Mike or anyone ever seen this?

[Mike Hoekstra]

So the Mercedes I detailed this past weekend has this on the grill. It's a plastic grill that's been coated with a matte aluminum finish. As you can see in the pictures, it appears that someone has touched it with their bare hands and left finger print marks on the grill due to the acids/oils of our body chemistry. Glass cleaner, APC, and car wash soap did not work. I tried clay at the end, and I noticed the aluminum color transfer to the clay right away so stopped and just left it alone and moved on. I'm sure it's a permanent stain the way it's coated etc. but would like to hear if anyone else has encountered this. Thank you!

 

[fly07sti]

Interesting to say the least. Sub’d to hear if anyone has ran into this before.

 

[TrustJesus]

That looks like someone with greasy hands decided to lay hands. I’ve seen cars with those, on parking lots but don’t know how to clean that. Try something safe like a dedicated interior cleaner perhaps, with a soft microfiber towel to not scratch finish. Like a Griot Garage interior detailer maybe....

 

[Dr Oldz]

Yup. See it a lot. Usually a cleaner wax will fix that. BF One Step will do the trick.

 

[TrustJesus]

Jim, thanks I was curious myself.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

When you say the paint is matte, from experience this also means it has a light texture when you feel it - correct?

Here's what I would try - clean with any light cleaner and a soft bristle brush, even a car wash mitt or microfiber towel. It's just like oily grime that has impacted into the textured paint.

A car wash soap, an APC, any interior cleaner, etc. Something light should do it.

If the above doesn't remove it - it should improve it. If it doesn't remove it this means the paint is physically stained. The next step would be more aggressive cleaning, heck maybe even a Mr. Clean Magic Erasure.

SONAX makes one of these in their line.

SONAX Dirt Eraser

 

[scv2005]

My wife's old Mercedes CLA had a similar grille, usually an IPA wipe cleaned it up or a light buff with a cleaner wax... If I remember correctly it was more of a painted plastic insert...

 

[TrustJesus]

Mike, if you can let us know if they buffed out. I’m curious as to this myself

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

If I remember correctly it was more of a painted plastic insert...

I believe you're correct. We've owned two MBs recently and they both had FLAT silver grills and I remember this being a smooth, not textured painted plastic.

If that's the case for this grill Mike is working on then a simple cleaner/wax should remove.


SLK 350

SL 500

Good shot of the grill on the SL 500

Fun cars...

 

[Dr Oldz]

BTW It is actually not fingerprints. It is dirt staining build up from rain water dripping off the hood. Looks like fingerprints tho.

CarPro DLux it a nice way to protect those areas.

 

[Mike Hoekstra]

When you say the paint is matte, from experience this also means it has a light texture when you feel it - correct?

Here's what I would try - clean with any light cleaner and a soft bristle brush, even a car wash mitt or microfiber towel. It's just like oily grime that has impacted into the textured paint.

A car wash soap, an APC, any interior cleaner, etc. Something light should do it.

If the above doesn't remove it - it should improve it. If it doesn't remove it this means the paint is physically stained. The next step would be more aggressive cleaning, heck maybe even a Mr. Clean Magic Erasure.

SONAX makes one of these in their line.

SONAX Dirt Eraser

Correct. The grill is a matte finished plastic insert. There is a light texture to it, and it's not smooth. It isn't heavily textured, but I did try cleaning it with a wash mitt and wash soap which didn't work. I then tried window cleaner and Blackfire APC with a MF towel and was fairly aggressive with it, and no improvement at all which led me to try the more aggressive clay. The customer has it back in their possession now and isn't bothered it's still there.

As for the magic erasers, I'm hesitant to use them as it's very easy to do damage quickly with them. My wife and one of our friends used the magic eraser and it magically erased the wall texture, paint, primer, and down to bare sheetrock. BUT - the stain was gone. :laughing:

Thank you all for chiming in and offering up some recommended solutions. If I encounter it again, I will try more approaches.

 

[Mike Hoekstra]

BTW It is actually not fingerprints. It is dirt staining build up from rain water dripping off the hood. Looks like fingerprints tho.

CarPro DLux it a nice way to protect those areas.

I kind of speculated that as well, but went with fingerprints due to the uniformity of the spacing between the spots.