How can I remove white hand/finger prints left by my sunscreen?

[dpruiett]

Dear Mike,
I live part of the year in Florida and use a strong (SPF 55+) sunscreen when I'll be doing activities outdoors. Unfortunately, over the course of the last couple of months I've begun noticing hand/finger prints left on the edges of the doors and anywhere else I've touched while getting in/out of the car. As you likely know, washing will not remove the marks. I've also tried using Goof Off to no avail and I've read a number of posts that state that polishing/waxing will not remove the marks either. Do you have any recommendations on what I can use to remove the marks left by my suntan lotion?
Thank you,
Dave Pruiett

[ronkh57]

Good luck.

Sun screen is the devil (on car interiors)

[dpruiett]

Agreed. I have a tan interior, so the marks left by my sunscreen are much less obvious. But on the exterior, they are VERY noticeable and to date, I have not found anyone or anything to help me remove the white fingerprints left when I touch my car. I am of scotch/irish ancestry, so going without sunscreen is not an option, so I'm hoping there will be a way to remove these marks. I saw a few posts on YouTube where people used a rubber eraser to remove the marks. I have my wife running out to get one for me now.. so I'll let you know how that works.

[ronkh57]

Ohhhh, outside.... Sorry, I should have paid better attention.

Try something like Poorboys Pro Polish.

[ronkh57]

where in fl are you?

[dpruiett]

East-Central Florida (Brevard County)

[RaydiantDetail]

What kind of sunscreen? if it is mineral based it could be traces of zinc oxide or titanium dioxide which are used in sunscreen which could be curing on the paint?
Maybe some mineral oil on a clean microfiber and rub it gently to see if it removes it?
If not you could try a paint cleanser first then if that does not work move on to a dedicated polish?

[Aaryn NZ]

Hey, we see alot of cars down here with sunscreen on them all the time. I have always had success polishing off with an AIO or a dedicated polish. Obviously a compound would work too but probably a bit aggressive in this case. I hear nothing but great things about HD Speed, this would be my recommendation.

Good luck & let us know how you get on.

Aaryn NZ.

[dpruiett]

Thanks much everyone. The sunscreen I use is Neutrogena SPF 55+. The active ingredients are Homosalate (10%), Oxybenzone (6%), Octisalate (5%), Avobenzone (3%), and Octocrylene (2.8%). The lotion leaves a clear imprint of whatever has touched the car in the clear coat. I can clearly see a hand, a forearm, and several places where my fingers have held on to the door. Now that I've discovered the prints may be difficult to remove, going forward I'm going to make sure to thoroughly wash my hands before I leave the house.

I have an orbital polisher, pads, polish, micro-polish, and wax, that I purchased from autogeek but have yet to try. Sounds like I may have what I need to remove the damage that's been done thus far. I'll report back after I give the polish a try and let you know how things turned out.

Thanks again,

Dave Pruiett

[dpruiett]

Success!! I just went out to the garage to retrieve my polisher, pads, and polish and while digging thru the container where I keep them, I found a small bottle of Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0. I don't recall what I purchased this for (I've never used it before) but I thought to myself "what the heck, let me give this a quick try before I break out the polisher". To my amazement it worked like a charm. I just worked a little of the Scratch X onto a soft terry cloth rag and then worked on the largest (and oldest) area. The print was removed on the first pass and what was left was my sparkling clear coat! I worked on all of the other areas (total about 5 minutes) and was able to completely remove every one of the prints.

Thanks everyone!