Lime/calcium blotches on car?

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tguil

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My daughter called and asked how to remove a bunch of pigeon droppings on her Subaru. I suggested that she try the usual Autogeek recommendations. They didn't work. She also tried some bug and tar remover. That didn't work either. Her car was parked in an older underground garage. She might be dealing with severe lime or calcium deposits. Any suggestion for removing spots caused by either of these "enemies"? Vinegar? She lives in Minneapolis and they use some pretty nasty stuff on their streets in the winter.

Sorry no pics. I'll see her in a couple of weeks and plan to take all of my detailing "stuff" with when I travel "up north " to see if I can remove the spots.
 
tguil said:
My daughter called and asked how to remove a bunch of pigeon droppings on her Subaru. I suggested that she try the usual Autogeek recommendations. They didn't work. She also tried some bug and tar remover. That didn't work either. Her car was parked in an older underground garage. She might be dealing with severe lime or calcium deposits. Any suggestion for removing spots caused by either of these "enemies"? Vinegar? She lives in Minneapolis and they use some pretty nasty stuff on their streets in the winter.

Sorry no pics. I'll see her in a couple of weeks and plan to take all of my detailing "stuff" with when I travel "up north " to see if I can remove the spots.
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Bring your buffer, some compound, and a cutting pad. Good luck :xyxthumbs:
 
Stop by a grocery store and pick up a bottle of CLR, (calcium, lime, rust). I've had good luck with it in removing calcium deposits off of cars.
 
Pics of the damage. It looks worse than I thought. My daughter said that with some hard rubbing (microfiber cloth) using bug and tar remover she was able to remove some of it. Could it actually be pigeon poop? That's what she first thought.
 
tguil said:
Pics of the damage. It looks worse than I thought. My daughter said that with some hard rubbing (microfiber cloth) using bug and tar remover she was able to remove some of it. Could it actually be pigeon poop? That's what she first thought.
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It's hard to tell what it is considering how it ran down the paint (runny), but it does look more like surface staining and not etching. I'd be more inclined to think it was dripping from the parking garage given how rounded off it is on the top, but maybe the pigeon had the runs! :D

IMO It looks as if it would polish off rather easily though.
 
Rasky,

Thanks for taking a look at the "mess" and offering a suggestion for fixing it. It do have a variety of compounds, polishes and pads for a pc. I could haul up my rotary but that probably would be overkill.

Tom
 
Setec,

Do you think that the ONR Mineral Deposit Remover is really strong enough to cut this crud? I had thought about using a white vinegar solution to see what effect it had. White vinegar has worked for me to remove mineral water spots on black vehicles

I'd follow up with a polish or compound.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Tom
 
Jeff and DaHen,

Thanks too for your suggestions.

Tom
 
tguil said:
Rasky,

Thanks for taking a look at the "mess" and offering a suggestion for fixing it. It do have a variety of compounds, polishes and pads for a pc. I could haul up my rotary but that probably would be overkill.

Tom
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No problem. Where is she located?

I've seen similar stains like that on my wife's car and I was able to remove them by hand with a mild polish, but without seeing it in person there is no way to know for sure.
 
RaskyR1 said:
No problem. Where is she located?

I've seen similar stains like that on my wife's car and I was able to remove them by hand with a mild polish, but without seeing it in person there is no way to know for sure.
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Minneapolis...about three miles from downtown. I'll start the correction with my "mild stuff" and work up as needed.
 
tguil said:
Minneapolis...about three miles from downtown. I'll start the correction with my "mild stuff" and work up as needed.
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Ok. I'm up in Eden Prairie so if she wanted to swing by one weekend I could fix it too. :props:
 
RaskyR1 said:
Ok. I'm up in Eden Prairie so if she wanted to swing by one weekend I could fix it too. :props:
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Thanks so much. I'll be in Minneapolis over Easter and will see what I can do. It gives me a chance to be a "dad" again. Over the years I have spent many hours on her vehicles...and she knows that I am much better at it than her husband, a great guy but not a "car nut". I'll let you know how things turn out.

Tom
 
tguil said:
Do you think that the ONR Mineral Deposit Remover is really strong enough to cut this crud? I had thought about using a white vinegar solution to see what effect it had. White vinegar has worked for me to remove mineral water spots on black vehicles
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MDR is 10-20% phosphoric acid, so I'm quite sure it's going to be better than white vinegar. That being said, I haven't used mine yet, but I can tell you my friend got some of those parking garage mineral deposits on her car years ago, and they were a bear to get off. Of course after I had spent a long time polishing and posted a thread about it (on the other forum) someone suggested I should have tried some sort of chemical treatment first and I had a D'oh moment.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
MDR is 10-20% phosphoric acid, so I'm quite sure it's going to be better than white vinegar. That being said, I haven't used mine yet, but I can tell you my friend got some of those parking garage mineral deposits on her car years ago, and they were a bear to get off. Of course after I had spent a long time polishing and posted a thread about it (on the other forum) someone suggested I should have tried some sort of chemical treatment first and I had a D'oh moment.
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Wish I had time to order it and give it a try. I may end up with a "D'oh moment".
 
Hi Tom,

Just read your PM, sorry for the late reply but I've been cleaning an re-organizing the Show Car Garage after Detail Fest this last weekend.


I just read though the thread and it sounds like Chad is your man. :xyxthumbs:



When it comes to paint defects, the defects are ether topical, that is ON the paint surface or they are below surface, things like swirls and scratches.

If the defect shown in the pictures is simply surface staining from whatever landed on the paint as long as it's not too deep I'm confident Chad or any of our other experienced forum members can fix it.


Keep us posted...


:)
 
I just bought a car that is 10 years old and must have been stored in a garage because of the low mileage and the stains on the hood that remind me of what I see on your daughter's car. I've tried just about everything, except for the CLR, which I will try next. I've clayed, used white vinegar, buffed with a orbital and Megs 105 and Wolfgang Uber Compound. What's happening is that the spots are diminishing, getting smaller and disappearing slowly. I want to apply a coating, but I need to resolve this situation on my hood before I do it. I don't know whether to stay the course or just have the hood repainted.
 
JSMet said:
I just bought a car that is 10 years old and must have been stored in a garage because of the low mileage and the stains on the hood that remind me of what I see on your daughter's car. I've tried just about everything, except for the CLR, which I will try next. I've clayed, used white vinegar, buffed with a orbital and Megs 105 and Wolfgang Uber Compound. What's happening is that the spots are diminishing, getting smaller and disappearing slowly. I want to apply a coating, but I need to resolve this situation on my hood before I do it. I don't know whether to stay the course or just have the hood repainted.
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For what it's worth. Today I showed the pics of my daughter's car to a friend of mine who own a pro-detail shop. He immediately recognized that indeed this was calcium/lime crud from a parking garage. He says that his shop deals with this problem frequently, especially in the winter and spring. (His shop does both production detailing and very high end detailing.)

Now what surprised me....He said use CLR. That I should just go to my favorite Ace Hardware and pick up a bottle of the stuff and apply it with a soft cloth. (Wearing rubber gloves of course.) I asked about the possibility of damage to the finish of the car. He said that it will not damage the finish and that I should just wash off the treated area and then re-wax. I asked, "Are you sure it won't damage the finish?" He assured me that it would not. I don't doubt him, but for now I am going to stick with the vinegar. (I did ask him about using vinegar, but he didn't think that it would be strong enough.)

By the way, this detailer has be detailing cars and truck for over thirty years and he can "work magic" on really messed up vehicles.
 
Thank you for the information; tguil, I'm just about at the point where I'm willing to give it a try.
 
JSMet said:
Thank you for the information; tguil, I'm just about at the point where I'm willing to give it a try.
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If you do try the CLR, let us know how it works. It may save me a bit of time when I work on my daughter's car.
 
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