Hello all. My white 93 SE5 has accrued a fair amount of dirt in its time, enough so that some of it has worked its way to sticking to my paint job. I'm looking to clean it off and getting my car back to a much whiter shine. It shines as it is, and the paint and clear coat are in good original shape, but think of this as discoloration on teeth...the car looks all white until you get in close and compare a few spots.

I've tried a few things, with very mixed results:

- Claybaring it out (takes an unbelievable amount of time)
- Washing the car with a solution of warm-hot water, a touch of color-safe bleach and Palmolive Oxy dish soap (friend's recommendation, no real results)
- Using Palmolive Oxy dish soap and a rag/towel to gently rub it out (better than claybar method, still slow and takes lots of dish soap)
- Spraying affected areas with Simple Green (works REALLY well)

So far the Simple Green method of spraying an area and wiping takes the dirt out quite fast, and covers much more area. BUT, a friend told me not to use Simple Green on paint. I used Simple Green on my rub strips a few months back, and it worked wonders. Would I be laying the groundwork for destruction if I use Simple Green on the whole car to take this baked-in dirt out? Has anyone ever had a similar problem, and if so, what was your fix?

I want to go the Simple Green route for time's sake, but at the same time, I'm the second owner on this car, which is still in really good shape overall considering its age, especially the paint. Obviously, I'd like to find the quickest method that won't kill me when I try to sell it in the future because I screwed the paint up.

 

My 93 white Accord had the same problem. Have you tried a mass market cleaner wax? (NuFinish, Turtle Wax etc.) It removed the discoloration. I'm sure a polish would remove it also.

I'd stay away from the bleach/Simple Green if I were you.

 

I haven't tried that. I have used Turtle Wax before on the car, but I don't recall it having the affect of removing the dirt. Currently I use Meguiar's Gold Class wax; would that work, or is it a different kind of wax? I've never used NuFinish before.

 

You had it right with claybarring. DONT use simple green or bleach on your paint its way too strong. Wash with a car shampoo not bleach. If you are looking for off the shelf products try megs 3 step system or something similar. You need to polish it out, not coat it with wax

 

Looks like it's back to the paint shop for me this weekend.

 

Not so fast. I would recommend using Meguiar's DACP to clean the paint and then follow it with the claybar to smooth things out. After doing that, I would use Klasse to prep the surface and then top it with the sealant glaze.

Other polishes I would recommend:

Menzerna Power Gloss
Menzerna Intensive and Final Polishes
Poorboys SSR 2.5 and 1
Sonus SFX 1, 2, and 3

Bear in mind, you will need (at minimum) a Porter Cable with a cutting pad for the initial polishing step and subsequent pads for the middple polishing and finishing pad for the final polishing step.

 

Polishing compound if used lightly will work really well. Just make sure you use polishing compound and not rubbing compound.

 

Uh, OK I have no idea of what most of what PrinzII's suggestions are, or even how to do them. A Porter cable? Cutting pad? I've never heard of this. What is Meguiar's DACP? I'd like to stick with their stuff if possible, since I have money invested in their system.

My other problem is, I'm a novice at this, so I'm going to have to find someone to chaperone me.

 

Slam: DACP is part of Meguiar's Pro line. It's also referred to as #83. The rest of my suggestions could be gotten online. As for the Porter Cable, I'd recommend going to your nearest Lowe's and then hitting a body shop supply store for the pads.

 

Actually an old detailer's trick is to use a degreaser product on a white car to get it back to white. Go ahead and wash the whole car in Simple Green, then follow up with a regular car soap wash, and wax. On a white car it does not harm the paint. Do not let it dry and only do it in a shaded area.

 

How does it not harm white paint? White paint is no different than any color paint. Of course it harms it, you probably just cant see it in the white. Simple green is strong enough to stain metal, so it can easily ruin your paint

 

The Simple Green will remove the oils from the paint, drying it out. I definitely wouldn't allow SG to touch my paint.
You need a polish, and from the sounds of it, something a little aggressive. Prinz is dead on with his recommendation of DACP. Simply amazing stuff that will SAFELY remove the oxidation and contaminants in your paint. I personally have only used DACP by hand on spots, not the whole car. When my car gets enough moderate swirls, I use the PC with DACP and a cutting pad. The DACP not only mechanically polishes the paint, but also has chemical cleaners to aid in contaminant removal. Since your car is white, you may not need to follow up with a finer polish before waxing/sealing. Claying may be needed if your clean car still feels rough to the touch, kinda like fine sandpaper. Claying removes bonded contaminants such as raildust that polishing can't.
If doing it by hand, a very good chemical cleaner that is safe for your paint is Meguiars Medallian Premium Paint Cleaner (#M-97). It is very effective on oxidation, and even removes fine hairline scratches. Follow up with a fine polish if more gloss is wanted, and then wax/seal. Claying can be done after the paint cleaner but before the polish if needed.
Keep in mind that these steps will be much easier, and with better results, if done via PC.
The Meguiars Deep Crystal System can be used, but keep in mind these are commercial grade products that are "Bubba" proof so people don't screw up their paint. But this Bubba-proofing makes them less effective than the pro grade products. Step 1 is a paint cleaner, 2 is a polish, and 3 is the wax. You would use them in that order, but could substitute another wax/sealant for step 3 if you wanted.

Now that I think about it, since you've used Simple Green and Palmolive dish soap on your car, I would definitely use a good polish (like Meguiars) to replenish the oils you've stripped from the paint. It's these oils that give the paint it's wet, glossy look. For polish, I personally use Meguiars #80 (Speed Glaze). Produces a very deep, wet, glossy look while removing light swirls and scratches. You couldd also use Meg's #82 Swirl Free Polish or #9 Swirl Remover (which can be bought at Pep Boys), with effectiveness in that order. The Deep Crystal step 2 could also be used, but wouldn't produce the professional results like the others mentioned.

Hope this helps.

Dave