Desperately need help!! How can I protect my paint against harmful chemicals???

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zeake89

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Hi everyone,

First time poster! I'm glad this community exists and hopefully some of you will be able to help me out with my issue. Here's some background.

Currently my brand new Civic SI is in the body shop. It required a complete re-paint (quoted at $5500, luckily my insurance is covering it). The reason its getting repainted are shown in the pictures.

imgur: the simple image sharer

I work at a chemical plant and cover my car everyday. The reason I cover is because its a very dusty environment and also if there is a "hiccup" in the process, then there is a possibility of a fallout from the smoke stacks. At my plant, that means it rains sulfuric acid. This obviously should never happen but we don't live in a perfect world. I've only worked here 5 months and its happened once that I know of. Unfortunately for me, that was when my car was uncovered. It was a very windy day and the cover blew off to the side. Partially my fault that it wasnt locked down. Anyways, my car got covered in the acid and over the period of 2-3 weeks i noticed the pitting start and it just kept getting worse.

Ive decided not to buy a junker car to drive to work. 3-4K for the car, + insurance, + breakdowns, etc.. I just dont want to spend that much and have an unreliable car.

I think I will buy a very nice car cover (the ones my work provide are crap), try and park as far away as possible but still walking distance, and also maybe use some really good wax or paint sealant.

Do you guys have any more recommendations to protect my car? As far as products go, is there anything that protects against acid or just bad chemicals? I'm still kinda worried that stuff will build up on my car cover and seep through when it rains (or if it is pouring when I drive in I wont be able to put the cover on.)

Thank you for reading my long story!! Any help is very appreciated :)
 
i think your best option would be to do a coating, opti-coat 2.0 or GTechniq C1 with EXO over top. a sealant wont last as long as you need it to in this case.
 
zeake89 said:
I think I will buy a very nice car cover (the ones my work provide are crap), try and park as far away as possible but still walking distance
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Get a folding bicycle, park even further away, and ride into work.

and also maybe use some really good wax or paint sealant. Do you guys have any more recommendations to protect my car? As far as products go, is there anything that protects against acid or just bad chemicals? I'm still kinda worried that stuff will build up on my car cover and seep through when it rains (or if it is pouring when I drive in I wont be able to put the cover on.)
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Don't let anything sit on your car's finish for days-on-end. Use a quick detailer or waterless wash often. It only takes 10-15 minutes to do.
 
The most chemically resistant coating on the market would be Opti-Coat Pro. And then I would top that with CarPro Reload every month or so.
 
If acid is falling on your paint, won't it also eat up any coatings? I think your best bet would be somekind of opticoat, and clear bra the whole car. If the shop hasn't painted it yet ask for a few more coats of clear, that should leave more clear to polish. In my humble opinion that's the best bet, plus your cover of course. Last resort just quit, it's going to cost more time and money to maintain your paint and it's not worth it to me. Just my .02
 
You should listen to the others who have posted here already. For what you are asking, it seems coatings are what you are looking for. Opti coat is a very well proven coating. So are 22ple, gtechniq, and cquartz.

Haven't heard much about the CG coatings, so I couldn't say.
 
WOW!!!...
Where in the World is this chemical plant located?

Shouldn't this company be held more responsible for this acidic fallout to not only yours and your fellow employees' situations (other than supplying some kind of car covers)...
But also damages to their surrounding community's people, places, and things?!?!

Besides that:
What about when this contamination becomes airborne and becomes fallout in other parts of the World...


Bob
 
I am not going to pretend I know anything about the industry you work in but I get the impression that the bottom line is more important then the health of their employees.

A coating is really the only answer to your situation. I would think that you would want to wait a few weeks before you apply any kind of semi permanent coating. You should also take a look at Wolf's the Mask, it is a QD style spray on protective film that offers some of the protective qualities of a coating but you wash it off with soap.

I hope everything works out well for you.
 
I had a friend who worked at Monsanto in St. Louis he had the same problem. He just drove a ok car with super thrashed paint to work.
 
Thank you all for the concern of my health but I will be okay :P

@Geekdout That Wolf Mask looks pretty interesting, I think ill try that out along with a coating. Ty!
 
Linex the entire car. That's the only finish with a shot of standing up to what you describe. Probably not the answer you'd want, but it's what will work.
 
I called the nearest body shop that is certified to apply Opti-Coat Pro and they gave me an estimate for $600 + ~$200 for paint preparation. That seemed a bit outrageous since the Opti-Coat 2.0 can be bought online for like $80...

Is there a huge difference between the 2 products?? Would you recommend me just buying opti-coat 2.0 and doing it myself? I'm not very experienced in detailing. I wash and wax my car but i dont really have the tools to do all the prep work etc...
 
If you are not experienced in detailing, take it to a professional. Preparation of the car is VERY important.
 
zeake89 said:
I called the nearest body shop that is certified to apply Opti-Coat Pro and they gave me an estimate for $600 + ~$200 for paint preparation. That seemed a bit outrageous since the Opti-Coat 2.0 can be bought online for like $80...

Is there a huge difference between the 2 products?? Would you recommend me just buying opti-coat 2.0 and doing it myself? I'm not very experienced in detailing. I wash and wax my car but i dont really have the tools to do all the prep work etc...
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The paint correction estimate sounds like a good ballpark figure (of course it depends on the amount of correction that's performed).

I'm still at odds with the initial costs associated with Opti-Pro...whether it comes with a warranty, or not; and whether it's dictated by Optimum Polymer Technologies, Inc., or not.
(And the costs associated with the warranty's mandatory follow-up "inspections" is no laughing matter either, IMHO.)

I can't answer if you can do the Opti-Coat 2.0 yourself.
But I'd bet that there are plenty of folks in your area that would be able to do so.

In a situation like yours, Mike Phillips has often suggested to start a dedicated thread, titled something like:
"Looking for a Detailer in ________ for paint-correction, and application of (this) Optimum Coating".

Good Luck!
Hope a Coating, if you go that route, will hold this fallout at bay.

Bob
 
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