Sajek

*sigh* seems the underground parking lot has really given me a nasty present. On the very wet or cold days this winter, the roof over my car leaked some whiteish deposits on my car.

I since put a plastic tarp over the hood area (where it seemed to happen) to protect myself against that but little too late, the damage has been done. Got my oil changed today and asked the dealership to detail my car and get those darn lime stains out but no go....an improvement, but certainly not an $80 improvement (ok, I guess the rest of the car is really nice and shiny).

Sooo, they advise me to go to a body shop and on my way home, I stop at one that I've dealt with when my other car was vandalized and they tell me they can get the stains out (with lots of buffing) but that it'd cost me $150

Anyone else with experience on this type of stain? I have pictures of "after" the detailing...they were twice as bad prior.

BrilliantBlackEight

I feel your pain Sajek. We used to live in a condo building before the house, and our 4Runner got limed like that. So I spoke to the management company and tore them a new one. I had them pay to have the trucks paint cleaned up.

Thelime is impossible to get out by hand, it needs to be remomved and polished by a body shop. The good news is that once it came back it looked fine, and they had fixed the roof.

If that would have happened to my 8 I would have went ballistic! Hopefully you can get the crap off of it withought too many issues.

BB8

Shogun

I feel your pain; I had lime spots on my black GTI when I lived in a condo. The detailing shop I took it to, used some CLR (try it on an inconspicuous place, to ensure it won't hurt the paint) to disolve the lime away and then polished it out.

HELAS

If you are sure that it is lime deposits, then try putrting some CLR on a sponge and letting it sit on the stain for a while. I do it with the salt stains in mu carpets after the winters. Who knows, it might just work. Good luck

MrJynx

those pics make your car look like it's made of chrome. heh


MrJynx

Sajek

Was thinking that too, looks rather funky. On a side note, I took Mic's suggestion and went to that body shop. They did quote me a slightly lower price but had a feeling that it might go a bit higher.

If I had the right products (which I'm sure I can buy), I'd do it myself as it can't be that much of a pain to rub an RX-8 for hours on end . Sadly though, I really don't have a good place to work in (apartment building and all). May just have to bite that bullet.

MrJynx

could a car cover have prevented this? I got the mazda cover and it fits the car perfectly(a little tight because of my spoiler). A little annoying to put it on but if it stops this from happening could be a good investment. Got it for 200cdn

RotaryNut

Same thing happened to my 8. Wax and some elbow grease fixed it up.

Sajek

To answer that specific question, when I saw it happen, I bought a thick plastic sheet (the ones you use when you're painting) and cut out a section. I put it over my car everytime I don't use it. Just the hood(ish) section where the dripping occurs and also has the added benefit of stopping the stray cat around here from leaving muddy pawprints over my warm hood where it likes to sleep . Its really quick and easy to fold etc... and paid about $20 for it (not to mention I have a huge roll left!).

And furthermore, crisis averted! Appreciate all the input. I decided to f%#$ it and go buy products to fix my car (since I've seen 2 body shop experts easily clean spots off to this point). There were several more spots on my car that weren't in the pictures but $30 and an hour of my time is all it took. Figure with a black car, I'll hunt for little scratches for as long as I own it so that $30 will go a long way.

Wheeeee....I'm smiling again. The bright sun gleaming on my shiny car these days is quite nice.

BrilliantBlackEight

I'm glad things worked out!! :D

daem0n

What products did you end-up using?

Shamblerock

Ya, what did you buy that worked so well?

Sajek

It was a 2 step process (wanted to do it right).

1- Used Meguiars Mirror Glaze Professional Fine-Cut Cleaner (abrasion level 5 (out of 10 max). (like $12-$13 or so at Canadian Tire for 473ml)

This stuff is slightly abrasive but didn't feel as abrasive as the stuff the body shop guys used. Took a little elbow grease but I saw the spots magically go away after a few minutes of rubbing. It left a bunch of micro scratches though but the stain was gone.

2- Then applied Mothers California Gold Scratch Remover (bout $10 for 236ml)

This just polished it up and made the little micro scratches dissapear. Of course, I had to apply the product(s) several times at the same location but I cleaned about 6 distinct spots, and it was my first time doing this so I was being careful in about an hour. Did everything with little Jerry Cloth "pads". Was quite happy with the whole thing.