Help.....

[bwlewis]

I had to drive the 'bird one day last month because the other car was in the shop. On the way home, I managed to dodge the PAINT CAN and other junk that came off a pick-up going the opposite direction. When I got home I cleaned off all the white paint, or so I thought. Yesterday in the bright sun I noticed a few white spots on the fender liner. Whatever kind of paint it is, IT'S STUCK!!!. Nothing will even fade it out a little. I have tried mineral spirits, WD-40, goo gone even gasoline. Anyone have any ideas? On a brighter note I bought some pre-treated towels from Lowes for painters. The label says they will remove just about anything spilled before it has a chance to cure. They didn't take the white paint off, but sure cleaned up the rest of the fender liners. I wouldn't use them on anything else as they seem to be a little abrasive.

[FritsB]

Re: Help.....

Bummer Bruce. Sounds like it's hard stuff to get off. Be carefull with what you put on to the car. It might also damage the original paint. I have had some of these experiences and took off more than I wanted to. Not with removing paint, but with other unidentified residus I picked up on German Autobahn. Some were so agressive they eat through my clearcoat and left marks on fender and hood. I think it's brake fluid that hit my car back then.

[2K2BIRD]

Re: Help.....

Two thoughts -

1) Try scraping it off with a razor blade.

2) If you cant get it off, cover it up. I use "Sharpie" pens for all kinds of things that need a little color touch-up. Also available are paint pins that hobbiests use.

I'm betting it will eventually "wear off" between road debris and cleaning. That brings up another possibility - high pressure car wash.

Good luck.

[austx]

Re: Help.....

You could try a very gentle polishing compound - Meguires Scratch X II would be my choice.

Tom

[Sweet T]

Re: Help.....

I had a customer who owned an autobody shop. He says they use nail polish remover.....

[Borla Babe]

Re: Help.....

It's scary feeling when things come flying off a truck at you and your car. Last year I had to dodge six 2X4's that came flying off an open bed truck aiming straight for my windshield. When I finally caught up with the driver to tell him what had just happened, he got kind of a glazed look in his eye and said "Ohhhh well, how far back do I have to go to find my 2X4's?"

Take your car over to Ford and have their paint shop manager look at it, find out what he might suggest. Good luck to you Bruce.

[bwlewis]

Re: Help.....

Thanks for the suggestions, I guess the first thing to do is raid Ellen's side of the bathroom cabinet for the nail polish remover. By the way, there is nothing on the paint just the fender liners, the sharpie sounds like a good idea if everything else fails. Thanks again.

[Bill Brown]

Re: Help.....

Have you tried to Clay the spots and see if that will remove?

[00mustng]

Re: Help.....

.....Maybe grafitti remover...but be careful....

[joe166]

Re: Help.....

I would try the acetone (nail polish remover) but bear in mind that in this ecological age there are some nail polish removers that are not acetone and in fact are not much of anything, but you can still find acetone in a car parts store.

If that doesn't work, I wouldn't use much stronger and I wouldn't use clay because this is made of a very strange material which might not react well to a lot of stuff.

If it hasn't come off with some of these techniques, just buy a flat black paint that most closely matches the material and spray it. It will eventually come off, but I bet the white paint will come off with it when it does.

[007Cruiser]

Re: Help.....

You might also try this:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...rrivals&page=1

[z06bigbird]

Re: Help.....

Take .96 cents plus tax to Walmart. A can of flat black will do all wheel wells. My detail guy paints the wheel wells, front underside and rear underside of every car he touches. Really looks good.

[bwlewis]

Re: Help.....

A little careful surgery with a utility knife blade and the acetone took care of the problem. I'll probably do the Walmart trick anyway once the weather warms up enough again. Thanks again to everyone for your advice and suggestions. Just another reason for belonging to a great group of Tbird owners and lovers.

[worldclasswheels]

Re: Help.....

Take your wheel off and paint the inside of your wheel house Semi-Satin Flat Black that is the Factory correct color. and Good Luck.

[FUNDERMAN]

Re: Help.....

Bruce..I just recently did a small repair on my bird that required Ford touch up paint on a very small area (1 inch x 1 inch) After sanding and feathering the area and applying the paint ,then I allowed to dry approx. 1 hour. Then, I put some acetone on clean white terrycloth shop towel and wiped the area so that the new paint would not overlap the repair area. That did a good job for me. Don't put too much acetone on towel though and use light pressure when rubbing (you can see your paint color on the towel).