Anyone know how to remove really bad baked on dirt and dried rainwater?

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Katherina

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I haven't been using this vehicle (2001 dodge/chrysler intrepid es) and have had to keep it parked in my driveway, exposed to the sun and weather for the past three years. I am sure i deserve and should've expected the following issues yet definitely didn't. I was making a point to wash it at least before winter, (illinois) and mid-summer. I'm sure I'll sound really ridiculous and uh...not too bright, but it seemed to be sufficient and then all the sudden last year in october i noticed there was a sort of visibly dull and dusty feeling layer of what i assume was sun-baked dirt and or hard water from the rain. Washed it several times to no avail. Spring of this year advanced to a white speckling on random areas of the roof that i had thought was exposed primer. Tried different suggestions i'd read online to clean it which include CLR, vinegar, lemon juice, wd40 and dishsoap. I also tried spot testing polishing compounds, wet sanding and also metal and glass cleaner meant to remove oxidation. Out of desperation i soaked a spot in CLR for a couple minutes which barely softened the crud but made it possible to carefully scrape off flakes of the residue with a razor blade. It was like scraping off dried super-glue. However, beneath lo' and behold the paint and the top coat was intact. Does anyone know what, if anything, i can do myself to remove the shell of dirt and hard water? It does run btw, just incase anyone is wondering considering how long it's been stored.

The first attatched picture is of the roof, the only clear spot showing is where i scraped. It's a lot shinier than the photograph captured, cloudy day. Second photograph is of the hood. Top left hand corner shows true clear-coat peeling. Not much i can do about that, i'm just focused on removing the dirty dull area below it.
 
According to the Nu-Finish commercial I just saw, that will buff right out!
 
That doesn't look like baked on dirt or dried rainwater... Looks like clear coat failure. Only fix is repaint.
 
Marc08EX said:
That doesn't look like baked on dirt or dried rainwater... Looks like clear coat failure. Only fix is repaint.
Click to expand...

Marc is right. The "flakes of crud" you were scraping off were the failed clear coat.

And your comment that you "might sound ridiculous and not very bright" is nonsense. That is EXACTLY what this forum is for. To answer your questions.
Rest assured, no one that reads this post will think that about you.
 
PaulMys said:
And your comment that you "might sound ridiculous and not very bright" is nonsense. That is EXACTLY what this forum is for. To answer your questions.
Rest assured, no one that reads this post will think that about you.
Click to expand...

I agree. Nobody here will judge you. We are all here to help everyone/each other out.
 
I judged...no I didnt. But you got your answer already. It is for sure clearcoat failure.
 
Agreed. CC failure

It should also be mentioned, the more you work on it, the worse it will get. Sanding, compounding or polishing will only remove more clear coat and accelerate the failure rate
 
Did I read your initial post correctly? You gave it two washes per year? Did that include any kind of paint protection such as a sealer, wax, or coating.
 
Ouch, this is why I tell all my customers to keep up with there vehicles even if it's just a spray detailer... Somethings better then nothing because nothing leads to this... Sorry to see this happen to you.
 
I would like to thank all of you for your responses. I appreciate that all of you were helpful and informative, and some even sympathetic lol. :] Since I initially posted this thread I did my very best to work on improving the appearance and masking the fact that the clear-coat failure had progressed to such an advanced stage. I'd been checking the forum for responses for the first few days but then became absolutely engrossed in working on the problem, so the following steps of what I ended up doing may make some of you cringe and goes against your guidance. Still, I genuinely appreciate that you told me. As it was stated the only REAL fix would be to get a new paint job, so I knew anything I could do would be superficial and would end up creating a lot of future work just to maintain. Overall, it will be worth it to me because I really, really, really did not at all feel comfortable with the highly visible state it was in and cannot afford even a cheap paint job. I ended up wet-sanding all of it, twice. First with a more course grade and then a very fine one. Next, I used Turtle Wax heavy duty rubbing compound to smooth out the scuffs from the first step, followed by Turtle Wax's polishing compound. Btw I'm not endorsing Turtle Wax lol, just happened to be what I ended up grabbing. Lastly I used Turtle Wax's Black Box to try and minimize any appearance of "dry spots" in the paint or hazing, also the chalky areas where clear-coat was failing the worst ( aside the spots that y'know...were eaten through and completely devoid of clear-coat at all). There was a lot of washing in-between and the whole ordeal took many many hours and many many days...So to the comment-er that stated he always tells his customer to avoid this mess by using something(anything at all) to protect it, well...Bless you, lol. I sincerely wish I'd of realized what I was getting myself into by not properly caring for it. I'm glad that you let people know and remind them the basics are basic for a reason, and they nor their vehicle are the exception. View attachment 52001View attachment 52002

This is after having driven it for 150miles on the interstate and about 80miles on some very rural rock/dirt roads. Pardon the dust, bug guts etc.
 
Just your dedication to make the car look it's best is absolutely amazing, Kat.

I, for one, am proud of you for two reasons: 1) As you stated above, you couldn't afford a paint job, but wasn't afraid to get in there and go to work on the problem. (A lot of work).

And 2) The car looks 100x better now!! :) And, in the future, you'll know the importance of proper paint care.

You are truly an AutoGeek!!!
 
Thank you for encouraging praise, Paul. :] It's really nice to see someone take the time to notice another persons hard work. I am satisfied with the results I was able to achieve. I just knew after shelling out more than half the car's value for a new battery, tire, oil/filter, windshield, and then brake lines/fluid and the time/labor to learn to do most of those things myself I wouldn't of been happy seeing the vehicle in such sad and shabby state. I was really embarrassed that I'd let a car I own turn into something I no longer felt proud of when it could've been so easily prevented. Even the least valuable cars can look like a million bucks when the owner has pride in caring for them. As you said I most certainly learned first hand just how important basic and proper paint care is, not to mention vinyl, plastic, and glass care too! I feel much more equipped to not only prevent this from happening again in the future with a new car but also how to tackle and resolve pre-existing flaws from worsening. Detailing tricks and tips provide a really powerful arsenal of knowledge to remedy and combat all kinds of issues from minor to major, and I've only just skimmed the surface of things to be learned. I certainly have a much greater appreciation for that kind of education and will be sure to employ it. :]
I'll definitely advocate my own experience as a cautionary tale for others so hopefully they can avoid the same situation.
 
Katherina said:
I would like to thank all of you for your responses. I appreciate that all of you were helpful and informative, and some even sympathetic lol. :] Since I initially posted this thread I did my very best to work on improving the appearance and masking the fact that the clear-coat failure had progressed to such an advanced stage. I'd been checking the forum for responses for the first few days but then became absolutely engrossed in working on the problem, so the following steps of what I ended up doing may make some of you cringe and goes against your guidance. Still, I genuinely appreciate that you told me. As it was stated the only REAL fix would be to get a new paint job, so I knew anything I could do would be superficial and would end up creating a lot of future work just to maintain. Overall, it will be worth it to me because I really, really, really did not at all feel comfortable with the highly visible state it was in and cannot afford even a cheap paint job. I ended up wet-sanding all of it, twice. First with a more course grade and then a very fine one. Next, I used Turtle Wax heavy duty rubbing compound to smooth out the scuffs from the first step, followed by Turtle Wax's polishing compound. Btw I'm not endorsing Turtle Wax lol, just happened to be what I ended up grabbing. Lastly I used Turtle Wax's Black Box to try and minimize any appearance of "dry spots" in the paint or hazing, also the chalky areas where clear-coat was failing the worst ( aside the spots that y'know...were eaten through and completely devoid of clear-coat at all). There was a lot of washing in-between and the whole ordeal took many many hours and many many days...So to the comment-er that stated he always tells his customer to avoid this mess by using something(anything at all) to protect it, well...Bless you, lol. I sincerely wish I'd of realized what I was getting myself into by not properly caring for it. I'm glad that you let people know and remind them the basics are basic for a reason, and they nor their vehicle are the exception. View attachment 52001View attachment 52002


This is after having driven it for 150miles on the interstate and about 80miles on some very rural rock/dirt roads. Pardon the dust, bug guts etc.
Click to expand...
It looks so much better and with you happy, that's what matters Great perseverance and work, keeping things humble and keep it going!
 
Oh, also I was wondering if I wax the car regularly every three months (This often because I will continue using Turtle Wax's Black Box for now and this is what it recommend) will it significantly help provide enough protection to prevent or at least prolong accelerating the failure rate of the clear coat? As ShaneB mentioned and I had to some degree expected, removing more clear-coat by any sort of cutting-action would leave it more vulnerable. Aside for appearances sake the other reason I was so adamant to re-create a smooth enough surface to return a shine/glare was because It seemed like when it was heavily oxidized and chalky feeling the wax would sort of be absorbed into it or turn into a debri-like speckled grime rather than lay over it to act as a barrier. I guess I am just wandering if I will be able to maintain where it is right now or if I ensured a more rapid progression, despite how much I nurture it.

I would also welcome any recommendations for glaze's/gloss's/sealants/pigmented wax's that can create a high shine, help hide flaws and last for a time before requiring re-application. T.W'S Black Box is great but it does appear to fade rather quickly and yet at the same time in contradiction remains a little sludgy. I realize it is not a paint so that might be as good as it gets considering the state of the surface I'm working with. The fact it seems to dissipate where most of damage is makes me a little apprehensive about it's sealing/protection abilities. Maybe there are some good sealers I could use over this, or under? (I only recently became aware of Sealants and still need to learn what order to use them in in conjunction with other products)
Perhaps I should post a new thread to pose these questions.
 
Thanks so much, Klix. :] I totally agree, that's what counts and matters most.
 
Katherina said:
Oh, also I was wondering if I wax the car regularly every three months (This often because I will continue using Turtle Wax's Black Box for now and this is what it recommend) will it significantly help provide enough protection to prevent or at least prolong accelerating the failure rate of the clear coat? As ShaneB mentioned and I had to some degree expected, removing more clear-coat by any sort of cutting-action would leave it more vulnerable. Aside for appearances sake the other reason I was so adamant to re-create a smooth enough surface to return a shine/glare was because It seemed like when it was heavily oxidized and chalky feeling the wax would sort of be absorbed into it or turn into a debri-like speckled grime rather than lay over it to act as a barrier. I guess I am just wandering if I will be able to maintain where it is right now or if I ensured a more rapid progression, despite how much I nurture it.

I would also welcome any recommendations for glaze's/gloss's/sealants/pigmented wax's that can create a high shine, help hide flaws and last for a time before requiring re-application. T.W'S Black Box is great but it does appear to fade rather quickly and yet at the same time in contradiction remains a little sludgy. I realize it is not a paint so that might be as good as it gets considering the state of the surface I'm working with. The fact it seems to dissipate where most of damage is makes me a little apprehensive about it's sealing/protection abilities. Maybe there are some good sealers I could use over this, or under? (I only recently became aware of Sealants and still need to learn what order to use them in in conjunction with other products)
Perhaps I should post a new thread to pose these questions.
Click to expand...

Quite honestly, at this stage anything you do will help. Will it work like advertised? Maybe not. Maybe so.

But I can't see how adding any layers of protection could be a "bad" thing over what you have done.

Experiment with different products, and let us know what results you get.

Typically, you would wash, decontaminate, polish, seal, then wax. (simple version).
 
Thank you, Rod. I appreciate that. I must credit that mild OCD is one heck of a motivator. haha!
 
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