Hard to get out marks when washing your car?

Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
Hello, got round to doing a winter wash today with it being dry ect... I usually do a full wash and wipe with a sponge or wash mitten with soapy warm water twice, first time just get the loose bits of muck ect.... off then the second wash just to finish it off. I have noticed like a black rubbed mark on my war and took some getting off it wasn't pushed into my car with it coming off eventually which took some doing after a bit of buffing with a microfibre cloth. Also noticed these pin ***** bits of dirt which I do find hard to get off sometimes and mistake them for stone chips on the paint work, i used my nail just to soften one of them and it came off eventually but I obviously dont want to scratch the car in the process. The long black rubbed lines used to appear on my Ibiza quite a lot but eventually came out after a good buffering, problem I'v got is my paint work is white so everything shows up a lot more.

Just want to know what people use to remove heavy pressed dirt/marks from the cars paint work? The soap I use might not be that good, its the wash and wax soap with warmish water.

Do you make a decent spray concoction to or buy a particular car wash product that works wonders? Can I actually use boiling water to help remove the marks/dirt or would ruin my paint work?

cheers.
 

ChrisM75

Active Member
May 10, 2019
423
182
Tar spot remover.

Bad grime can also be removed with Traffic film remover, however both are quite harsh, so I would use something after to protect the paint, like a spray sealant, wax etc.
 

Deano j1971

Active Member
Jan 5, 2018
586
632
Hello, got round to doing a winter wash today with it being dry ect... I usually do a full wash and wipe with a sponge or wash mitten with soapy warm water twice, first time just get the loose bits of muck ect.... off then the second wash just to finish it off. I have noticed like a black rubbed mark on my war and took some getting off it wasn't pushed into my car with it coming off eventually which took some doing after a bit of buffing with a microfibre cloth. Also noticed these pin ***** bits of dirt which I do find hard to get off sometimes and mistake them for stone chips on the paint work, i used my nail just to soften one of them and it came off eventually but I obviously dont want to scratch the car in the process. The long black rubbed lines used to appear on my Ibiza quite a lot but eventually came out after a good buffering, problem I'v got is my paint work is white so everything shows up a lot more.

Just want to know what people use to remove heavy pressed dirt/marks from the cars paint work? The soap I use might not be that good, its the wash and wax soap with warmish water.

Do you make a decent spray concoction to or buy a particular car wash product that works wonders? Can I actually use boiling water to help remove the marks/dirt or would ruin my paint work?

cheers.

@wilksey...I think you might find that the marks you mention are not dirt but tar from the road surface, get some decent tar remover or auto finesse obliterate that should do the trick.


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SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
Just want to know what people use to remove heavy pressed dirt/marks from the cars paint work? The soap I use might not be that good, its the wash and wax soap with warmish water.

Do you make a decent spray concoction to or buy a particular car wash product that works wonders? Can I actually use boiling water to help remove the marks/dirt or would ruin my paint work?

cheers.

I definitely wouldn’t never ever use boiling water on my car!

However dirty my car is, I always do a pre-wash stage; snow foam, leave to dwell and then rinse off before doing a ‘safe’ two bucket wash.

As @Deano j1971 has said, the black marks are probably tar spots - particularly noticeable on a white car. A good tar removal product should work (I’m currently using Valet Pro Citrus Tar and Glue Remover); apply it to the tar spots, leave a few minutes and wipe off with a soft microfibre cloth.

Alternatively, if the spots are more of a rust colour and feel rough to the touch, they could be embedded contaminants from atmospheric fallout (e.g. iron particles, hence the rust colour). If you’re dealing with embedded contaminants, then a product such as Car Pro Iron X or Valet Pro Dragon’s Breath should remove them; spray on, leave a few minutes and you’ll see the spots turn a dark pink / purple colour and ‘bleed’ down the bodywork. Once it’s done it’s job, rinse off (don’t leave it on the paintwork too long - just a few minutes). A word of warning - iron fall out removal products generally stink to high heaven, so always ensure you’re working in a well ventilated area while using these products.
 
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Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
@wilksey...I think you might find that the marks you mention are not dirt but tar from the road surface, get some decent tar remover or auto finesse obliterate that should do the trick.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
the little pin size dots ???
 

Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
oh sorry just realised that the black lines the tar marks, can anyone recommend something for the black little dirt marks that should wipe off when a good buffer? I dont want to have to get my nail behind each one to loosen the dirt.
 

ZK_FR150

Active Member
Apr 16, 2016
221
32
Get yourself some tardis and iron X, give your car a pre wash then get some cotton pads and dab the tardis onto the black marks like tar and bugs for a while this should soften them up to wash off without much elbow grease, then use the iron X all over the bodywork to get rid of any fallout like iron filings, your car will start to bleed red which means the iron X is doing its job and dissolving the ferrous particles then go to your normal soapy wash.

Don't use boiling water, warm from the tap will be ok.

Deano and SRGTD have given good advice above.
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
This time of year potholes get filled very quickly and very badly, usually by spraying bitumen and stones everywhere in the process and the repair fails within a couple of weeks. All that bitumen gets thrown about by your tyres and sticks well to paintwork.

Any degreaser will remove the tar, preferably a water based one so as to not soften the paint at the same time.
 

KernelOkey

Active Member
Dec 18, 2018
432
478
Here in Sweden a typical wash wintertime is: degreaser (tar remover) below windows, let sit for 5-10min then a alkaline prewash over the degreaser, sit for another 5-10min, rinse with pressurewasher, then fallout remover if needed ( studded tires in Sweden so usually you need it) rinse again. Then contact wash with shampoo :)
Screenshot_20200105-175345_Video Player.jpg

After a 200km drive lol
 
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Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
think I'll be getting the auto finesse iron out and oblitarate as they seem decent products (going from youtube). Are there any good dual products for both iron and tar removal? seen one from Carpro trix but the reviews dont look that good
 

Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
I definitely wouldn’t never ever use boiling water on my car!

However dirty my car is, I always do a pre-wash stage; snow foam, leave to dwell and then rinse off before doing a ‘safe’ two bucket wash.

As @Deano j1971 has said, the black marks are probably tar spots - particularly noticeable on a white car. A good tar removal product should work (I’m currently using Valet Pro Citrus Tar and Glue Remover); apply it to the tar spots, leave a few minutes and wipe off with a soft microfibre cloth.

Alternatively, if the spots are more of a rust colour and feel rough to the touch, they could be embedded contaminants from atmospheric fallout (e.g. iron particles, hence the rust colour). If you’re dealing with embedded contaminants, then a product such as Car Pro Iron X or Valet Pro Dragon’s Breath should remove them; spray on, leave a few minutes and you’ll see the spots turn a dark pink / purple colour and ‘bleed’ down the bodywork. Once it’s done it’s job, rinse off (don’t leave it on the paintwork too long - just a few minutes). A word of warning - iron fall out removal products generally stink to high heaven, so always ensure you’re working in a well ventilated area while using these products.
also any recommendations for a good car pressure washer that comes with a foam cannon attachment ?
 

Oldbutswift

Active Member
Mar 23, 2016
285
91
To avoid most of the above issues the best plan is to keep a good wax coating on the car so that dirt and other contaminants don’t stick and are easily removed by a normal wash.

I do this by using Aqua Wax ( or similar products) after every other weekly wash,having used a good quality shampoo in the wash bucket.I find it only needs a very light touch with the wash mitt to remove all the dirt since the paint surface is kept smooth.
 
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SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
also any recommendations for a good car pressure washer that comes with a foam cannon attachment ?
I have a fairly basic Nilfisk pressure washer - a C110. Had it around 3 years and it’s proven to be reliable. The C110 is an entry level pressure washer but I’ve found it to be plenty powerful enough for car washing and cleaning paths / paving slabs. I chose Nilfisk over Karcher as from the research I’d done, it seemed that the build quality of Nilfisk machines was better - Nilfisk use a metal pump in their pressure washers, whereas the pump in Karcher machines is plastic (or certainly was when I bought mine). The one negative with my Nilfisk machine is the rather short high pressure hose which I intend to replace at some point with a longer one.

IMO the foam sprayer attachments that is supplied with some pressure washers aren’t great. I bought a separate snow foam lance from Autobrite Direct. I’ve found the Autobrite lance provides a good range of adjustments to get a good flow of snow foam. It’s well constructed and is relatively easy to disassemble for cleaning if the wire gauze filter becomes clogged - mine did; probably a consequence of living in a very hard water area!
 
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SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
To avoid most of the above issues the best plan is to keep a good wax coating on the car so that dirt and other contaminants don’t stick and are easily removed by a normal wash.

Agree; the better the level of wax or sealant protection on the car, the easier it is to wash and / or minimise stubborn dirt and other contaminants sticking to the paintwork.
 

Wilkesy

Active Member
May 1, 2018
255
29
I have a fairly basic Nilfisk pressure washer - a C110. Had it around 3 years and it’s proven to be reliable. The C110 is an entry level pressure washer but I’ve found it to be plenty powerful enough for car washing and cleaning paths / paving slabs. I chose Nilfisk over Karcher as from the research I’d done, it seemed that the build quality of Nilfisk machines was better - Nilfisk use a metal pump in their pressure washers, whereas the pump in Karcher machines is plastic (or certainly was when I bought mine). The one negative with my Nilfisk machine is the rather short high pressure hose which I intend to replace at some point with a longer one.

IMO the foam sprayer attachments that is supplied with some pressure washers aren’t great. I bought a separate snow foam lance from Autobrite Direct. I’ve found the Autobrite lance provides a good range of adjustments to get a good flow of snow foam. It’s well constructed and is relatively easy to disassemble for cleaning if the wire gauze filter becomes clogged - mine did; probably a consequence of living in a very hard water area!
Auto Finesse's obliterate arrived today, going to buy their Iron Out tomorrow from Halfords. In regards to the nilfisk pressure washer it looks decent from the reviews, just wondering if the foam cannon that comes too is alright?

The package iv seen is from argos, https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8043076

or https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7904996

or https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7605862
 

Kinetic

Active Member
Nov 18, 2017
118
35
Auto Finesse's obliterate arrived today, going to buy their Iron Out tomorrow from Halfords. In regards to the nilfisk pressure washer it looks decent from the reviews, just wondering if the foam cannon that comes too is alright?

The package iv seen is from argos, https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8043076

or https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7904996

or https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7605862

The included foam cannon is next to useless. Nilfisk sell an upgraded version for around £17 which is OK, but you're better off getting one of the dedicated foam cannons as mentioned earlier in the thread.
 
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Kinetic

Active Member
Nov 18, 2017
118
35
I have a fairly basic Nilfisk pressure washer - a C110. Had it around 3 years and it’s proven to be reliable. The C110 is an entry level pressure washer but I’ve found it to be plenty powerful enough for car washing and cleaning paths / paving slabs. I chose Nilfisk over Karcher as from the research I’d done, it seemed that the build quality of Nilfisk machines was better - Nilfisk use a metal pump in their pressure washers, whereas the pump in Karcher machines is plastic (or certainly was when I bought mine). The one negative with my Nilfisk machine is the rather short high pressure hose which I intend to replace at some point with a longer one.

I got a flexible 10 metre hose from direct hoses, makes cleaning the car so much easier.
 
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