Road film left after using ONR

[2shiny]

some great articles Mike. thanks for clearing things up

[Bunky]

You could try something like PB's Bug Squash 1:3 (usually LSP safe) to clean any hard to remove residue.

[Mike Phillips]

some great articles Mike. thanks for clearing things up

I'd say that besides swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation, the next most common paint issue is road film which over time becomes embedded dirt and impacted dirt.

The thing is, because it build up slowly over time, the average person doesn't see it, especially on darker colored cars.

I actually wrote about this in an article I wrote back in 1997. What's weird is most people that read the article come away from it thinking it's about me not liking white cars. That's actually and factually incorrect. It's about the importance of using some type of product to regularly clean your car's paint to maintain a clean and thus clear finish in the case of a clearcoated car or in the case of a single stage paint, to maintain the full richness of color.


The Lesson White Paint Teaches Us


Plus the article has cool picture of one of the nicest 1959 Cadillacs I ever owned... I should have never sold that car...

[hollerstiltner]

Mike, that's some good info there! Thanks for the articles.

Bunky, I need to look into the pb bug squash. That sounds like a good idea, and on my 50mi round trip to work I have plenty of bugs. I've read it does really well, what's your opinion on it?

[rdf]

Thanks for getting this thread started, hollerstiltner. Though it evolved past the ONR-only question, it gave me some great information. I wash my cars, 2BM, frequently enough that I figured I was keeping them really clean. I didn't know, until reading Mike's articles, how much buildup you could get that would be resistant to normal washing. My paint still looked pretty good (I thought), but I tested a spot with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion, and the comparison showed there was a brown dingy haze over the paint.

What I'm wondering is, how do the new coatings hold up to non-abrasive products like paintwork cleansing lotions? If I have to remove road film every six months or so, I certainly hope I can do so without removing or degrading the coating which was supposed to last 1-2 years. Hope someone has some empirical data about this.

[2shiny]

Thanks for getting this thread started, hollerstiltner. Though it evolved past the ONR-only question, it gave me some great information. I wash my cars, 2BM, frequently enough that I figured I was keeping them really clean. I didn't know, until reading Mike's articles, how much buildup you could get that would be resistant to normal washing. My paint still looked pretty good (I thought), but I tested a spot with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion, and the comparison showed there was a brown dingy haze over the paint.

What I'm wondering is, how do the new coatings hold up to non-abrasive products like paintwork cleansing lotions? If I have to remove road film every six months or so, I certainly hope I can do so without removing or degrading the coating which was supposed to last 1-2 years. Hope someone has some empirical data about this.

I was just gonna ask the same thing. How about with coatings? If they last 2 years, as they are supposed to, how do you clean the roadfilm off of them?

and you are right Mister Philips, you should,'t have sold that car, what a beauty!!!!

[hollerstiltner]

I was just gonna ask the same thing. How about with coatings? If they last 2 years, as they are supposed to, how do you clean the roadfilm off of them?

and you are right Mister Philips, you should,'t have sold that car, what a beauty!!!!

It's funny you ask this as I started to wonder about it myself. I'm still planning to put OC2 on my truck and had originally planned on using dg501 and a black or white pad to clean it after using ironx and tarx to remove the majority of the contamination. I was thinking yearly decon. I've read where optimum poliseal was recommended so 501 should work.

I'm now thinking about the paint prep for the new DP coatings as a cleaner instead of an AIO. They should remove any leftover contaminants/stains while not leaving anything that could change to properties of the coating.

This thread has changed from the original does anyone else find OnR to not get everything. It's all good though, I like where it's headed.

[steelwindmachine]

What I'm wondering is, how do the new coatings hold up to non-abrasive products like paintwork cleansing lotions? If I have to remove road film every six months or so, I certainly hope I can do so without removing or degrading the coating which was supposed to last 1-2 years. Hope someone has some empirical data about this.

Oldie, but goody thread resurrection, but this prior poster's question didn't get address and after reading through Mike's posts I started to wonder the same thing. If you have a coating, what do you do to remove road grime without potentially impacting the durability/longevity of the coating?

[AKT]

Road Film can be an oily film "on" the paint that will wash off.

Over time, road film is more than just an oily film it's also oil mixed with all types of dirt and it impacts "onto" the paint and won't wash off.

I have two recent article on this with lots of pictures and the remedy besides washing.

Road Film - If you drive your car in the rain your car has road film


Driving in the rain - For most of us it's unavoidable






Road Film
Road film is the oily film splattered all over your car when you drive in the rain.

Where does Road Film come from?

Oils and other fluids that drip out of cars, truck and suvs accumulate on roads and highways over time.

When it rains, these accumulated oils and other fluids mix with the rain and are then splattered all over your car in effect staining you're entire car from top to bottom. The highest concentration of road film accumulates on your wheels, tires and lower body panels.


Just look in the parking space of any parking lot...







Motor Oil, Transmission Fluid, Gear Oil and other fluids

These outlined areas show where fluids have dripped off engines and transmission, even radiators and accumulated to the point that the pavement has been permanently stained.







It's also on roads and highways...





The oil stain line that runs down the middle of the road...




The dark line down the middle of the road
It's the darker, line down the middle of roads and freeways where most of the oily fluids accumulate as car, truck and suvs drive down the road.

Now that you've read this article and looked at the above pictures, you'll remember this every time you look down the road you're driving on.


Remember, oil and water don't mix
When it rains, the cars in front of you spray the rain water mixed in with these accumulated oils onto not only your car's paint but the wheels, tires, glass, plastic, cloth tops and vinyl tops.

If it's on the outside of the car then it's getting coated with oily road film.


Road Film builds up over time..
Oily road film builds up over time and because this film is oily or sticky it attracts dirt. This can be the dirt in the air or also in rain water that's splattered onto your car from the cars driving in front of you.


Can't always be seen...
Because the dirt staining effect caused by road film build up slowly over time it's not always easy to see, especially on black and dark colored cars, but don't be fooled, if you drive in the rain your car is getting coated in road film.


The solution to the problem?
Washing your car will remove any topical road film. The problem is the dirty, oil film will tend to migrate into any voids, pits, pores or interstices in your car's paint at least to the point that normal car washing won't remove it.


It's pretty easy to remove road film, all you have to do is periodically use one of the below approaches,

Use a quality cleaner/wax or AIO. The cleaning agents and/or abrasives in the cleaner/wax will remove any road film that washing could not remove.

Use a dedicated polish by hand or machine. Any high quality polish will effectively remove any built-up road film. Just be sure to apply a wax, sealant or coating afterwards to seal the paint.


Road Film... if you drive your car in the rain it's on your car...




__________________

Hi Mike - will claying help as well? I do not have a cleaner wax but i have clay

[AKT]

Maybe remove all impurities, then coat. If you have a coating, i guess you could do the thorough paint decon every 2 years when you are going to re-coat the car.

Fact: i have never used a coating so my answer is theoretical at best