kerosene ghost marks?

[blue DX]

Recently, a friend showed his black car to me. He had washed it and removed asphalt using kerosene. He followed it up with wax (I believe pure carnauba) after rinsing it off again with water and shampoo. Problem is, there now seems to be white ghost marks all over the black paint. They become visible when out in sunlight.

Did the kerosene cause this? Or the fact that he used wax after? I tried using pure yellow wax to remove it but it wasn't that effective. Next, I tried using a P&S Full Throttle step 2 polish with cleaners and this seemed to work in removing the ghost marks though I wasn't that satisfied with the outcome. All this I did by hand using a plush MF towel. I had the experience of using kerosene to remove asphalt on a black car before but did not encounter this issue.

What do you think is the best remedy for this? Or do I just continue using the polish but machine-apply it instead?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :)

[tuscarora dave]

Have you tried to clay it before polishing?

[blue DX]

Nope. Just washed the test area with water and shampoo. Then yellow wax. When it wasn't that effective, I proceeded to the polish.

[RaskyR1]

Did he wash the car after taking kerosene to it or did you go right to wax?

[blue DX]

Did he wash the car after taking kerosene to it or did you go right to wax?

yep, he washed it with shampoo and water after doing the kerosene. after that, he waxed it. i was able too see the car after all these - a day after.

[Setec Astronomy]

Next, I tried using a P&S Full Throttle step 2 polish with cleaners and this seemed to work in removing the ghost marks though I wasn't that satisfied with the outcome.

What do you think is the best remedy for this?

Why were you unsatisfied with the outcome if the marks were removed? Remedy for what? We're trying to help you but you're not giving us much to go on.

[BillE]

DX,

Any chance you can capture a picture or two?

I've used kerosene often to all but bathe the wife's BLACK Subaru (she went thru a recent seal-coat job) and after a 'wash/wax' touch up, all was good.

Bill

[blue DX]

Why were you unsatisfied with the outcome if the marks were removed? Remedy for what? We're trying to help you but you're not giving us much to go on.

@setec: my apologies if my question came across as unclear. unsatisfied in the sense that after applying the polish by hand, the paint seemed "lifeless". and that technique didn't seem to be that "quick" in removing the ghost marks. that's why i'm asking if there is a best practice for this kind of concern. :xyxthumbs:



DX,

Any chance you can capture a picture or two?

I've used kerosene often to all but bathe the wife's BLACK Subaru (she went thru a recent seal-coat job) and after a 'wash/wax' touch up, all was good.

Bill

@billE: sorry i wasn't able to take pictures of my friend's car. generally looks as if the black paint has become a bit "pale" or clouded when out in the sun. i have had the chance of personally using kerosene on a black car before but no issues came up. this is actually the first time someone brought in vehicle with something like this. :)

[Mike Phillips]

Stains are either topical or they've penetrated into the paint. With clear coats, they are usually topical and with single stage paints they then to penetrate inward.

The cure is the same and that is to abrade the paint using either a light paint cleaner to all all out compound.

Could be that even a cleaner/wax will undo the damage but it sounds like a staining issue.

a non-cleaning wax, in other words a pure wax won't do the job and it sounds like you might need something more aggressive than the P&S Full Throttle Step 2 Polish.

What else do you have for compounds, polishes and paint cleaners?


:)

[blue DX]

Stains are either topical or they've penetrated into the paint. With clear coats, they are usually topical and with single stage paints they then to penetrate inward.

The cure is the same and that is to abrade the paint using either a light paint cleaner to all all out compound.

Could be that even a cleaner/wax will undo the damage but it sounds like a staining issue.

a non-cleaning wax, in other words a pure wax won't do the job and it sounds like you might need something more aggressive than the P&S Full Throttle Step 2 Polish.

What else do you have for compounds, polishes and paint cleaners?


:)

His car's paint is clear coated. Even if the stain is topical, abrasion is still needed? Is it best if i use a machine instead of just "bare hands"? ;) The polisher I have is a Makita 9227C by the way.

Hmm... I don't have much chemicals at my disposal at the moment. For paint, aside from the P&S Polish, I currently have a 21st Element Sapphire Cleaning Compound (step 1) and a Turtle Cleaner Wax (stored and untouched for several months already). Well, I also do have Calibre Synthetic Sealant and some Yellow Wax but they don't serve the purpose of cleaning/abrading.

[Setec Astronomy]

I don't know if Mike is familar with any of those, and he of course will have the expert recommendations, but if all you have for a machine is the Makita, and you don't want to buy from the outstanding collection here at Autogeek, I'd say get some Meg's Swirl-X locally and use it with a nice soft (black or red) clean pad with your Makita and you ought to be able to clean everything up. You do have experience with the Makita?

[blue DX]

I don't know if Mike is familar with any of those, and he of course will have the expert recommendations, but if all you have for a machine is the Makita, and you don't want to buy from the outstanding collection here at Autogeek, I'd say get some Meg's Swirl-X locally and use it with a nice soft (black or red) clean pad with your Makita and you ought to be able to clean everything up. You do have experience with the Makita?

Thanks for the advice. I shall try that next time. :) As for the Makita, I'm no guru but yes, I do have experience with it. At what speed do you think should I set the polisher for these ghost marks?

[Mike Phillips]

but if all you have for a machine is the Makita, and you don't want to buy from the outstanding collection here at Autogeek, I'd say get some Meg's Swirl-X locally and use it with a nice soft (black or red) clean pad with your Makita and you ought to be able to clean everything up. You do have experience with the Makita?


That will probably work... (a person won't know till they try), just to be technically correct, SwirlX is not recommended for use with a rotary buffer and this could just be a heat factor as a RB will generate more heat than the other types of machines faster and thus affect the formula but at low speeds with a polishing or finishing pad it should work. M205 would be another option and it is formulated and recommended for use with a rotary buffer.




Thanks for the advice. I shall try that next time. :) As for the Makita, I'm no guru but yes, I do have experience with it. At what speed do you think should I set the polisher for these ghost marks?


Low and slow... start at the 1000 RPM to 1400 RPM to cut out the staining, then wipe the paint clean, switch to a new, clean pad and re-polish at the 600 RPM range to do some jeweling or finish polishing and hopefully leave a swirl free finish.

After that... seal with your favorite wax or paint sealant.

:)

[Mike Phillips]

His car's paint is clear coated. Even if the stain is topical, abrasion is still needed? Is it best if i use a machine instead of just "bare hands"? ;) The polisher I have is a Makita 9227C by the way.
[/quote[

If the Kerosene has penetrated into the upper portion of the clear layer of paint then the only way to remove the affected paint is to remove it. So "yes", some abrading or "cleaning" will be necessary.

The word cleaning always sounds so much kinder and gentler than abrading...


[QUOTE=blue DX;369458]
Hmm... I don't have much chemicals at my disposal at the moment. For paint, aside from the P&S Polish, I currently have a 21st Element Sapphire Cleaning Compound (step 1) and a Turtle Cleaner Wax (stored and untouched for several months already).

Well, I also do have Calibre Synthetic Sealant and some Yellow Wax but they don't serve the purpose of cleaning/abrading.


Mike aka Setec Astronomy is right, I'm not familiar with the polishes you listed but regardless, no matter what you have you want to start by doing a Test Spot.

Wash and dry the car, make sure it's clean, always work clean
Clay the paint if needed, inspect with your clean hand before you apply any liquid chemicals
Do a Test Spot first, take and apply the product you think might work to just one small area and then inspect the results.

The idea of a Test Spot is to check to see if the products, pads, and approach you plan on using over the entire car will work in one small area to reach your goal. If it will, the simply duplicate it or cookie-cutter it over the rest of the car.

If it's not working, then you'll be glad you didn't waste your time using your process over the entire car and come back here and tell us what you're seeing in your test spot.

Topical staining shouldn't take much to remove... you could probably do this by hand with a quality paint cleaner and by putting a little passion behind the pad...


:)