How to remove orange sprinkler stains from paint?

6

68Camaro327

New member
My van was sitting for a few months at a property which was partially exposed to the overspray from the sprinklers and left those nasty orange streaks on the paint. I need to get it ready for use again and wanted to find out the best way to remove the stains and get it back in nice condition.

I have a PC that i bought for my boat last season that i still have not opened yet as well as an orange and blue CCS pads. Besides marine polishes I have an old 3M swirl remover for dark paints (van is white) and an old meguiars 3 step.

Can I use anything I have in my arsenal to attack at this or do I need to get some more products to get this done?

Appreciate any feedback. Below are the pics of what I am dealing with...

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Yep, classic case of what you use a decontamination system for. I'd use ValuGard's ABC, approved by the major automakers (probably including whoever built that van) for that sort of work.
 
Appreciate the input guys. Will look into that and hope to come back with some good results.

I don't suppose any of the major auto parts store would have any comparable products? I found a local 3D store but they dont have the brake dust remover in stock yet. I was trying to get this done this weekend.
 
Whatever you use, let it dwell long enough to do its thing but don't let the product dry on the vehicle (just keep reapplying to keep it wet).
 
So should i be safe using any of the ph balanced wheel cleaners?

Griots wheel cleaner says pH balanced and available locally.
 
68Camaro327 said:
So should i be safe using any of the ph balanced wheel cleaners?

Griots wheel cleaner says pH balanced and available locally.
Click to expand...

I dunno...I've never used a Wheel Cleaner on the body proper and I'd think you'd need a pretty acidic product to get rid of the ferrous contamination (i.e., rust stains).

I guess I'm just the kind of guy who uses the "designed specifically for that, thoroughly tested to be safe and effective"-type approach, especially for something like what you're dealing with. Yeah, I know...some of my suggestions sure sound like a hassle, but I'd *really* hate for this sort of job to go sideways on you and you might find that fixing this one is a bit of a challenge even if done (what I consider to be) the right way.
 
I think you would be fine using a wheel cleaner on the paint. If you use common sense and follow the basic rules. Not in direct sunlight, dont let dry. I would give it a try. just test in an inconspicuous area first. Then rinse and wash the panel when you are done. But you may have to polish to totally remove the stains. But a light polish should work just fine.

you mentioned Griots. I believe they have a color changing wheel cleaner. Maybe give that one a shot. You could also dilute it a little to be safer.
 
No need to polish/remove paint if you decontaminate chemically ;) I just don't see getting that stuff out of the microfissurs/pores without using an acid. Clay/polish would be an OK temporary fix, but I'd bet on the problem "coming back" if that's all that's done.

I'm not trying to be argumentative or make a product sale here, but !oh, man! would I hate to see this job need repeated.

I'm still trying to guess what brand of van that is...if it's a Ford or Dodge you can probably even get the ValuGard stuff with a Motorcraft/MOPAR part number, it's *that* much of a specific-situation approach. Forget whether GM sells it under Delco...

If you want to get really aggressive about it, there is the FinishKare stuff, though it's not as idiot-proof as the ValuGard.
 
Its a Ford Econoline Van. I ordered the 3d product so it should be arriving during the week. Will start with that and go from there..
 
68Camaro327-I somehow suspected it was a Ford Econoline!

Hope the 3D stuff works for you. I'd plan on *gently* agitating the surface while it dwells, just don't use something that'll mar it up too much.
 
Just an update. I used the 3d product and it worked amazingly well. Sprayed on, saw the purple color, sprayed off. Only very few spots was the agitating necessary. Looks better than it did before it got caked with orange. Next plan to clay, compound, and wax before it goes on its way.

This was right after I sprayed off.

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68Camaro327- Hey, that's great! Guess it's no surprise that the 3D stuff worked so well, but I did want to chime in with my congrats since I did such a hard-sell on the ValuGard approach. More than one way to get things done, glad the one you chose was so successful.

That's gonna be one clean white van when you're done! What's the plan for polish/LSP?
 
Accumulator said:
68Camaro327- Hey, that's great! Guess it's no surprise that the 3D stuff worked so well, but I did want to chime in with my congrats since I did such a hard-sell on the ValuGard approach. More than one way to get things done, glad the one you chose was so successful.

That's gonna be one clean white van when you're done! What's the plan for polish/LSP?
Click to expand...


Since I was under the gun I had to resort to what products that could be found locally so I used Meguiars Clay Bar, Ultimate Compound, and finished with Gold Wax. I was trying to find NZT but had no luck. I read that polish was not necessary on white so went with the compound only since I needed to take out several scuff marks with my DA. Worked very well. Next time will order in advance but Meguiars seemed to work pretty well.

Here is the finished product.

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68Camaro327- Hey, that really did clean up great!

I *will* take issue with the "no need to final polish with white", but that's just my inner-Autopian being a [jerk] ;)

Odd as it might sound, I find details like this van to be more interesting than the typical El-Perfecto job on an exotic.
 
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