How to remove stains and embedded dirt out of paint

[Mike Phillips]

How to remove stains and embedded dirt out of paint


Paint Staining
Sometimes you'll hear the word stain or staining when talking about the condition of the paint. Another term would be embedded dirt.

The 1963 Galaxy has a modern basecoat/clearcoat finish. After using the Nanoskin Autoscrub Pad over all the horizontal surfaces I removed any and all above surface contaminants. In the video I repeated the baggie test multiple times to check and ensure all the contaminants were removed and in fact they were.

So where does the dirt come from? It's embedded in the microscopic surface imperfections of the paint. Here's a brand new white foam polishing pad next to the single pad I used to machine apply the Optimum GPS.






Purpose and Goal = Restore Clarity & Full Richness of Color
So even if your car's paint looks clean and clear, if the car is a daily driver, parked outside at least for some portion of the day, chances are very good that over time the paint will become stained with embedded dirt and this is why periodically you want to use a cleaner/wax also called an AIO or All-In-One product. A pre-wax cleaner, also called a paint cleaner. Or a dedicated polish as all three of these categories of products will effectively remove any embedded dirt.

The effect of removing embedded dirt is to restore clarity to the clear coat so you eyes can see through the clear coat to the beautiful color underneath.

If you're working on a single stage paint, the effect of removing embedded dirt is to restore the full richness of color.



Quickie Detail

After I decontaminated the paint I did a "quickie" machine wax using a Porter Cable 7424XP with a white foam Lake Country 5.5" polishing pad and Optimum GPS. I don't do a lot of quickie details, especially for cars like this but I was limited with time. Big picture though is the paint was cleaner, more clear and protected when it left.

[addysdaddy]

Fantastic Mike and it just so happens that I'm planning on doing that exact "quickie detail" this weekend to my DD. I've been using KAIO but I've been "advised" to give GPS a try. Thanks for the demo, looks like a winning combination to me.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some more examples of embedded dirt or staining...


From this thread...

1954 Ford F-100 - Extreme Makeover - Process and products used


Remember how dirty the clay was after claying just one half of the roof? Clay remove ABOVE surface bonded contaminants but it doesn't remove embedded staining of the paint. You can see abrading the paint with a light polish and a microfiber pad has removed the staining effect and restored a very bright and shiny finish.

[Mike Phillips]

And from this thread...

How to clay, clean and wax paint by hand with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion and Pinnacle Signature Series II Carnauba Paste Wax


While claying will remove above surface bonded contaminants, Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion will remove embedded road grime and pollutants as you can see when we compare the applicator pad we used to a brand new, clean applicator pad.



New, never been used clean foam applicator pad




Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion removes road grime and dirt that stains the paint and will hinder any wax from bonding to the paint. Besides helping your wax to bond better to the paint by removing embedded road grime and dirt staining, you create a more clear finish which will enable your eyes to see the beauty of the color coat under the clear coat as well as sharpen reflections and increase gloss.

After cleaning half the hood...

[Mike Phillips]

I also explain in detail the topic of embedded dirt in this article, which I wrote in 1997...


The Lesson White Paint Teaches Us

[kmsdetailing]

Mike, thanks for the information. I had a customer with a 2011 Buick Enclave. When I finished washing and drying it, I could still see that the dirt was embeded into the paing. I did use a paint cleaner and it took it off. The customer stated that he didn't wash the vehicle in 3 months.

[Mike Phillips]

More examples of dirt stained paint.

1939 Lincoln Zephyr - Swirls Removed - Modeled by Nicole





As we worked our way around the car we noticed that our pads were becoming stained with a grayish, brownish color? Here you can see the staining of the foam pad via the contrast of the white colored polish we were using.



DIP = Dirt in Paint
Here's a shot of one of our used pads next to a brand new, never before used white polishing pad. This color transfer from the paint to the pad is a type of dirt staining that build-up on the finish and comes off when you're machine polishing.



This dirt staining effect clouds the surface blocking the true color of the paint from shining through.


We removed the swirls and the embedded dirt and when the Zephyr left it looked like this...

Short video showing the results after removing the
swirls and machine applying Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax!

Hey Frank!

Orange you glad you brought your Zephyr to Autogeek's Show Car Garage?

[GRexer]

I was wondering, when doing this kind of "quickie" waxing using some form of non-abrasive AIO/Paint Cleaner, what speeds do we generally use with the white pad? Does it differ between cars and pressure? Or there's a ball park figure to use?

[Mike Phillips]

I was wondering, when doing this kind of "quickie" waxing using some form of non-abrasive AIO/Paint Cleaner, what speeds do we generally use with the white pad? Does it differ between cars and pressure? Or there's a ball park figure to use?

Anytime you're using a one-step cleaner/wax type product on a neglected finish you would use techniques similar to using a compound or polish.

That is higher speeds, firm downward pressure, ample product, clean your pad often, don't tackle too big an area at one time.

[GRexer]

Thanks for the info. How about a non-neglected finish but would like to have paint cleaning being done? Same techniques applies?