickly calibrate and measure the spot Im going to correct, do the correction, all wiped clean, measure again..
It takes more time, but you will always know how much of a micron, half a micron, or how many microns you just removed to get to that level of correction, clarity, gloss...

I have never tried Meguiars 105 or 205 on Mercedes paint; instead prefer to use Menzerna because they made compounds and polishes at Mercedes Benz` request to help the Mercedes Factory correct their new Ceramic-Clear hard as heck paint at the Assembly Line process, long ago...
If you have experience already with that paint and your machine/s, well give it a go..

If you are thinking of a possible respray, then I would go all out on trying to correct it anyway...
A respray will certainly make it all better, but you will lose that factory paint forever.. I hate it when that happens..

I know that Meguiars 205 works great on Jet Black Lexus paint, after Meguiars 105, to remove some horrendous scratching and marring..

Love the E Series Mercedes ! Nicest one I ever Detailed was a totally scratched Jet Black E63 AMG... It turned out just beautiful with all the scratches removed... The Doctor that owned it was going to trade it in on a new one, because he thought the paint was gone...
Dan F

 

[Older]

Bluesrtike22,

Excellent work. That`s certainly beyond an amateur`s skill level. Mine,for sure.

Would that be an insurance claim, if necessary?

Stokdgs,

I`ve seen plenty of black cars that are hammered by the dealership`s "free carwashes". I can only imagine how much clear is left after they trade them in and they`re "detailed" by the service department prep guys.

 

[Stokdgs]

Bluesrtike22,

Excellent work. That`s certainly beyond an amateur`s skill level. Mine,for sure.

Would that be an insurance claim, if necessary?

Stokdgs,

I`ve seen plenty of black cars that are hammered by the dealership`s "free carwashes". I can only imagine how much clear is left after they trade them in and they`re "detailed" by the service department prep guys.

Older --

Yes, I know what you mean.. Dealership free carwashes = not really free when you have to pay to get the paint corrected sometime..

Or they throw a bunch of cheap clean and fill product on there with a dirty wool blend pad, so it looks great until you wash the car and all that embedded clay falls out..
Dan F